As admirers of Simon Sinek’s Start with Why framework, when we formed Dion Leadership, my team spent a lot of time wrestling with that important “why” question.

Eventually, the answer to that ultimate question was translated into the banner headline that appears on the home page of this website. It reads:

IMAGINE IF YOUR EMPLOYEES…

Start every day excited and end every day accomplished.

When the words came together, my team knew it was perfect! You see, I regularly (and literally) picture learners coming and going from our client organizations and reflect on how they are thinking, feeling, and behaving.

I imagine a leader…

I know (let’s call him Brad) waking up, getting ready for work, sitting around the breakfast table with his family, laughing and joking with his kids and sharing with excitement his plan for his day. As he slips behind the wheel of his car, instead of dreading the start of the workday, he is ready to get to the office. He has some big plans that he is ready to put in motion with his team and expects to make a difference.

I see a nurse manager… 

I have worked with (let’s call her Michelle). She is walking out of the hospital at the end of her shift. She is smiling and brimming with pride. The procedural changes she developed were approved by her CNO and are working fabulously. She sees the positive impact on both her nurses and their patients.

Our coaches helped Brad and Michelle improve their leadership skills and reframe their thinking. Our consulting work enabled Brad’s company to evolve their culture in a healthy and sustainable way and Michelle’s hospital to improve efficiency while creating a more empowering management structure. These people and their organizations are the why that keeps our team engaged in this important work.

Three Goals

Our why is manifested in our client’s business results when they experience

• Growth and profitability that surpasses their competitors
• Unparalleled innovation
• An ability to attract and retain top talent

So what are the levers for change that make this “why” come to life? We have witnessed time and time again that it starts with the organization’s

• Leaders (and the work those leaders focus on)
• Teams (that leaders form and lead)
• Culture (that leaders create)

Are you ready to create a powerful why for the talent management element of your business strategy? If you’d like to be the catalyst for creating meaningful change in your organization, get started with these three action items:

1) Meet with your team to envision what it would look like, sound like, and feel like to have your employees start every day excited and end every day accomplished. Listen carefully and take time to truly understand the profound ability you have to impact their daily lives.

2) Hold a brainstorming session to capture ideas that remove barriers and add enablers to create conditions to support the leaders, teams, and culture noted above. Vet ideas with your team, and let them know that you want to create a condition where they are more excited to come to work and feel more accomplished at the end of the day.

3) Select one or two things you can do right now — and build a plan to make it happen.

The Dion Leadership team can help you formulate and execute strategies that make lasting change in your organization.