Inspire your employees by helping them to understand that their work has a higher purpose

A merchant placed sacks of salt on his donkey and set off to the market. The road was close to a slippery ledge. As they passed the ledge, the donkey stumbled and fell into the stream below. The water melted the salt, relieving the beast of his burden. The merchant, definitely, unhappy returned home and loaded the donkey a second time.

The donkey was tired of carrying salt and thought of a possible solution to himself.

If I keep falling into water, I can keep getting rid of these loads.

The second time the donkey approached the slope, he intentional lost his footing and fell in. By then, the merchant had caught on to his donkey’s trick. He, then, decided to load the donkey with sacks of sponges on the next journey. When the donkey fell into stream again, the animal found himself struggling under a load that had more than doubled in weight.

If only the donkey had realised the importance of his, he would have hauled the load proudly knowing the salt was going to be used for good cause. Many employees consider their work just a job? They hardly find a a sense of mission and as such are merely bidding their time until something better comes along their way?

Every worker can have the power of higher purpose no matter where they are on the organisational ladder. It is your responsibility to help them see themselves as part of a team solving a problem. You will only get the best result when you harness the power of purpose. People want to work for a cause and not for a living.

Kathy Sierra suggests that you should behave just like a good user interface – support people in doing what they’re trying to do, and stay the hell out of their way. You need to create an environment for your employees to be passionate about their work and not your business. Why not take a clue from Google who fosters this kind of environment?

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