Needing an invitation is a weakness to vampires. In order to enter they must be invited, and once the invitation has been made they cannot be uninvited. Needing an invitation is also a weakness for employees and once they have been invited they seldom feel uninvited.
When employees are waiting to be invited to the table, invited to the discussion or invited to contribute, it will slow down their career progression. Employees who sit on the sidelines waiting for an invitation to speak or do miss out on opportunities and the business loses too.
How invitation is a weakness for employees
When people feel they aren’t being invited they become disengaged or disgruntled. For every person who waits for an invitation, there is one person who will invite themselves and quite possibly succeed. When someone is waiting for an invitation they start to think why not me? Why isn’t my work noticed? Why can’t I be a part of the popular team? It rarely occurs to them that it is because they are waiting for an invitation and should invite themselves instead.
How invitation is a weakness for a business
Having employees who wait for an invitation hampers innovation and problem-solving. Some expertise goes untapped because it isn’t invited in. When the only people who contribute are those who always speak up, the views and ideas are narrowed. There needs to be a fresh perspective and a new set of eyes looking at the landscape. Invite others in to hear or see something that has been overlooked or not yet thought of.
Help employees overcome the invitation weakness
As a leader, you need to recognize when people are waiting for that invitation. You have to coach them into being bold and proceeding without it. This requires you to help them get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Help them take more risks by letting them know mistakes are OK if something is learned. Sometimes you may need to lend them your influence to help them along.
Here are some tips to get started:
- When they invite themselves in, praise their contributions and reward the effort
- Invite them by asking what they think or how they feel about X
- Recognize their experience by asking “based on your experience what would you recommend?”
- Acknowledge their body language and ask them to clarify
Vampires need to be invited because an invisible barrier erects itself on any entrance to a human’s house. Help your staff break the invisible barrier they erect around your door, your table, your meetings and the great thoughts and ideas they have bottled up inside them. Let them know they are invited; help them write their own invitation and watch them and your company flourish.
Last updated on October 31st, 2018 at 05:47 am
