Pump Up Your Team by Encouraging Employees to Visualize Their Success
Visualization is proven technique for athletes to amp up their performance. It works just as well in the office.
By Heather R. Huhman •
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Hard work and passion fuels the workplace. However, without a vision for success, it can be difficult to produce concrete results.
Visualizing success is an effective way to create accountability in the workplace. Employees who imagine themselves being in control of the results they accomplish will be more successful at work.
Here are some techniques to help employees visualize success:
1. Use imagery to visualize individual success.
Imagery is a powerful way to visual one's success. In fact, many successful athletes have used imagery to motivate themselves before competitions.
A January 2014 study of 16 male sprinters published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research discovered when the athletes used imagery to visualize their success, they reduced their sprint times.
Employees can apply the same technique in the workplace. When visualizing success, have employees focus on the process of reaching success and what the final result feels like. For example, tell an employee to imagine receiving recognition from their boss in front of their co-workers after completing a big project.
Related: The Extraordinary Power of Visualizing Success
2. Get employees excited.
Another common technique for visualizing success is through arousal. This simply means getting excited about the task at hand and using that excitement as motivation. The aforementioned study used arousal to get athletes excited to race, which helped them visualize success.
Encourage employees to find excitement and purpose in their work. For example, host a brief meeting each morning to get employees "pumped up" about projects and offer team members high fives. This positive energy can help employees get excited about their goals.
3. Create a visual corporate mission statements.
While corporate mission statements can offer a foundation for the workplace, employees need to visualize the goals they need to accomplish.
A December 2014 study of 151 hospitals and 62 groups of full-time employees published in the Academy of Management Journal found imagery in corporate mission statements can help employees "see" the values of the company.
When creating a visual corporate mission statement, use descriptive words and imagery. For example, let's say an organization wants to create satisfied customers. Write a mission statement that tells employees they work for a company that "cares about its smiling and happy customers."
Related: Your Mission Statement May Be Utterly Useless or a Gold Mine
4. Create vision boards.
Encourage employees to create a vision board for their workspace. Whether it's a bulletin board in their cubicle or a wall in the office, have employees create a vision board representing their dreams and goals for the organization.
Have employees include photos that represent their ideas of success and things that inspire them. They can also include empowering words and quotes. This vision board will serve as a daily reminder of what employees hope to accomplish each day.
