1. Understand what psychological wellbeing actually means:
People feeling clear headed, in control, able to concentrate, motivated, energised, having freedom of choice (within reasonable constraints), feeling great and performing well.
Peak performance is achieved when individuals can focus on what they want to do and concentrate willingly on their tasks. Peak performance occurs when you feel psychologically well.
2. Engage your leaders in understanding that employees who are psychologically well, and appropriately motivated, are the ones who can perform at their peak.
Encourage your leaders to place employees at the centre of their thinking, of corporate strategy and at the top of corporate values.
3. Understand that leaders and managers make the difference between poor/average performance and peak performance in individuals and organisations
Many managers are project managers; they don’t take easily to managing people.
“People managers” are found in highly successful organisations.
Become a “people manager”.
4. Understand that leaders and managers influence what the culture of the organisation is like
Leaders and managers are the controllers of the ‘the organisation’.
The culture is the atmosphere, tone, symbols, behaviours and attitude of the organisation and its people.
A culture of success is an adaptive and positive culture that triggers employees to feel psychologically well and motivated to perform at their peak.
5. Adopt “Psychological Responsibility” as a basic principle that’s embedded into the culture
It is your personal responsibility to remain psychologically well, and to ensure that you do no psychological harm to anyone else.
Adopt “Intelligent Behaviours”.
6. Ensure team adopt sharing responsibility for the future success of your organisation as a basic principle that’s embedded into the culture
Everyone should feel accountable and responsible for the future success of the organisation; leaders and managers are held to account for its success.
Combined intelligence of the workforce exceeds the combined intelligence of its leaders and managers – applying this intelligence leads to success.
7. Ensure that the purpose of your organisation and your team is expressed succinctly in outcome terms
Use terms that clearly state the impact of the organisation and your team on its ‘customers’.
8. Ensure that the cultural values of your organisation and team match the personal values of employees
Values are the drivers that make people do the things they do.
If these are reflected in the cultural values of their organisation and team, they capture the drivers of individuals.
And channel their energy and interest in the same direction as their organisation and team.
9. Ensure that employees have a vision of where the organisation is going
If this is shared with employees it provides meaning and purpose to individuals – an essential aspect of psychological wellbeing.
10. Ensure that corporate values resonate with employees
Corporate values are the priorities that the organisation and team feel are highest.
For example, what does the organisation and team feel is the highest corporate value?
Employees? Customers? Money? Shareholders? The bank? Quality? Productivity?
See below for other parts in this series.
Taken from our Leadership Masterclass October 2016.