WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:04.160 Hey, this is Chris with Hacking your Leadership. On today's discussion and employee 2 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:07.160 engagement, we're going to be talking about the second letter in our culture acronym, 3 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:11.039 the letter you understand people. If you haven't listened to last Thursday's episode 4 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:14.240 on Consider Yourself, go back and do that. It's a good kind of 5 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:18.640 kickoff to this acronym that we discussed and created many years ago on the Hacking 6 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:24.239 Leadership podcast. When it comes to employee engagement, understanding your people it is 7 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:28.160 absolutely a prerequisite. You know, if you've considered yourself and now you're moving 8 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:31.239 forward to the next step, you have to understand what your people are looking 9 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:35.600 for. And this could be from as simple as you know. Some people 10 00:00:36.359 --> 00:00:40.240 like to be I don't want to say micromanage, but they want more support. 11 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:44.039 Other people want to be left alone. And figuring out what your people 12 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:49.000 want individually, not your what your team wants, but what each individual person 13 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.320 on your team wants. You need to do that as a leader, and 14 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:53.640 you need to show up in a way that each of them want you to 15 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.000 show up, not as the same person for all of them. Yeah, 16 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:59.600 I think it's such an important piece of this, you know, truly Understanding 17 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:07.159 people is having i think, a true curiosity and passion for what motivates people. 18 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:10.000 What are they interested in, why are they here, what are they 19 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:14.359 looking to accomplish, What are the things that they want to be involved in, 20 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:19.040 what are the things that demotivate them? Like, really really understanding them 21 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:22.760 as individuals, as you said, is such a critical piece when you're talking 22 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:26.840 about culture now based upon the level of leadership that you're in that you know, 23 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:32.079 that can be difficult if it's talking about hundreds or thousands of people on 24 00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:34.799 teams. But as a leader or a leader of leaders, the people that 25 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:41.000 you're typically responsible for are are in a small enough group that you can definitely 26 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:45.400 get to know them in a way that helps you to understand who they are 27 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:48.319 and what they do. And again, this does not mean that you know 28 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:52.480 every single person. You have to have this tremendous you know, knowledge of 29 00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:55.879 and kind of personal relationship where you spend time together like none of that. 30 00:01:55.959 --> 00:02:00.560 I'm just saying that you understand them in a way that it's clear or what 31 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:04.480 they need from you as a leader, it's clear what again, what they're 32 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:08.240 trying to accomplish. Both maybe you know professionally, but also then personally as 33 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:14.199 you start to kind of unpack those relationships. But those things are so critical 34 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:19.520 to making sure that when you're when you're considering yourself and now you're understanding your 35 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:23.919 people, when you're in a space where you're building strategies or having conversations, 36 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:28.120 you are well aware of the people in the room. You're you're aware of 37 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.360 their demeanors, You're aware of their leadership styles, You're aware of the way 38 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:35.240 in which they react to things, and that could be so helpful as you 39 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:38.000 are continuing to, you know, talk about the culture that you want to 40 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:40.879 build and implement things that are going to be helpful and having a healthy culture. 41 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:45.599 Right. I think when we wrote this, we intentionally left out the 42 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:50.360 word your It doesn't say understand your people, it says understand people. Now, 43 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:53.039 you do have to understand your people, you do have to, but 44 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:55.280 you have to understand people. You have to you have to like people. 45 00:02:55.759 --> 00:03:00.840 So you have to go into this from a standpoint of understanding what it is 46 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:07.800 that people want individually but as a whole. When it comes to humanity, 47 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:12.240 there are certain commonalities that we have. We want to be appreciated for who 48 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:15.719 we are, whatever that looks like, we want to feel like our voice 49 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:19.719 matters, whatever that looks like. We want to feel like we're not just 50 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:23.280 kind of grouped in with everybody else, but we're looked at as individuals, 51 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:25.680 not just as part of a team, although being part of a team is 52 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:32.000 also important. So you have to understand what things link us together in commonality, 53 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:37.080 and you don't have to look much further than inside yourself to figure that 54 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:39.400 out, because these are things that again are universal. And then once you 55 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:46.120 understand those things and you apply that lens to the actions that you take towards 56 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:53.919 your people, you'll have a much higher likelihood of understanding them individually and leading 57 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:58.280 them in a way that allows them to feel like you're considering their engagement that 58 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:01.240 you want them to be fully engaged. They will not fully engage in their 59 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:08.639 work unless they feel understood as people in general and as individuals. And so, 60 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:13.039 you know, whatever you can do as a leader to get yourself there 61 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:18.160 is important. Each person who is on your team is the main character in 62 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:21.199 their own story, and you're just a supporting part. And so in your 63 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:26.160 own story, you're the main character and they are supporting parts for them. 64 00:04:26.519 --> 00:04:29.319 You are the one that gets talked about at the dinner table at night. 65 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:32.720 You are the one that has a very very large impact on their mental health 66 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:38.439 and potentially even their physical health as employees, depending on how you go about 67 00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:40.879 leading them. So, you know, I want to give some advice to 68 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:43.759 leaders on how to understand their people a little bit better. But first I 69 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:46.600 want to get up towards one of our sponsors. All Right, if you're 70 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:49.879 a leader of people and you're trying to understand your team better, it starts 71 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:54.279 with very simple things like just asking them, sitting down with them and asking 72 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:57.680 them about themselves, not just about the type of leader they want you to 73 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.639 be, but what they're looking for out of not just their job, but 74 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:04.560 out of you know, their short and long term goals, and and really 75 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:10.199 internalizing them, writing them down and remembering them in a way that lets you 76 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:14.680 interact with them with those things in mind. Every time you interact with somebody, 77 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:16.279 it needs to be with the in the mindset of Okay, this is 78 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:19.720 where this person wants to go, not just tomorrow, but five years from 79 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:25.639 now, and and what am I doing in spirit of helping them accomplish that 80 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:29.199 goal that they have articulated to me? They may change it. You may 81 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:32.160 have to revisit with them all the over and over again, they may refine 82 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:36.160 it. But but whatever it is in the moment, that needs to be 83 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:40.959 your frame of reference when it comes to interacting with them and helping them accomplish 84 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:45.160 those things. Yeah, I think it's critical too, like to share with 85 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:48.160 them the intention of what you're doing, and also share that with them your 86 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:53.720 thoughts and like your your your goals and your passions and those types of things. 87 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:57.959 I think that when you're when you're looking to understand people and connect with 88 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:01.680 people, it's important they understand you. And so I think that you know, 89 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:08.240 as you're thinking about those conversations and getting to know people, telling them 90 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:11.560 upfront why you're doing it, saying things like, look, we're looking to 91 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:14.600 build the best culture possible here. And I truly believe that, Like, 92 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:17.800 the more that we understand each other, the more that we realize what the 93 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:21.920 skills are and the strengths are that we bring, The more that we understand 94 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.439 how we're motivated, how we're demotivated, how we like to get recognition, 95 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.920 how we like to talk about accountability. Like, as we have more of 96 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:32.600 these conversations collectively, it helps us to function better as a team. It 97 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:36.040 helps us to get our work done more efficiently, more effectively. It helps 98 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:41.480 us to celebrate each other's uniqueness and the things that we all bring, you 99 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:43.600 know, and so I want to start with that, like, let me 100 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:45.639 tell you a little bit about me and how I see the world and what 101 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:47.560 I do and what I think and what I'm trying to achieve in my life. 102 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:53.040 Like by doing that as a leader, I think it's super helpful. 103 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.439 So that way you're walking through this conversation sometimes maybe you've never had them, 104 00:06:56.680 --> 00:06:59.439 or you're having them for the first time. It doesn't seem foreign, it 105 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.879 doesn't seem like you're kind of overreaching. You're giving them the context to why 106 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:05.199 this is important to you and why you're doing this right. And the more 107 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:10.199 you can share about yourself, the more you will show your people who you 108 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:14.560 are. You know, people want a leader who is not just predictable, 109 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:18.399 but who they view as the real them. They don't want a leader who 110 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:23.360 they think is a different person when they're leading you versus when they're at home 111 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:27.519 or where they're with their friends. You know, they want to know that 112 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:30.519 you're just whoever you are, and that they can rely on that and that 113 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.720 you're not putting on an act or a show. The more you can share 114 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:39.439 about yourself, the more likely you are to have people who believe that's what's 115 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:42.959 actually going on here, because it's just about information. The more information they 116 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:46.920 have that will be checked against other information they have, and the more they 117 00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:50.439 see consistencies amongst that information as they learn things about you over time, the 118 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:54.480 more likely they are to think to themselves, Okay, Lorenzo is the same 119 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:58.000 person when he's here as when he's not here. That is a person who 120 00:07:58.040 --> 00:08:01.000 is predictable and reliable and trustworth the and who you can follow. A person 121 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:07.519 who is giving conflicting information not intentionally but just because they're withholding whatever they can, 122 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:11.720 or they're playing their cards too close to the vest. We'll get out 123 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:16.639 is little things that seem to be contradictory to each other because there's just not 124 00:08:16.839 --> 00:08:20.120 enough context to put the whole thing together and to paint a picture. And 125 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:24.519 that's when you get people who just they keep you at arms reach and they 126 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:28.879 don't inherently trust you with what their long term goals are because they haven't seen 127 00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:31.399 that you're willing to trust them with yours. It starts with you, trusting 128 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.759 them with yours if you want to see any type of engagement when it comes 129 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:37.759 to them. Thank you for joining us on this discussion and employee engagement. 130 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:41.559 We'll see you all next Thursday for the next one and we'll talk about lending 131 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:41.879 air support. Have a great day.