When I interviewed a bunch of ops execs earlier this year, I was listening for what was most important to them.
One theme that bubbled up was the joy execs get watching their team collaborate and grow as they march toward common goals.
And Ops never stops! The Ops team is the backbone of your org. It’s fun to watch them achieve great things by connecting the dots that make it all work. Isn’t it?
Unfortunately, ops often doesn’t get enough props. Creative, sales and other client-facing teams get acknowledged more publicly simply by the nature of their role.
It’s likely Ops doesn’t get noticed until something goes wrong. That can drain and demoralize, and lead to disengagement and retention issues.
Sound familiar?
This week, I’ll explore a simple habit that can keep your unsung heroes feeling supported and connected to the rest of the org.
Great Operations are Often Undervalued
Even organizations with the most competitive offerings and the best reputations need solid operations to achieve great things.
But operational creativity and excellence are easy to take for granted. Your team’s work encompasses so many different things, ensuring that systems are available, secure, productive, and seamless. With no quota to hit or commissions paid out, it can go unnoticed.
Until there’s a problem, that is. Until one speedbump sets off company-wide chains of events.
Then everyone notices.
This is pretty common across industries.
As Ops Exec You Set the Tone for Your Team
You lead the people who consistently rise to the occasion to make your org successful.
This all means adapting your approach across employees, stakeholders, customers, and vendors. That’s a lot of different personalities! But regardless of personality, everyone wants to know they are part of something bigger.
And everyone needs for their contribution to be seen.
It’s so obvious, right? Such a simple thing can fall off the radar when overseeing issues across systems, processes, and data.
Get your arms around this challenge by cultivating a habit of gratitude.
It doesn’t have to be time-intensive or overblown. But it does require your thoughtfulness and intention.
12 Ways to Acknowledge Your Ops Stakeholders
Acknowledging your team can look a lot of different ways, for example:
- Say thank you authentically again. And again. It goes a long way.
- Get to know the names of everyone who works as part of your org. Meet them where they are and learn their stories. I know several of you already do this!
- When good work anywhere in the org catches your eye, drop an email to their manager commending that person for their effort or skill.
- Sometimes your team members need to vent. Listen deeply and acknowledge their feelings.
- Let them know that you know what they’re up to is not easy. Thank them for pushing through.
- Connect what each part of your team does to the larger organization’s purpose regularly.
- Get specific about the impact your ops team has on the organization’s results.
- Engage with your team to create a motivating mission statement specifically for operations. It should be distinct from your organization’s purpose and specify how ops makes it happen.
- Get curious about how your team best feels acknowledged. Don’t assume that how you’d like to be acknowledged is universal.
- Commit budget to morale boosters like spot bonuses and recognition gifts at company-wide events.
- Share victories! Publicly recognize those who partnered to land that big sale or complete that juicy client project.
- Train your direct reports in habits of gratitude so the effort becomes systemic and contagious.
There are hundreds of ways you can do this, and it is yours as an ops exec to do.
So build the habit. Plan ways to express honest appreciation. Make it part of your brand as a leader.
You can’t stop the chaos, but you can change the game.
