Seeing the impact of your work is not that simple. It can be easy for the grinders of your firm to feel disconnected from the end result of a job, or to really understand that their tasks are a key part of it all.

As a leader of your firm, a key challenge for you is demonstrating to your team that everything they do, in some way, works towards your company goals.

Their day-to-day amounts to more than just a tick on a job list.

When you successfully communicate their impact, your team will benefit from a greater sense of pride in what they do, and a closer connection to you and each other. They’ll want the practice to achieve big things, and they’ll want to play a key part in it.

Show the whole puzzle so they can understand the piece

As a manager, you see the role each staff member plays in the larger scheme of things. You see the clients, the results, and your firm’s bottom line, so you know that even the smallest actions make an integral difference to the bigger picture.

But those without your vantage point don’t see this as clearly. It’s easy for them to lose sight of their own work’s value when they only see a small portion of it. This is especially common in firms where work is passed amongst multiple hands before completion.

It's your job to show your staff that every task, even something as simple as a tax return or invoicing, has an impact on the overall client relationship. The trick is to provide visibility throughout your team.

Everyone should be able to see the communication with a client even if they aren't the ones speaking to them. They should see what the rest of the team are contributing toward the same goal and the results that are being achieved.

You can only demonstrate the bigger picture when everyone in the team can see it. There is no clearer way to understand where your own work fits in relation to everything else going on.

Help them get to know your clients

Employees prefer hearing about the impact of their company through client stories, employee stories, and leadership messages. Grinders who rarely speak with clients aren’t often exposed to their stories, so it’s easy for them to only see a name on a file.