Three (with a bonus fourth) Way Leaders Make Work Fulfilling
“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” – Simon Sinek
“On what high-performing companies should be striving to create: A great place for great people to do great work.” – Marilyn Carlson, former CEO of Carlson Companies
How To Be 21% More Profitable
As leaders we know that we need to create engaged employees. Kevin Kruse wrote an article in Forbes defining employee engagement like this: “Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.” He goes on to say “When employees care—when they are engaged—they use discretionary effort.” Discretionary effort? What does that mean? It means they do things because they want to do them. They choose to go above and beyond.
“The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers.” – Sybil F. Stershic, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care
“Highly engaged employees make the customer experience. Disengaged employees break it.” – Timothy R. Clark, The 5 Ways That Highly Engaged Employees are Different
That is why high engagement is a common thread in the world’s most successful organizations and Gallup puts a 21% more profitable number to it. That’s money you can take to the bank.
3 Ways Leaders Make Work Fulfilling
As I mentioned, this doesn’t come naturally, leaders must create the proper environment for this to happen. One of my favorite authors, Patrick Lencioni, explains how in The Three Signs of a Miserable Job. Most leaders who are readers have read Patrick Lencioni’s books. Most notably The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. If you haven’t read it yet, read it now. I’ve used The Three Signs of a Miserable Job as a developmental tool for leaders for years. Not as popular as some of his other books, but I think this one is a gem and if you are a leader wanting to create a more engaged workforce this is a must read.
Here are the 3 signs:
- Anonymity
- Irrelevance
- Immeasurability
Anonymity
Let’s start at the top. Anonymity. People who see themselves as invisible, generic, or anonymous cannot love their job, no matter what they are doing. Leaders need to find unique qualities of each employee and keep in mind that work is not their lives. Work can be an important fulfilling part of their lives, especially if their leader shows genuine interest in them. Most importantly, employees who feel valued will value your customers and clients. It’s a magical trickle-down effect. Happy employees produce happy clients.
“The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers.” – Sybil F. Stershic, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most
Irrelevance
The second sign of a miserable job is irrelevance. Employees must feel their work is important to someone in the organization. From the book, “Human beings need to be needed, and they need to be reminded of this pretty much every day. They need to know that they are helping others, not merely serving themselves.”
“Connect the dots between individual roles and the goals of the organization. When people see that connection, they get a lot of energy out of work. They feel the importance, dignity, and meaning in their job.” – Ken Blanchard and Scott Blanchard, Do People Really Know What You Expect from Them?, Fast Company
The most famous story we have all heard before that illustrates an employee understanding their relevance is the story of the janitor who, when asked by JFK what he did stated, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” That’s seeing the big picture. That is relevance.
Immeasurability
And finally, immeasurability. We’ve all heard if it can’t be measured it can’t be improved. Every employee needs a number. They don’t need a scorecard with a dozen metrics, but at least one number. “Numbers create accountability. When you set a number, everyone knows what the expectation is.” Gino Wickman, Traction. The communication is so much clearer when there is a common number to speak to. Some positions are easier than others to assign a number to, but you can find a measurable for practically everything. How many new clients will you sign on this quarter? 10. How many seconds before a client is greeted in your office? 10. How many rings before the phone is answered? Better not be 10. How about 2.
Recognition isn’t one of the 3 signs, if it were then there’d be four, but let’s not leave out recognition. This will ensure that you, as a leader, make work fulfilling.
“Dispirited, unmotivated, unappreciated workers cannot compete in a highly competitive world.” – Frances Hesselbein, Hesselbein on Leadership
Put these 4 lessons in your leadership toolbox and make it a great week.