Whether you are looking to get the most from your team or you want to pursue an interest of your own, I see the process of “digging your own mine” as crucial to long-term success. When people are deeply engaged in work, they are far more productive. Ownership for goals and roles builds commitment across the board.
Whenever I talk to people about the concept of self-direction, there is inevitable skepticism. “Well then everyone will do just what they want, whenever they want to?” No! Enabling self-direction has nothing to do with abandoning responsibility for results. The process of aligning personal interests and business opportunity begins with identifying business goals first. Clarity on direction and expectations is a precursor to individual role definition. Once the direction is clear, individuals can begin to consider how they might best meet business goals through their own actions and interests.
This is a great time of year to consider greater self-direction. Many organizations develop annual goals this time of year, and there’s no better time to think about how things might change to best meet those goals.
A great place to start is with yourself. What do you want to do this year? How is that different from last year? What are you going to change to make it happen?
