Patti Cotton

Executive Coach & Career Strategist

employee

Why Human Experience Trumps Employee Engagement

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Why Human Experience Trumps Employee Engagement
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What’s so important about human experience in the workplace? Well, everything.

If you are looking to retain great talent, to reinforce healthy and positive culture, and to rise above the competition, then helping your employees find meaning in their work is non-negotiable.

But aren’t you doing this this through providing a great employee experience? No.

Employee engagement initiatives continue to take main stage to respond to and encourage employee motivation, commitment, and the quality of contribution at work. A lot of money and energy have been poured into these endeavors, but we aren’t seeing the results we had hoped for. Why is this?

The truth is, employee engagement initiatives aren’t working, because we feel we can elevate employee engagement by providing attractive perks and rewards. And these don’t respond to the real need.

Recent research findings from Deloitte’s 2019 Global Human Capital Trends examines this challenge. The writers show that employee motivation is driven by career, purpose, and meaning from work.

This means we need to enhance the human experience for each and every employee. Impossible task? Not really.

We simply need to help the employee answer the following questions:

  1. Do I belong to the team, to the organization?

Who are we and why do we belong together? As leader, you can work with your team members to answer these questions through the way you define and live your mission and shared values. See the article “Does Your Team Live Up to Its Values” for a great way to make this come alive.

  1. Am I safe?

Do I work in a trusting environment with individuals whom I respect and who respect me? Every employee must feel they can work together with their team without doubt or reservation, and to know team members can count on each other. This means ensuring a culture of high trust. How well do you and your company measure up? Take the time to examine the components of trust and see where your energy and efforts need to focus – this one thing changes everything at the individual, team, and organizational levels.

HOW MUCH

DO OTHERS REALLY TRUST YOU?

​Learn the two vital parts to trust and how they can help you become a more highly effective leader.

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  1. Do I make a difference to the larger picture?

Am I able to use my gifts and strengths in a role allowing me to contribute in a way that makes an impact? Ensuring right job fit and design is just part of this. Reinforcing the contributions of the individual means to teach your employees to recognize the efforts of others and to express this as part of your culture. When was the last time that you told a member of your executive team how they made a difference to the larger picture? Your culture must reflect this at all levels.

  1. Together, do we bring something of value to the world?

Do we as a team and company contribute something that makes a difference to the world? Ask yourself why your company exists. If the answer to your “why” is to make money or products, then you are in trouble. How does the service or product your business offers make a difference for your customers? What are they able to do, live, enjoy that they wouldn’t otherwise? The answers to this must be understood and communicated regularly to your entire employee base. For a refresher on how to define this, read Sinek’s book Start with Why, or see his TED talk “How Leaders Inspire Action.”

  1. Is there room for me to grow here?

One of the top concerns of a thriving CEO is to define and articulate clear career paths within the company to inspire and motivate your employees. These CEOs also make sure that their learning and development efforts include relevant personal and professional growth offerings. How do your L&D efforts measure up? And if you think your employees can’t take time for this, think again. Best companies are making sure their people have this available through regular face-to-face and virtual instruction with a coach approach to ensure that true learning occurs. The rewards are exponential.

What kind of human experience are you offering to your employees?

I suggest that as you start out on the path to providing something of great meaning and value, that you begin by personally answering the five questions above. Walking the talk will not only help you to integrate human experience as culture, it will also help you to personally become more motivated and engaged as you lead these efforts.

© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.

Three Tips to Boost a Culture of Inclusivity

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Three Tips to Boost a Culture of Inclusivity
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An open and honest environment is important for a healthy company culture.

Fostering this is important to employee engagement and your ability to retain top talent.

But if your employees don’t feel free to express their opinions, you are keeping them from feeling more motivated to contributing their best work.

Why is this the case? And how can you turn this around?

Studies show that creating a sense of belonging in the workplace is one of the top criteria for an employee to feel engaged. A sense of belonging allows employees to feel like they are able to be authentic. And the ability to feel authentic at work affects an employee’s sense of contribution, which in turn, affects their engagement and performance.

Most CEOs pride themselves on creating such a sense of belonging. They cite great on-boarding processes, recognition programs, and intentional cultural markers and norms such as “Dress Down Friday” and the annual employee picnic.

But there is one area affecting employee retention that gets overlooked quite a bit. And this is making sure that you teach your people how to value differing perspectives or opinions.

As your employees come from all walks of life, backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences, they are bound to have various perspectives and opinions. And nothing will curb a feeling of inclusion faster than to discount someone’s opinion.

I’ve heard things in executive meeting brainstorming sessions such as, “Well, John, that can’t work because…” or, “That approach is impossible,” as first responses to someone offering ideas for solutions.

What happens?

Shutdown.

People hesitate to speak up. They are afraid of “getting it wrong,” or of being discounted.

And nothing is worse than sending that kind of message if you are trying to create a spirit of inclusion.

Everyone wants to feel included. Having that sense of acceptance and belonging is key to fueling the desire to contribute and be a part of something.

Here are three tips that will help you boost your culture’s spirit of inclusivity.

  1. Make sure you have a growth mindset.

Do you find your executive team is in a rut when it comes to new ideas? Make sure it hasn’t calcified to a fixed stance of “This is the way we have always done it.” You may not readily hear it, but you will see it in the way that your executives become complacent and comfortable with “what is.”

If this is the case, begin having brainstorm sessions around new ideas by asking the question, “What is possible, here? If we couldn’t do it the way we have always done it, how might we approach this?”

  1. The first responder to someone else’s opinion must be a cheerleader.

Develop the “carrot approach” to encourage people contributing their ideas and perspectives. Adopt the group norm that when a person comes up with an idea, the first one to respond must offer something positive.

He or she doesn’t have to agree with the opinion, but should at least laud the other person for thinking outside of the box. This kind of immediate response will develop a culture of acceptance and inclusion. No idea is a bad one – let’s consider it.

  1. Ask questions instead of making pronouncements.

When exploring the opinions and perspectives of others, take an open-minded approach by asking questions to dive deeper. “Tell me more,” or “Let’s talk about how that might work.” This keeps you on your toes to consider new possibilities, and at the same time, creates a spirit of togetherness as you work through toward a solution.

The next time you are tempted to share why a particular idea won’t work, pause and redirect. You’ll find that your team will become more engaged, animated, and willing to contribute at much higher levels.

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© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.

Five Ways to Motivate Employees and Drive Results

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Five Ways to Motivate Employees and Drive Results
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How do you motivate employees and drive results at the same time?

When we think about a results-driven leader, we picture someone who is driving with intense focus toward a goal. Eyes front. No nonsense. A person who embodies the message, “Get out of my way, I will win!”

On the other hand, motivation requires that a leader possess a high degree of people skills, directing his or her energy toward inspiring and building positive relationships with their team. This requires taking the time to help employees develop new skills and talents along the way to success.

This is a lot to ask!

How do you, as leader, manage all this without losing your own focus or momentum?

Here are a few simple shifts that will help you both drive and motivate your team.

1. Leverage is your best friend – embrace it.

As a leader, you may feel as though you bear the burden of full responsibility to achieve the goals that have been placed before you. Not so!

Your job is to set the vision, map out the course, assign responsibilities, teach people the right steps to excel, and coach them to the finish line. If you feel as though you are pulling and dragging people to reach this finish line, you are carrying weight that doesn’t belong to you. You have disempowered your team. Your team wants to feel valued and that they contribute toward the larger picture. Put on your coaching “hat” and get out of the way.

2. Your foundation is everything.

Your foundation consists of your plan, your people, and the resources to do the job.

a. Is your plan solid?

Does it contain the “teeth” to leave no room for question? If your people are stalling at certain points, this means you need to clarify how to move forward. And are you regularly checking to see if the plan is moving your team in the right direction? This tells your team you care about them and their success.

b. Do you have the right people in place?

If you have a chronic underperformer, the finger should point back at you. What does this person need in order to perform more effectively? Have that conversation and if you discover that you are part of the problem, adjust and rewind. If, on the other hand, you find that the person simply isn’t the right fit, do yourself, the employee, and the rest of the team a favor and have the critical conversation that has been looming for some time.

c. Are you providing your team with the resources they need to do the job?

This is a big item. If you are asking them to reach the seemingly impossible, you also need to identify what they will need in order to achieve this. A runner can’t run without a well-mapped out course and the right amount of energy bars and water. Likewise, your team member can’t perform to capacity unless he receives the right kind of support and resources. What do your team members need in order to work more effectively? Ask! This helps them to see you have their best interests in mind and want to see them win.

3. “Rinse and repeat” should be your mantra.

It’s not how many steps; it’s how many right steps.

Be careful that you don’t throw your team off course if you aren’t seeing big results quickly. Check your direction, and check the steps you have outlined to get there. I recall leading a multi-million dollar campaign that had never before been achieved. As I learned to put together the strategic plan that ultimately helped us reach and exceed $21.3M in four years (unprecedented!), it was a real eye-opener to realize that just five steps, when repeated over and over, reaped the lion’s share of our results.

Have you identified your own multi-step formula? When you do, and you allow your team to flex and grow while working these steps, it allows them to master these, as well, because they must repeat them many times.

People love learning, and they love achieving. This is motivating. And that is what this does.

4. Evaluate often and collaboratively.

You need to have regular meetings set up to evaluate progress – no surprise (but I’m astounded at the number of leaders who don’t do this).

However, if you want to motivate your people, if you want to help them learn and grow, you will want to conduct your evaluations in a different way.

First, be sure you begin these meetings with celebrating what has gone well. Identify what is working and recognize people for their efforts.

Secondly, identify the “points of learning.” What didn’t work as well as you had hoped? Have your team dissect this with you and keep the focus on the moves and tactics that needing adjusting. No finger-pointing.

Third, address any big concerns, and allow the team to give input as to how these concerns might be addressed. You are allowing them to participate in creative problem-solving and to give them a “voice” in the solution. Again, feeling as though you are part of the solution and that your thoughts count is very motivating and reminds people that they are important to the larger picture.

5. Celebrate.

It is always a sad sore spot with me when leaders are recognized for achievements and efforts, and the team goes unrecognized.

Begin with your team – recognize them for efforts even if you can’t recognize for results.

Identify what about their contribution was helpful – get specific. In other words, saying “Good job on last week’s efforts, Dan,” rings hollow. But “Good job on your efforts to negotiate with our competitor, Dan. I believe your connecting with them will bear fruit,” is much different. Tell them why you are recognizing them and be sincere.

And when it comes time for you as leader to be recognized in bigger meetings, don’t forget to call out how your team helped to win. You truly could not have done this yourself – and you need to recognize this with others.

If you truly want to motivate and inspire your people, let them know they are an integral part of the success.

How do their contributions make a difference? And then, allow them to use these gifts to do so.

Your job is not to run the course alone – it is to coach an entire team to break that ribbon at the finish line. It is when you finally embrace this that you will reach those great results.

© Patti Cotton and patticotton.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that attribution is made to Patti Cotton and patticotton.com, with links thereto.

Five Reasons Your Team May Not Be Candid With You

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Five Reasons Your Team May Not Be Candid With You
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How engaged is your team? Do the team members come in every day, energized, committed and excited about the work you are doing together? Are they huddled in groups brainstorming and coming up with new ideas?

Or do you get the feeling they need a vitamin shot? Are they sitting around with a second cup of coffee waiting for you to direct them?

What’s the problem?

If your team engagement is low, or its creative juices have dried up, your team members may have decided they just can’t be candid with you.

Why would they think that?

Here are some chief reasons employees aren’t candid with their leader:

1. You suffer from one-way thinking.

Are you really open to other perspectives, or do all your meetings end with your ideas as the only sound ones? If you aren’t open to encouraging and appreciating the ideas of others, people will quickly detect this and shut down. After all – why contribute when it doesn’t ever go anywhere? You will eventually surround yourself with people who simply agree to your ideas, and lose out on the brain trust you have in the room.

2. You don’t do feedback well.

If you don’t genuinely listen for the “gold” in growth opportunities, you are missing out. Your team members may have tried to give you helpful criticism in the past, but if they were met with defensiveness or denial, they will back off and stop trying to work on a better working relationship with you.

3. You’re a self-perceived super hero.

You don’t allow others to contribute. Your mantra is, “I need to start delegating more,” or, “When I ask others to help with X, Y, or Z, I get sub-par work back. It’s easier to do it myself.” If this is you, you aren’t developing your people and taking advantage of their ability to contribute. This will absolutely kill motivation in others.

4. You don’t include them.

You don’t bring others along in the process. If you don’t provide regular and meaningful updates to developments in the company and team initiatives, you aren’t empowering your people to stretch their critical thinking skills about how this affects what they are doing. If you find yourself simply telling people what to do all the time, you are probably guilty of this.

5. You’re a perfectionist.

Do you tend to come across as critical or judgmental, or demand perfection the first time around (ask your spouse or significant other if you don’t know – he or she will tell you!)? If so, you aren’t leaving room for your team to consider failures as learning points, and creative ideas as possible innovation for your company. Your team will tend to play safe and play small, so that you get smaller, safer work that appears perfect. But you will lose out on the new and innovative ideas and work they might bring. Consider this: Life, work, and leading are not about you and everything else being perfect. It’s about all this being exceptional.

If you suspect that your team is holding back, not being genuine, have a conversation with them. Ask them what they need in order to be more candid – and be prepared to receive their feedback as your own point of learning.

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How Much Do Others Really Trust You?

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How Much Do Others Really Trust You?
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How much do others really trust you?

Most people see themselves as rather trustworthy. The problem is that your perception may not be the same as the picture others have of you.

How can you tell if you need to boost your trust factor with others?

Beth was one who excelled in competence – but something in her character kept others from feeling confident in her leadership. They just didn’t trust her.

Sure, she was capable and committed to the company. Her results were hard to beat. But when she was put in charge of a team, her CEO received significant backlash.

“I’m not saying she isn’t a great executive,” said one team member. “But she’s hard to read and she often switches gears in the middle of a project. It’s like fielding flies. How can we work with her if she doesn’t share what she’s thinking? I’m not sure I can trust her.”

What part of trust was lacking in Beth? Transparency – a vital piece to sound leadership character. Where she excelled in performance and results, she lacked the ability to share readily with others. This absence of communication led others to believe that she did not value their participation. In fact, this stemmed from Beth’s fear of being doubted in her decision-making. But that’s another article. The end result for our purposes here was that because Beth did not communicate, people did not trust her. They saw her as competent, but untrustworthy all the same.

Another executive, Jack, connected well with and respected others in all he undertook. It was clear that he held positive intent with all endeavors. This is all part of leadership character.

But Jack’s ability to hold himself and others accountable – a part of leadership competence – was woefully inadequate. As a result, Jack’s performance and that of his team was hit and miss. Because he found it difficult to stick with a plan and hold others to it, he missed several good opportunities for promotion.

You’ll see in the list below that there are indeed two vital parts to trust:

  • Affective trust – the emotional part of trust. How well are you able to create mutually-based concern for and with others? How well do you create bonds with others that feel solid and authentic? We call things relating to this part of creating trust your leadership character.
  • Cognitive trust – the rational part of trust that causes others to feel you are reliable, dependable, competent. We call things relating to this part of creating trust your leadership competence.

As you review this list, what do you celebrate about your own leadership? Where are your growing edges?

And would others say the same?

HOW MUCH

DO OTHERS REALLY TRUST YOU?

​Learn the two vital parts to trust and how they can help you become a more highly effective leader.

GET THE INFOGRAPHIC