Patti Cotton

Executive Coach & Career Strategist

engaged

Why Human Experience Trumps Employee Engagement

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Why Human Experience Trumps Employee Engagement
Image Credit: Shutterstock

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.

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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.

Influence as a Full Contact Sport

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Influence as a Full Contact Sport
Image Credit: Shutterstock

Do you remember making a giant cannonball in the deep end of the pool? That hot sun hitting your face as you ran fast to leap into the air as high as you could?

And that beautiful reward! That magic moment when you, as a human cannonball, hit that icy water to make that huge and glorious splash!

Ahhh….

That’s what I call “full contact”! Just like soccer or basketball, cannonballs require that you use your mind, spirit, and body to make big things happen.

What in the world do cannonballs and “full contact” sports have to do with increasing your influence?

Influence is also a full-contact sport.

Influence is not achieved by just relating well or being popular. And it isn’t accomplished if you only use the right words or focus on making your case the “right one.”

We previously talked about the importance of first making an emotional connection with others as you seek to influence. (If you missed it, click here).

As you make your emotional connection, you want to be “full on,” using your body as part of making your case. This means using appropriate body and eye contact.

Let’s talk eye contact, first.

Here are some types of eye contact “blunderers” who defeat their own case before they present it:

  1. The Wanderer, or, “I am looking for my point somewhere in the room.” You’ve probably encountered someone like this. While talking, their eyes and head travel around the room as though looking for an answer of some kind, or as though they are trying to locate the point they actually want to make with you. Distracting! And it says, “I am not sure about what I am presenting, here.”
  2. The Mad Hatter, or, “I’m late and preoccupied with everything but you.” This doesn’t need much explanation. I once had a boss that fiddled with his texts, looked at his computer screen, and answered the phone – all while talking to me. Message? “I’m not with you – and I’m not with anyone else. Just keep talking and I’ll keep ignoring you.” Ineffective, to say the least, and “rude” is the word that really comes to mind.
  3. The Auger, or, “I may become a hypnotist in my next chapter.” This person seems to want to see through your head, when in fact, they have probably just read an article that tells them to maintain eye contact. Maintaining eye contact is not obsessively staring into someone’s eyes.
  4. The Obsessed, or, “That imaginary spot on your shirt is fascinating.” I have been present when some people have said to others, “Hey, my eyes are up here!” Staring at something on a person’s head, shirt, or anywhere else besides their eyes is disconcerting.
  5. The Selfie Artist, or, “I love to hear myself talking.” Here, the person is staring off into space while dominating the conversation. It’s as if she loves to hear the sound of her own voice and doesn’t need anyone else in the room. Frustrating – and off-putting.

You can probably think of more ineffective eye contact styles!

Here are some basic rules of thumb for good eye contact, which tells your listener that you are engaged, present, and interested:

  • Establish eye contact right away.

This sends the message that you are fully present with the other person, and not preoccupied with other things. There’s nothing more counter-productive in a conversation – especially one destined to influence – than looking all around or continually glancing at your phone or watch, which says, “I really don’t want to be here.”

  • Hold eye contact for 4-5 seconds at a time while conversing.

Riveting your eyes on the other person, no matter what is happening, can look and feel artificial and uncomfortable. You can break a “stare” by occasionally looking down or over from your conversation partner and then resume eye contact.

  • Soften a potential stare.

Feel strange looking straight into the other person’s eyes? Try this trick: look at the outer edge of one of your conversation partner’s eye’s iris. This can help you to be more at ease and will still have the appearance of direct eye contact without staring.

And now, a word about the rest of the body language!

Here’s a very brief checklist for success:

  1. Is your body turned toward and leaning in slightly toward the other person? This says, “I’m interested and engaged.”
  2. Are your arms open and hands uncurled (as opposed to crossed arms and tightened fists!)?
  3. Standing? Stand with feet aligned under shoulders.
  4. Sitting? Feet on the floor, and not tucked under your chair. Hands and forearms loosely apart on the table in front of you, or if no table, hands lightly resting on the armrests or just above your knees.
  5. Head and eyes to the horizon! A downward-cast head angle says, “I’m not confident or sure.” An upward-swing of the head that shows the underside of your chin says, “I’m hot stuff – and I’m not sure you are!”

Again, there are more refinements for best body language, but the 5 points above should get you headed in the right direction.

In sum, if you want to have more influence with others, tell them at every interaction that you are eager, interested, and engaged with them as human beings. Make this genuine, and make it a practice – it will pay off!

In our next “chapterette” about how to gain more influence, we will be talking about asking for favors. This may seem counter-intuitive, but asking for a favor can actually predispose others to want to help you more.

Stay tuned!

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