WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:04.559 Hey, this is Chris with Hacking your Leadership on today's discussion on employee engagement. 2 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:07.120 I want to talk about something that I've been seeing pop up in my 3 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:12.599 kind of trends and feeds a lot recently, and this is you know, 4 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:19.039 kind of sheets and tip sheets and posts and LinkedIn around productivity. And I 5 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:22.480 think this is interesting because when I first started popping up, I was thinking, 6 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:25.519 you know why, why is the algorithm giving me these things from all 7 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:29.760 these people talking about how to be productive during the day. And there was 8 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:33.679 one of them that that I saw that had something in it that made me 9 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:37.479 think, oh, you know what, maybe there's something here as it relates 10 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:42.000 to leadership and employee engagement that I just am not that I wasn't seeing at 11 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:45.119 first, because there's so many different ones out there. And it got me 12 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:49.159 thinking that if you want to be good at employee engagement, if you if 13 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:52.560 you want to you know, raise your hand as a leader and say you 14 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:58.000 were taking on the task of helping employees engage more productively and more fully with 15 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:03.159 their jobs and with their coworkers and their career pathing all of those things. 16 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:07.719 You have to be productive at it, meaning this isn't something you can just 17 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:15.879 sometimes do and sometimes not do. You have to be good at at getting 18 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:21.200 things done in that space, because it's a process to get people to a 19 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:25.000 place from where they don't feel engaged to where they do feel engaged, or 20 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:29.200 where they feel slightly disengaged, and you want to get their engagement a lot 21 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:34.319 higher. Any movement that on that scale requires active work as a leader, 22 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:40.159 and active work is made up of individual tasks that you have to get done. 23 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:42.599 And when I say tasks, you say you think of tasks, You 24 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:45.400 think of, you know, making my bed and cleaning my house. No 25 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.319 tasks are anything is on your to do list that you could put on a 26 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:53.959 calendar that has to get done, even if you don't know precisely how it's 27 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.879 going to go. It could just be the act of doing something that that 28 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.879 you know causes this to happen. But but when you were trying to get 29 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:06.519 people to engage more fully, it is a It is a step by step 30 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.400 process that involves all of these things you have to get done, and if 31 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:14.240 you're not working at calendarizing them or writing them down, or or figuring out 32 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:19.000 these lists of things to do, you're essentially just kind of like hoping the 33 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:22.919 employee becomes more engaged because you've done something, and that's that's not going to 34 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:24.960 work long term. Yeah, I agree. I think it's it's such an 35 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:34.000 important thing to consider how not only we spend time, but how we prioritize 36 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:38.120 time, but also like how do we like I don't want to dehumanize like 37 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:42.680 the idea of like tasks related to people, but the reality is, like, 38 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:46.319 that's it's a thing. It's very true. It's like, no, 39 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:51.439 a task of being a leader is having conversations with your team. A task 40 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:59.240 of being a leader is is doing things that may not be like in the 41 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:01.759 moment like this is a part of the business or the job or what we 42 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:07.199 quote unquote maybe should be doing, but like a part of it of leadership 43 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:13.159 and the work is like the informal dialogue and conversations and that how you know. 44 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:15.759 A mentor and leader of mine has said for years like leaders vote with 45 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:20.919 their time. Wherever you spend your time is what shows your people, which 46 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:23.520 you prioritize. So if you spend your time talking to people, if you 47 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:28.960 spend your time in some of these conversations and building relationships and understanding people's motivations, 48 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:32.199 and their their dreams and their inspirations, like these things matter to people 49 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:37.960 when building culture and when engaging your teams. Yeah, that's so true. 50 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:39.840 You know, I'm thinking about some of these things that are on these you 51 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:45.520 know, productivity charts and sheets and infographs as far as you know how to 52 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:50.560 be more productive, and when applying them to engaging employees, they really fit 53 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:53.800 well. And so I think about things like, you know, we've all 54 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:55.960 heard the term eat the frog, you know, tackle the most challenging task 55 00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:00.520 first, right, And that doesn't that isn't necessarily the one that is the 56 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:05.360 most challenging from a you know, a chore standpoint. It could be the 57 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:08.719 thing that you know in the pit of your stomach is the one that you're 58 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:13.199 avoiding. So thinking about you know, times when I've had large teams of 59 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:15.719 people reporting to me and I had a lot of stuff that I had to 60 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:19.519 get done on a given day. There were definitely days where there was something 61 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:24.000 that I knew I had to get done and I didn't want to do it, 62 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:27.480 and so I found ways of filling the day with other things that also 63 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:30.279 had to get done. Like they did. I was productive, but the 64 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:34.399 thing that I didn't want to do was still waiting for me the next day 65 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:36.959 and the day after that, and it still had to get done. And 66 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:42.959 if I think back on those times, I wasn't putting my all into the 67 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:46.519 other things that I just had to do instead, because part of my brain 68 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:49.040 was kind of locked onto that thing that I knew I had to get done 69 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:53.319 and didn't want to do. And so, you know, tackling that task 70 00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:56.399 first that does not the first thing in the morning, but first on your 71 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:59.600 to do list when you start engaging with your team as you start work for 72 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:02.920 the day, the thing that you want to do the least on that list 73 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:08.199 of things is the thing you should do absolutely first, if for no other 74 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:12.680 reason, then you can start engaging fully in the other things you have to 75 00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:16.120 get done without kind of you know, taking this having this this daunting thing 76 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:18.560 take away from you. I want to go over some of the things that 77 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:24.240 really successful leaders do in terms of being more productive and prioritizing the things they 78 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:27.160 have to get done to increase employe engagement with their teams. But first I 79 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:29.879 want to give up towards to one of our sponsors. All Right, if 80 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:31.879 you're a leader of people and you're trying to engage more fully with your team 81 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:36.879 and increase engagement with the people on your team. Two things that a lot 82 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:42.439 of great leaders do in this space who do it well are they calendarize everything. 83 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:46.600 They put things on the calendar that have to get done, because it's 84 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:50.959 so easy to go multiple days or weeks without doing something and not think that 85 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:54.319 that's what's happened, and to think, oh, I just did that recently, 86 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:57.639 I don't need to do it again. I'm talking about setting time on 87 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.439 the calendar for each person who reports directly to you, where you put them 88 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:03.800 on the calendar at an interval, and then you know when the last time 89 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:06.800 it was that you spoke to that person, that you had a conversation with 90 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:10.759 them about something that was not work related, that you had a conversation with 91 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.199 them about something they were doing well at work, or something they need to 92 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:16.160 get better at. Putting things on a calendar will tell you, in plain 93 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:20.600 black and white how productive you are as long as you're holding to it with 94 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:25.920 the things that you have to get done in terms of engaging with your people 95 00:06:26.199 --> 00:06:29.439 and making sure that the relationship is SELLI between you and them. The second 96 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:31.720 thing that a lot of leaders do who do this really well, is they 97 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:36.040 know what they don't have to get done. I speak back to that example. 98 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:40.519 I gave a minute ago on the things that I filled my day with 99 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:45.040 to avoid that one daunting task. In that particular case, they were all 100 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:47.399 things that I had to get done. In other cases, sometimes I can 101 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.000 fill my day with things that don't actually have to get done or don't have 102 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:55.240 to get done by me. They should be done by somebody else in an 103 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:58.800 attempt to avoid something else that I don't want to get done. So be 104 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:03.000 very good at deciding what doesn't need to get done and label those things as 105 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:05.720 such so you can't go back to them later and think I have to do 106 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:10.000 this. You already know that's not for you to do. Let that be 107 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:12.399 done by somebody else, and focus on the things that you're supposed to do 108 00:07:12.439 --> 00:07:14.720 as a leader. Yeah, and I would add in as well as you 109 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:17.279 know you mentioned this before the break, But I think planning out to have 110 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:23.319 the harder conversations, like when you talked about like the tasks that you don't 111 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:26.079 want to do, I think sometimes those tasks are like you know, you 112 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:29.600 need to go talk to that person and you need to have this conversation and 113 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:31.920 you talk about whatever this thing is, and you can give yourself a million 114 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:34.560 reasons why you don't want to do that today, or it's not the right 115 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:38.079 time, or it's not like you know, all those types of things. 116 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:45.160 But I think that prioritizing those things in those conversations, I feel strongly that 117 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:48.199 you need to get to those quickly. The longer you have in between, 118 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:51.839 you know, when something happens or when a conversation needs to be had, 119 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:58.279 and when you actually have the conversation, it just creates space for a lot 120 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:00.959 of things that can cause a lot of problems into the future. So I 121 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:05.519 do think the calendation, the calendarization piece is critical. But then also moving 122 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:11.319 forward, moving up on the calendar the things again that you don't want to 123 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:13.439 do or that maybe not the most enjoyable part of the job, but need 124 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:16.240 to get done, get those done fast, and get them done quickly, 125 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:20.920 and get them done kind of on the front end and in a timely manner 126 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:24.360 so that you're not pushing them down the road. Because just by simply as 127 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:30.759 a leader, allowing something to not be addressed kind of is by default co 128 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:33.320 signing the behavior, whatever that might be. So like jumping in and doing 129 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:37.519 those quickly are or really really important. Right If the longer you wait before 130 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:41.720 giving somebody feedback on something, or or clearing the air or having the conversation 131 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:46.480 that at least level sets where the two of you stand on something, the 132 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:50.200 longer you push that that away or kick the can down the road, it's 133 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:56.639 very very unlikely that the situation won't get worse. It is virtually never a 134 00:08:56.679 --> 00:09:01.120 situation that will get better on its own if it's something where you need to 135 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:03.759 address it, but in most cases it will get worse. So yeah, 136 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:09.240 don't don't avoid those things, take them on. You know the old adage 137 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:11.759 the best time to plant a tree was one hundred years ago, and the 138 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:15.799 second best time is right now that this This is what you need to do. 139 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:18.600 Any of those tasks where you think to yourself, I should have done 140 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:20.679 that yesterday. If you're already thinking that, then do it now, like 141 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:26.159 right now, and make sure that it's done in a way that is respectful 142 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:31.159 of the the employee and the relationship that you're trying to maintain and the kind 143 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:35.879 of the the the ability for that employee to move forward through whatever it is 144 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:43.840 they have to move forward with without allowing the behavior to continue, you know, 145 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:46.879 simply out of because you you didn't address it in time, and now 146 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:50.759 you feel like you owe them some sort of of of grace. That's not 147 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:54.200 necessarily the case. The if a behavior needs to stop, and needs to 148 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:58.960 stop right away, and it's on you as a leader to address the fact 149 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.080 that you should have that you should have done this earlier and didn't, but 150 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:03.080 now you're moving forward with it, and now you want to make sure they're 151 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:05.000 on the same page with you. Thank you all for joining us for this 152 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.600 episode of Employe Engagement. We'll see you all next Thursday. Have a great day.