Your Check-Windmill Light Is On!
“We forget this simple science when we apply the maintenance concept to our most valuable asset - our team members.”
Fun Fact! Did you know windmills require oil changes?
It’s true! I learned this a few years ago when we bought our rural Arizona property. It has a beautiful functioning windmill that helps to pump water from our well. Having lived in cities my entire life, I just assumed the wind did all the work. Well, it can run on neglect, but for how long? The truth is, like everything else, maintenance is required. Why? The windmill turns, so it needs a mechanism to help it turn. Ball bearings are that mechanism. Ball bearings require lubrication to turn effectively, and oil is a common lubricant. Hence the oil change!
Why am I talking about this? For starters, I think windmills are cool and we can all use a little trivia. The main reason I’m talking about windmills is because the “maintenance is required” factoid is true to most thing. Unfortunately, we forget this simple science when we apply the maintenance concept to our most valuable asset - our team members. Many nonprofits, especially the ones that are struggling to stay afloat, think they can set a “windmill” upright and expect it to work optimally without maintenance… set it and forget it, if you will. Hoping it just works might work for a time, but time will catch up and efficiency will decline, patience and forgiveness wears thin, and your team will soon be scraps of its prior self barely making it through day to day operations. And don’t wait for a check-windmill-light to turn on, because there isn’t one! Just like there isn’t a team-culture-check light or email reminder to alert you that your team functions are declining. It is up to the leader to observe signs and recognize the signal that maintenance is needed.
It is really easy to get stuck in the chaos of the day to day and delay checking in with your team members to see how they are doing, especially when we have so many things to tend to that require our attention. It is easy to brush off team member mumblings and rumors about how they feel they have too much work, feel disrespected by a coworker, or feel undervalued and unseen or unheard by management. It is easy to expect a team to work optimally, but it is unrealistic to expect a team work optimally if leaders don’t put in the work to maintain the team!
Maintenance is required for pretty much everything to some capacity. Even holistic wellness takes a proactive approach to mental and physical well-being. Prevent the illness by having regular check-ups and a standard health regimine. Organizations and teams need this too.
So, if you find yourself frustrated by team grumblings, or if you leave a meeting thinking, “Why can’t they just work this out?” I challenge you to sit down and analyze when the last time you checked in on your team was - truly checked in. Consider some of these questions:
Have you sat down with each team member to see how they are doing? Not just a one-on-one meeting to check off the task. When was the last time you had a real conversation with each team member?
Do your team members feel valued? Do they understand how they add value to your mission? Do your team members understand the value each team member brings? Do they treat each other as though they add value? When was the last time you heard them thank each other for their effort - a real thank you that felt genuine and make the receiver light up?
Do your team members have open and honest conversations about successes? How about fair and level-headed conversations about issues that arise?
Is there open brainstorming and collaboration without shutting each other down? Do they brainstorm about how they can improve as a team without your prompting them? Do they recognize eachother’s strengths without it being a competition?
In the face of an obstacle or issue, does your team rise to the occasion together, or are they individually focused on having their idea heard? Are they focused on pointing blame instead of finding solutions?
If you answered negatively to any of the questions above, STOP! This is your sign to implement a “maintenance” plan for your team. ACT NOW. To keep your team running effectively, efficiently, and able to rise to current and oncoming challenges, maintenance is required! Not sure where to start or how to develop a maintenance plan for your team? Next Chapter Strategies can help!
