Your Organization Needs A Workout Plan: Building Strength Through Values & Purpose
No matter what you’re training for, core strength plays an integral role in achieving success — in the gym, in life and in the workplace.
If you’ve worked out or had a fitness regimen at some point you’re probably familiar with a few of the focus areas that are part of a well-balanced fitness plan. Strength, endurance, and flexibility are some of the big ones for optimal functioning, whether you’re training for an athletic event or pursuing personal wellness.
First, let’s focus on how to build organizational strength, based on the core values and purpose at the foundation of your business.
What does having a strength do for you? A “strong core” is typically referenced a lot in the context of strength building, and that’s for good reason. You can thank your core muscles for holding you up, keeping you stable, and helping you move forward every day, even on the hard days. It’s this foundational strength that helps us overcome physical challenges with maximum ease and efficiency. Without a strong core, we’re more likely to experience fatigue, injury, and pain.
The same is true for organizations. Your organizational values, vision, and mission are the core of your strength, keeping the business functioning at a high level even when unexpected challenges arise. This foundation gives work meaning, provides people with clarity of purpose, and acts as a sturdy rudder for the leadership team, leading to better and faster decision making. When you build organizational strength, you’re establishing a foundation that will support the business as it grows, changes, or ages — just like strength training does for our bodies!
A Workout Plan for Strength Building
Here’s a plan that will help your organization grow stronger for optimal health:
Assessment – Start with an overall health assessment. Does your organization have a defined set of values guiding its direction and operations? Do you have a vision for where you’re going, and a clear mission to help you get there? Any workout plan needs to start with establishing the baseline — in other words, determining the current strength level of the organization, and its people.
Alignment – As an organizational leadership team, assess the level of clarity and alignment around the company’s Vision (where you’re going), Mission (how you get there), and Values (what holds your organization and team together). Is everyone on the same page? If not, a reset or reboot session may be in order.
Communication – Communication puts your Mission, Vision and Values to work. It helps you tell your story more clearly to employees, clients, customers, and all stakeholders. Your Mission, Vision and Values should provide a throughline for all the ways you communicate who you are, what you do, how you can help, and where you are going. This includes internal and external messaging, goal setting, marketing/business development, recruiting and hiring, etc.
Time – No solid health or workout plan can work unless time is invested. Carving out time for team planning and alignment sessions (and follow up!) is essential for building a solid foundation for the work you are doing now — and the work you want to be doing in the future. Sometimes, putting in the work is as simple as putting in the time. As we all know, that can be easier said than done, but it’s necessary for building a strong organization in the long run.
Organizational strength is a critical function of the business’s ability to build operational endurance, and cultivate flexibility in an often volatile marketplace of products and people. In upcoming installments of the BUILDING ORGANIZATIONAL MUSCLE series, we will share workout plans for Building Endurance and Building Flexibility in your organization, based on your core strengths: the values, vision, and mission that drive your organization.
Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to grow leaders, build teams and drive results through great people strategy. Contact us to get proactive about expanding your company’s potential, and stay up-to-date with our latest news and leadership development updates here.
