Why Aren’t More Employees Inspired by Their Company’s Long-Term Vision? With Deborah Fulghum

In this episode, we continue the exploration of our latest company culture and employee engagement report, ENGAGE 2024, by asking the question: “Why aren’t more employees inspired by their company’s long-term vision?”

Here, we’ll discuss the vital importance of clearly establishing and communicating your company’s Shared Mission to each employee. The great Deborah Fulghum, employee engagement specialist/culture coach here at Up Your Culture, will join me to discuss and contextualize it all.

Understanding This Current Lack of Inspiration Among Employees

“As humans, we find purpose,” Deborah says. “Whether it's in our life, personally, or in our work. We want to make a difference and that really is what propels us forward in knowing that we contribute in some way.

“A lot of businesses have all these KPIs, deadlines, etc. They demand a lot of employees, yet employees don't know what they're working so hard to do! But they need to know.

“I find that people, especially those that have been called back to the office, are feeling even less of a reason or purpose for what they're doing.

“They’re thinking, ‘Why am I here? What am I working so hard to do?’ And it's really a big piece with people.

“We find that thriving cultures really work with three pieces:

• Why am I doing this? What's my purpose?
• How am I supposed to get that done?
• And then, where are we headed?

“I need to know [answers to all three of those questions] so I can be bought in and be a part of that [long-term vision of the company].

What Gets in the Way of Communicating a Company’s Vision?

Deborah says, “Clarity is big. It's important for leaders to talk about their company’s purpose and vision all the time.

“You can't just say, ‘Oh, I told you about them this week before you started,’ or ‘We already had this conversation.’ I think we have to talk about the purpose or the mission all the time.

“We have to talk about what your role is in our success, what you're working so hard to do, how appreciated you are in this mission, in this effort. Doing so makes people want to grab the paddle or the oar, jump in the boat, and start rowing to get us down that river, as opposed to just standing by and going, ‘What am I supposed to do? I don't know where I'm going or what we're doing.’

“So, there’s a really big difference between being thrown in the water and being given clear direction."

Hear Deborah’s Full Thoughts in the Episode

Listen to the episode to hear Deborah’s full thoughts on the following takeaways:

• How, too often, employees aren’t aware of the goals they are working so hard to achieve
• Why you simply have to talk about your Shared Mission and Core Values with your people all the time
• Lastly, why can establishing and emphasizing the rules of the game at your organization mean the difference between engagement and disengagement for your people?