How Managers Can Amp Up Workplace Voltage

I was driving on the freeway today behind a van that had the word "voltage" in bold red letters across the back doors. I started thinking about voltage and decided it was a great term to describe energy in the workplace.

According to Wikipedia, voltage is:

The voltage between two points is a short name for the electrical force that would drive an electric current between those points. Specifically, voltage is equal to energy per unit charge. In the case of static electric fields, the voltage between two points is equal to the change in electrical potential difference between those points.

So the voltage in your workplace could be described as the amount of energy available to move between people. Cool. I am digging this concept of energy transfer. What's energy if it can't travel through the work, through people, and through the organization? Like a drag racing car at the starting line, burning rubber, but not going anywhere. I'll stop mixing metaphors, now.

What can managers do to increase both voltage and energy transfer?

• Structure workplace communication so that time is set aside to share information.
• Reinforce collaboration.
• Create interdependent tasks, projects, and measures.
• Help employees build relationships - this may not happen on its own. Structure the work so that people get to know each other.
• Provide a challenge - give people something that gives them energy.

And of course, it is important to model energy and energy transfer. Give energy, receive energy, give it back again.

In Focus Like a Laser Beam, I wrote about how generating focus is a lot like shining a laser beam (the particles in lasers are super excited). Yes, that is another metaphor, but it's similar in a way...

Is your department high voltage? If not, what's your part in that?

I am guessing some of you might bring up the fact that high voltage can be deadly and perhaps voltage is not always a good thing. Same with teams. The voltage needs to be high enough to create the sparks of excellence, but not so high that the workplace becomes overwhelming, draining, and one big pit of drama. But I think that most workplaces are so far away from being too high in voltage that you don't need to worry about it too much.

Comments

[Free Dropshippers]

Providing challenges is really important. It not only gives energy but it also motivates the employees to work hard. The post is really nice as it precisely explains the whole story.