5 steps to becoming a Coach vs. a Boss

We all know that owning a piece of the action changes how we think about things and motivates us to behave differently. For example purchasing mutual funds or stock shares makes us more prone to following a particular company or portfolio. We naturally want to know what’s going on that could affect our investment, and base our decisions to stay or leave accordingly. Committing to being involved in an organization, such as a church or civic group, is viewed as being ‘invested’ in something we value, and therefore are willing to trade our valuable time for. As long as the organization’s values and goals align with ours, we see the commitment as worthy of our time, and often our treasures and talents as well.

Our employees are no different. They want to know that what they are doing matters – that they are making a difference, that they have a piece of the action. And when they don’t, which is all too often the case, their loyalty turns to the one thing they can count on (usually), their paycheck. The price business owners pay for allowing this phenomenon to exist is staggering. Rory Vaden notes in his compelling book Take the Stairs that “A study of 10,000 U.S. employees indicated that the average worker self-admitted to wasting 2.09 hours each day on non-job-related activities”. That translates to an average loss of over $10,000 per year per employee. Do the math. Other fallout from lack of employee commitment and loyalty includes quantifiables such as reduced productivity, high absenteeism and less efficiency. And one of the less tangible, but perhaps biggest losses, is the potential collaboration and resulting innovation that tap into the intellectual capital of your people – that is, people who are bought-in and loyal to the brand.