WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:04.000 Hey, this is Chris with Hacking Your Leadership. On today's discussion on employee 2 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:08.720 engagement. I want to talk about different mission, vision value statements that organizations 3 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:13.800 have and how that leads to an increase or decrease in employee engagement, and 4 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:18.280 how leaders execute with regards to those statements. I had an opportunity to talk 5 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:23.960 with a person recently who's close to me, and they were kind of reminiscing 6 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:27.440 about a story they had a few years ago when they were in the workforce 7 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:33.600 and talking about how they made a mistake and their boss was kind of sitting 8 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:38.159 down with them and talking with them about what that mistake was. And one 9 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:42.600 of the things that was that was said during that conversation, after this person, 10 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.000 you know, kind of gave this side of the story, the boss 11 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:50.600 responded with, Okay, let me let me seek knowledge here. And it 12 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:55.640 was a it was a kind of a weird kind of out their response and 13 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:59.759 and come to find out that those were the actual words that they use as 14 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:03.400 part of their you know, mission or values or leadership values statements, and 15 00:01:03.400 --> 00:01:07.159 and the person I was speaking to said that it was at that moment that 16 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:10.239 they just immediately kind of shut down and went Okay, this, this conversation 17 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:14.239 is over in my own mind, like nothing, nothing productive is happening here 18 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:18.079 anymore. And I remember thinking, yeah, that that's that sounds like the 19 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.599 person really didn't know what to say, and they were they were using the 20 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:26.040 company values or whatever they are, the mission or vision statement as a crutch 21 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:27.959 to get through the situation. It kind of led me to this thought process 22 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:32.760 of the that I think in a lot of organizations, leaders do this, 23 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:37.519 and then in a lot of organizations, leaders actually do the thing as opposed 24 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:40.719 to just you know, kind of parroting what the what the line on paper 25 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:46.359 is. Uh, it's a It's a fascinating discussion because obviously this person's engagement 26 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:51.439 dropped to basically zero from that point forward after this conversation. But I think 27 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:57.439 another leader in a different circumstance could have increased employee engagement given the the same 28 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:01.120 exact values or same exact mission statement. Yeah that it sounds. It made 29 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:05.519 me laugh a little bit because it sounds very much like an AI response. 30 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:08.159 Does that manage like a real person or is that like because it's kind of 31 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:15.680 like you know, computing Chris, Yeah, Chris, I had this situation 32 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:19.759 earlier and I wanted to kind of bring it to your attention. Thank you, 33 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:23.000 Lorenzo. I am here to hear you out and make sure that we 34 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:28.960 seek to understand your concerns and bring our values of trust and integrity to life. 35 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:34.240 Please continue, right, Yeah, it is. We talk a lot 36 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:37.879 about authenticity obviously on the show and as a leader and that type of thing. 37 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:43.639 And while I can appreciate the connection to making sure that the leader is 38 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:46.800 aligned with the values or the mission of an organization and saying like this is 39 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:52.479 what I'm supposed to do in this moment, I can appreciate that just saying 40 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:58.520 it out loud just does not seem very authentic or natural, and can immediately 41 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:01.960 do what I guess happened, which is move really the element of like trust 42 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:06.800 and and kind of realness to the conversation. I think that you know, 43 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:09.639 in those moments, the thing for that leader to do was to simply say 44 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:12.240 like, oh, okay, thank you that you know what, like, 45 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:15.120 let me, let me, let me find out some more about this, 46 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:17.800 then get back with you. Right Like that sounds like a human answer to 47 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:23.280 I'm going to go gain more knowledge versus trying to pull in. It's it's 48 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:25.919 it's seek knowledge. You have to get it right, seek knowledge. Sorry, 49 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:30.479 I'll take the feedback right now and give myself a lower than expected return 50 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:36.280 on my review this coming season. Yeah, but that's what I'm saying. 51 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:38.759 It's like, it's kind of like if you're that robotic or if you feel 52 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:42.360 the need to do that, and you know what, I hear it a 53 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:47.360 lot too sometimes with like like like quotes from like books and authors and things 54 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:51.240 like that. Somebody will do something and they'll be like a haha, it's 55 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:54.879 this, and you're just like okay, like maybe it was that, but 56 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:00.439 also like there's no like, there's no need to trademark the quote to like 57 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:03.560 book, and then they just let it be the thing. And I think 58 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:08.280 it's a similar case in that. But I think it's it's important as leaders 59 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:13.520 to not just like regurgitate what those words are and then think that it's going 60 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:15.360 to come across as truly being authentic, right, even if it is, 61 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:18.399 Oh you no, you're you're not wrong. I think a lot of organizations 62 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:23.079 have made a lot of strides over the past, you know, maybe ten 63 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:28.279 or fifteen years in making sure that whatever the words are are ones that are 64 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:32.639 at least more more objective, right, they're less of this kind of ethereal. 65 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:35.600 You know, I can, I can shoehorn whatever decision I want to 66 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:40.680 make into this mission statement or vision statement. I think a lot of companies 67 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:45.439 have done some really good good work in terms of giving people more tangible, 68 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:50.360 more objective measures of whatever those values are. But but no matter what you 69 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:55.720 do as an organization in terms of getting the verbiage right, it doesn't matter 70 00:04:55.800 --> 00:05:00.920 if the leaders who are executing it find more value in saying them as opposed 71 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:06.839 to actually doing them. And they're only as effective as the level of commitment 72 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:11.759 to them that the leaders have in terms of what can be seen, not 73 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:16.360 what can be said or regurgitated or written down. But if I can watch 74 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:20.959 my leader actually do these things, not just say that they're doing them, 75 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:25.800 that is what is needed to bring the values to life, And that is 76 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:30.360 what is needed to have me feel engaged as an employee in what I'm being 77 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:32.959 asked to do, which hopefully are the exact same values, because they shouldn't 78 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:36.199 be different for different positions in an organization. If I'm being asked to do 79 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:40.120 something, the very first thing I'm going to do is look around me to 80 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:43.160 see are my leaders doing this? Also? Are there different rules for different 81 00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:46.720 people here or are the things that I'm being held to the same exact standards? 82 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:49.519 From a value standpoint, we have to everybody's different jobs, but from 83 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:54.959 a value standpoint, is everybody being held to the exact same standard. I 84 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.639 want to go over some kind of goals for leaders here in terms of making 85 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:00.759 sure this is happening, make sure your people can see you in a positive 86 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:02.839 light when it comes to this. But first want to get up toward from 87 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:05.639 one of our sponsors. All Right, if you're a leader and you're trying 88 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:10.399 to make your values of your organization come to life in order to improve employee 89 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:13.199 engagement, the key is going to be that you need to be able to 90 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:16.120 speak to what the values are, but in hindsight, based on a behavior 91 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:19.519 or a decision that you've already made. And so if you're questioned on something 92 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:23.199 or even if you're just you know, kind of teaching or training your team, 93 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:27.079 a decision that you've made or an action you've taken with a client or 94 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:31.079 a customer or another employee, if you can tie that into a specific value, 95 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:34.079 it's okay to say what that value is, but it can't be in 96 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:38.959 the context of what you're going to do or what you're thinking about doing. 97 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:41.920 It has to be this is what I did, and this is why I 98 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:44.879 did it, because this is the value of the organization that I'm trying to 99 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:47.839 live. And then you can ask for feedback on whether or not that person 100 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:53.639 perceives that decision as aligning with that value also. But the more you can 101 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:57.199 do this, the more you can show your people that the decisions you make 102 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:00.399 are with those values in mind, they're with the spirit of those in mind. 103 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:02.839 That you're not just kind of, you know, making decisions happenstance or 104 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:09.199 or you know, taking the expedited route. You're you're looking at those values 105 00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:12.720 as a kind of a bumper on your decision making process, and that you 106 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:16.120 know that they have to be viewed in the context of what decision are about 107 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:19.600 to make. Your those have to be considered. Not doing that as a 108 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:24.639 recipe for leading your people to believe that you know, the decisions you make 109 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:28.000 are not in spirit of those values, and then they'll feel like they have 110 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:30.079 permission to not follow values themselves. Yeah, I think it's a great point, 111 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:34.000 Like you absolutely need to talk about the values the mission, the vision, 112 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:36.279 like any of those types of things. I think it's a critical part 113 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:41.360 of leadership. And we've talked about like the importance of localizing those things for 114 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:44.360 your teams. Like like you you know, you've always said for a long 115 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:46.720 time, like like why does the company exist? Why does that person want 116 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:50.759 to be there? Like like the idea of aligning with the values of an 117 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:55.240 organization the work, that's important, and so it should definitely be talked about 118 00:07:55.639 --> 00:08:01.319 and reflected on, and you know, post a decision or an interaction or 119 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:05.319 something where you really had to live those values. I like what you're talking 120 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:09.040 about, which is like share that and share what it was, and share 121 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:13.120 how that brought that value to life in the moment. It's just that the 122 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:18.680 language and the authenticity matter the most in the moments as a leader. And 123 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:22.319 if you don't want it to come across, is that the reason the reason 124 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:26.199 why I'm doing this, Chris, is simply because it's a value that we 125 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:31.439 have with the organization versus I'm doing this because it's the right thing. It's 126 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:35.120 a value that I share with the organization, and it aligns. You know, 127 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.360 later on we can talk about that. Like those are two different things. 128 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:41.919 That make people feel two different ways, and those types of conversations and 129 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:45.440 interactions, and that's kind of what we're coming across, is that if you 130 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:48.759 quote a value or a mission thing in the middle of doing it, then 131 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:52.360 it seems as if the only reason why you're doing it is because of that. 132 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:56.200 Now that might not be true, but that's how it comes across. 133 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:00.720 So just being conscious of that is needed now. Sometimes though, I will 134 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:05.120 say, sometimes stating the value or the mission is your intention, and it's 135 00:09:05.159 --> 00:09:09.600 a reminder to people that in the conversation as to what you are referring to 136 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:13.159 and why it's important and why in this moment it might be it might be 137 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:16.159 critical for us to remember that this is a values thing so that we can 138 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:20.559 make the best decision possible. Sometimes there is a reason to do it. 139 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:24.759 I'm just saying that in the case that we started us off with like that 140 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:30.080 did not seem like the appropriate response from a verbal standpoint to the conversation. 141 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:33.759 But there's definitely sometimes a need to state the values or the mission to make 142 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:39.120 sure that people are are kind of refocusing on the lens that we're going to 143 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:41.960 look through when we make a decision. Right. I remember when my kids 144 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:46.320 were young, I took them to Sea World and my son, at the 145 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:50.000 age of four, walked out of a gift shop carrying a stuffed animal that 146 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:52.639 he was trailing behind me. I didn't see it, done it now. 147 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:54.480 He didn't know what shoplifting was. He was four years old. He just 148 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:58.080 saw something and he liked it, but I didn't. I didn't. We 149 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:03.120 didn't bring it back to the store and me sit him down and go, 150 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:05.399 son, we don't take that because it's against the law, you know. 151 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:07.600 I sat him down and said, we don't take this because it doesn't belong 152 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:13.200 to us. Right, So the value is the important part here. The 153 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:16.639 fact that it's written on paper somewhere is secondary. And if that becomes the 154 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:20.639 primary, then you've lost all credibility as a leader to say why a person 155 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:24.799 should should do this. All you're saying is do this if it aligns with 156 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:26.240 your own values. If it doesn't and it's just the company values, oh, 157 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:28.840 then don't worry about it. Right. It needs to align with your 158 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:33.200 personal values. It needs to be rooted in something different or deeper than just 159 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:37.320 somebody wrote somebody down on paper. Once the fact that it's on paper is 160 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:39.600 a good thing, and it means, hey, you're in the right spot 161 00:10:39.639 --> 00:10:43.039 because your personal values align with the values of this organization, so you can 162 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:46.840 feel good about that. But the reason for doing it is not because somebody 163 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:50.440 told you you had to. It's because you know the feeling you get when 164 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:54.519 you do the right thing versus not doing the right thing. Thank you all 165 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:56.440 for joining us for this conversation on employee engagement and we'll see you next Thursday 166 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:58.399 for another one. Have a great day.