WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:04.280 Hey, this is Chris with Hacking Your Leadership and on this conversation around employee 2 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:08.679 engagement. I want to do a little follow up to the core Hacking your 3 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:12.720 Leadership episode that Lorenzo I did on Monday. We were talking about coaching habits 4 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:16.280 for leaders. If you haven't listened to that episode yet, please go go 5 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:21.879 do so. But we had some feedback from some listeners talking about one of 6 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:26.039 those elements of coaching around appreciating people, and I thought, well, this 7 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:29.839 is this is a great topic to have when we're talking about employee engagement because 8 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:35.359 I think over time a lot of people have expressed that a feeling of appreciation 9 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:41.079 or recognition for the work that they're doing has become significantly more important. And 10 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:46.000 you know, it's a topic that resonates with me as a leader of people, 11 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:49.960 because if I want people to engage in their job, then I need 12 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.399 to do what they're expressing is important to them. And you know, I 13 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:58.119 grew up in a household where the you know, just getting done the things 14 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:00.119 that I was supposed to get done led to you know, hugs and kisses 15 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.680 from my mom and my dad with a subtle nod saying good good job. 16 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:07.879 Thank you move on. And it was this kind of element of this duality 17 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:14.159 of you know, he believed that if I got too much recognition for doing 18 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:18.680 something that I was supposed to do, that it would lead to a complacency 19 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:22.280 or not doing that anymore. He believed in recognition for the above and beyond. 20 00:01:22.760 --> 00:01:26.480 And while recognition for above and beyond, I think is important, recognition 21 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:30.480 for just doing your job, recognition for doing the things that you're supposed to 22 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:34.840 do. That is incredibly important to a lot of people. And if you're 23 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:40.000 a leader, you need to start getting in the habit of appreciating people for 24 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:44.120 just doing their job in a way that is sincere. I think this is 25 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:49.760 important because if an employee is only getting recognition when they go above and beyond, 26 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:55.040 then they will start getting complacent. You have exactly the opposite effect if 27 00:01:55.079 --> 00:02:00.319 you start giving people appreciation and recognition for just doing their job. The reason 28 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:04.959 why that's important is because there they have peers who are not doing that well, 29 00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:08.319 and to set them apart from those that are not doing it well is 30 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:13.800 important. If everybody is doing things well, it becomes less of a big 31 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:16.439 deal. But it is important to give that recognition and that appreciation. What 32 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:20.800 do you think about this? Yeah, I think it's a great conversation and 33 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:27.159 it's clear that people feel a certain way about it. And I remember back 34 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:30.759 in it's probably two three years at this point, but do you remember the 35 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:34.039 employee from Burger King, Like when you're talking about it, reminded me of 36 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:38.759 that that like had a like like like twenty seventy years right, and and 37 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:43.520 and it kind of got like a movie ticket and a Starbucks cup and of 38 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:46.360 course, like the internet went crazy. Oh yeah, like you know what 39 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:46.919 I mean, like, like, what are you out of your mind? 40 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:49.759 I think they raised a bunch of money for him. But anyway, that's 41 00:02:49.800 --> 00:02:52.520 beside the point. Yeah. What it tells you, though, is that, 42 00:02:52.599 --> 00:03:00.080 like there is this sense of understanding that while you could recognize and do 43 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:04.319 some things for like outstanding work and when people kind of like really push the 44 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:07.039 envelope or do more than what's expected. Yes, of course you want to 45 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.120 recognize those things, but you've got to remember that like so many people on 46 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:15.080 a team that come to work and just do solid work, do really really 47 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:20.199 good jobs, do it consistently, do it without requiring you know, a 48 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:23.800 lot of coaching or training or whatever. The case is like so many more 49 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:28.000 people fall into that bucket, and you want to make sure that they feel 50 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:31.520 appreciated and special and and yes, you want to do the things that you 51 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:36.360 know sometimes we poke fun at, which is like the hey, here's the 52 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:38.759 you know, the Hawaiian shirt Friday, Here's the casual Friday, here's the 53 00:03:38.759 --> 00:03:43.439 pizza party. Like, yes, those things happen, and people make memes 54 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:47.479 about them. They do mean something, But more importantly, that's just kind 55 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:53.919 of general recognition for everybody typically versus there being a way of making sure that 56 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:59.719 people feel validated personally and they feel appreciated for the work that they do day 57 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:02.680 in and day out, away from the ones where it's kind of like an 58 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:06.439 extreme example of really really great work. I like that because I think, 59 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:11.080 you know the in my mind, I was thinking about you know, Hawaiian 60 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:15.039 shirt Fridays and pizza parties before you even said that in terms of the tie 61 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:20.399 in here, because when when organizations get made fun of for doing those things 62 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:25.480 like you know, providing donuts or pizza. Uh, They're not getting made 63 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:29.360 fun of for providing something for the employee. They're getting made fun of because 64 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:33.800 the perception is that that the leadership of the organization believes that those things are 65 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:41.319 a substitute for the daily recognition and appreciation that employees deserve and need and are 66 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:45.959 demanding. And when it's a substitution for that, that's when you have a 67 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:54.040 problem because because it it calls out this this almost the lack of that being 68 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:57.680 there every single day, when you try to make up for it with a 69 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.079 pizza party or or a Hawaiian shirt Friday. It's like, you know, 70 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:04.800 before, before we had kids, my wife did some bartending, and there 71 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:11.879 was She always said that she liked it better when a person wouldn't leave a 72 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:15.519 tip than if they left like a dollar on like a you know, one 73 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:19.680 hundred dollar tab, because she at least would could, in her mind leave 74 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:24.360 their thinking maybe they forgot, or maybe they didn't know, or maybe they 75 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:27.279 thought there was a tip but there wasn't one, and at least she could 76 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:29.800 like, you know, kind of make peace with that. When it was 77 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.240 a dollar one hundred dollars. The the impression that she got was like, 78 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:39.040 how how dare you think that you did okay by giving like like they get 79 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:42.839 to walk out thinking, yes, I gave that person a tip and all 80 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:45.279 is well now it's like, no, you, you don't get to have 81 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:48.199 that sense of satisfaction of doing that. I'd rather not get anything. And 82 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:51.759 it's the exact same thing. If you, as a leadership team are are 83 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:59.480 are thinking that pizza parties and Hawaiian shirt Fridays are the substitution for actual appreciation. 84 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.040 That's when you get made fun of because you don't get to have that 85 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:06.199 sense of satisfaction thinking I did right by my people because I don't engage with 86 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:09.600 them, I don't coach them, I don't appreciate them. But they got 87 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:14.439 pizza today. That's not allowed right. They'd rather have nothing. Then have 88 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:17.000 you think you got away with kind of pulling the wole over their eyes. 89 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:20.839 I think where this is being done right is where it's being done every single 90 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:24.839 day. And I don't mean that pizza is provided every day, because even 91 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:30.160 that becomes superficial. It's when people are genuinely being appreciated for actual things that 92 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:35.160 they are doing. Where a leader can articulate an example of what somebody did, 93 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:40.040 even if it's part of their of their core job description, because it 94 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:43.839 shows that you notice that they're doing it and that you believe it's important to 95 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:47.000 the success of them and of the team and of the organization. And if 96 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:49.920 you can root it in that, and you can do that often, then 97 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:54.680 first of all, you don't need the pizza party. But when you do 98 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:57.600 it, it becomes just like a hey, I just thought this would be 99 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:00.120 cool today, not I'm trying to make up for something that is lacking elsewhere 100 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:04.560 where it's not done right. Is when you wake up and go, oh 101 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:08.000 my gosh, I haven't done this for weeks or months, I need to 102 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.759 do something, and you start throwing spagheti at the wall to see what sticks 103 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:13.800 in the hopes that you can kind of get through it. If you find 104 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:16.800 yourself in a situation where you're lacking this as a leader and you're not doing 105 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:21.120 this well, you can't fool them. You have to call out your own 106 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:25.120 failure to them and ask how it can get better, because they already know 107 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:28.040 it's a failure. I want to get into some advice for leaders here if 108 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:30.399 they're trying to get better at this, But first I'm gonna give toward to 109 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:32.360 one of our sponsors a right. I think if you're trying to get better 110 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:35.439 at this as a leader, the first thing is you have to own whatever 111 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:40.319 mistakes are yours. You have to own the lack of this when it comes 112 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:43.920 to your people, even if it means calling yourself out publicly in front of 113 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:46.000 them as a team or one on one to let them know that you understand 114 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:48.879 that this is important and that you have not done as good a job as 115 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:51.279 you can at this. Have you ever had to do this to somebody who 116 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:55.160 learns though? Yeah, No, absolutely, I think that it happens quite 117 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:57.720 often where it's like you, sometimes as a leader, you just have to 118 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:00.160 hit that reset button a little bit and get in front of the team and 119 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:01.279 say, hey, this is something that i've heard, or this is something 120 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:03.879 that I've seen, or somebody brought this up and I just want to address 121 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:07.560 it collectively, like hey, we need to get better here and we need 122 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:11.879 to figure out a way to make this more impactful. And so you know 123 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:13.879 what I'm going to do, and the kind of here's the commitment is that 124 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.160 we're going to ask you. We're gonna spend some time, get some information 125 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:20.040 like what what are the things you'd like to see? How how would this 126 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:22.199 work? What are some ways that we could do this and gather some insight 127 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:26.120 from all of you, and then share out what we learn. I think 128 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:28.040 that that's absolutely the right approach to this, Like well, like with most 129 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.159 things in leadership, I think if you're if you're upfront, if you're transparent, 130 00:08:31.200 --> 00:08:35.759 if you share there's an opportunity and you're willing to make the changes to 131 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:37.159 fix it, you'll get a lot of grace from the team. But you 132 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:39.799 also have to make sure that you follow through on those things. You can't 133 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:43.440 just say that you're going to do it, or you know, express that 134 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:46.559 it's an opportunity, or send an email and say like, hey, I've 135 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:48.000 heard this, I've like you got to go out there and really own it 136 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:52.320 and then lead through the front of that. And I think that in those 137 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:56.639 in those situations, you'll get a lot of good information and people will choose 138 00:08:56.679 --> 00:08:58.519 and what you might find out for the team is like, you know what, 139 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:01.919 maybe we don't have a whole bunch of ideas, but maybe this could 140 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:03.720 be a change, or maybe that could be a change, or maybe it's 141 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:07.960 a random thing or maybe like sometimes it's funny because I've I've heard it both 142 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:11.639 ways. People are like, you know, I like it better when I 143 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:13.799 know when we're gonna have a recognition day or a pizza day, because then 144 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:18.759 I won't bring my food right right. And then you're also and you're like, 145 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:20.879 you're like, come on, like I try to do something nice and 146 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:24.399 people don't like, but but likes that's legitimate. It's legitimate. Sometimes like 147 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:28.120 you got to take that in and you have to talk about it and you 148 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:30.600 have to understand it. And maybe is that a one or two off, 149 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.879 you know, situation in people or or is this a larger thing from an 150 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:37.279 office standpoint or from a workspace standpoint? So yeah, I think that you 151 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.879 just need to talk and find out and ask questions. And then if the 152 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:43.039 team can see that you're taking that into account, then I think you get 153 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:48.679 a lot more of an opportunity to continue to recognize and personally and have it 154 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:52.440 be very authentic. The last thing I want to say about this is that 155 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:56.519 if you think you don't have the resources to do this, I'm I'm positive 156 00:09:56.519 --> 00:10:01.879 in telling you this you're wrong. And here's I mean. If if your 157 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:05.879 people are saying that what they are are lacking or needing to feel appreciated and 158 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:11.039 recognized, if what if what they're saying costs money, then it means you're 159 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:16.080 already failing at the stuff that they need that is that does not cost money, 160 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.600 and and those things are being articulated as substitutes for the things that are 161 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:24.000 needed all the time. Appreciating people, noticing the work that they're doing well 162 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:28.679 and making sure that they feel recognized for that in a way that is impactful 163 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:31.960 to them and in a way that they liked being they liked being recognized. 164 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:37.039 That doesn't cost anything besides a commitment to doing it and a belief that it 165 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:41.600 is a requirement. If you approach this from a standpoint of, like, 166 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:43.799 you know, kind of rolling your eyes and grumble, grumble, like, 167 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:46.960 I guess if they need to if they need a cookie for doing their job, 168 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:50.480 I guess I'll throw them a cookie. That's that you shouldn't be in 169 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:54.879 a leadership role if that's how you if that's how you view this, Appreciating 170 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:58.480 people for what they're doing well, even for just doing their job that they're 171 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:03.039 expected to do, is a requirement, and if you need to muster that 172 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:07.759 up in a way that is sincere, if for no other reason, then 173 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:11.080 clearly you can find examples of employees that work for you that do not do 174 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:15.759 this well. So it's not a given that people are doing this well. 175 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:18.519 It is a given that some people are and some people aren't. And you 176 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:22.440 know, the squeaky wheel tends to get the grease sometimes, and that leaders 177 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:26.519 spend a lot of their time trying to coach up people who are not doing 178 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:30.120 things well, and they don't spend enough time focusing on people who are already 179 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:33.440 doing things well, and those are the people that will leave. So so 180 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:35.759 do this the right way for the people who are doing things well, they're 181 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:39.759 less likely to leave, and that appreciation will go a long way in terms 182 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:43.799 of just maintaining that engagement. It is needed and it is noticed. Thank 183 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:46.960 you all for listening today. Join us next Thursday for another discussion on employe 184 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:48.399 engagement. Have a great day.