Workforce engagement is a hot topic these days. The Great Resignation has impacted business in every industry. It is hard to find talent, and it is hard to keep talent. At the center of all of this - people! People want to feel fulfilled at the end of the workday. They want to go home and feel like they've had an impact on the world in a positive way. Our Ignite Fulfillment Series is a Guide to Workforce Engagement and is meant for Business Leaders and Business Owners. This guide will help you focus on the elements that are required to have an engaged, fulfilled team!
The Fulfillment Elements:
1. Have a strong, healthy culture and ensure each team member lives in it every day!
2. Put everything in place so your team can be ACING their roles!
3. Appreciate them, authentically, every day!
4. Know your team is human and treat them as such.
ACING Their Roles
Having spent 20 years putting people in the best roles possible, I know all that can happen from the day you are hired to the day of your first review. And it is A LOT!
Expectations Change!
Picture this: You interview for a job and you fall in love with it. It has everything you want in the future. The right skills, the right objectives, the right mission! After a grueling interview about who you are and what you bring to the table, you get the job. You are so excited!
Day 1 is here. You dress up, polish your shoes and head off to your future.
First up, you meet with Human Resources to review the policy handbook. You have about 15 minutes to read the 45 page book that outlines everything you are supposed to know and do. You feel rushed to sign and then head off to meet your boss.
The Boss says "Hello and welcome to the team. Your desk is that one in the corner. (Whimsically pointing to the far cube in the corner) Everything you need is there. I've got a meeting. I'll see you at noon. Good luck!"
Your excitement doesn't wane... you get working. Day 1 goes okay. Week 1 goes okay. You gain confidence but don't have a lot to do. You start asking those around you want to do, or where you can help. They all give you some advice and even some tasks. You get to work, doing everything that everyone has suggested.
WHAT? Seriously!?
Three months in your boss meets with you. You are so excited because you feel productive and have great feedback from everyone around you. Then your boss says it. That one thing that devastated you. "I'm not sure what you've been up to around here, but this is not what we hired you to do!"
This happens all the time. Setting team members up for success is imperative to the growth of the business.
Remember, without people we don't have business.
As the leader and manager, you must ensure that they are ACING their role in the business' success.
Step One: Make Sure They Know Their Role
Define the "seat" they will sit in or their role in the business' success. Name it, give it a mission, define what they should obsess about weekly and give them a success number. This way, no matter what, they will know what they were hired to do. The focus will be there first! If they do get distracted, they will know what to come back to.
Once the seat is defined make sure they understand the seat and all it entails. Then you can begin a conversation with the team member about how they are ACING the role.
"Unhappiness lives in uncommunicated expectation"
Step Two: Make sure they are ACING that role!
ACING is a simple acronym to ensure that team members and managers stay on the same page! They must have all five elements to ensure they will be engaged, happy and fulfilled.
ABILITY to do the job. The person who takes on a role in a business must have the ability to do that job. Skills, experience, knowledge, etc. Without that, they will fail.
CAPACITY or space to get the job done. The team member may have two, or even three seats in the business. That is okay as long as they have the capacity to do so. Capacity can be time. It can also be LEADERSHIP CAPACITY. Are they capable of having tough conversations, motivating others, inspiring others?
INTEREST to learn more and do more in the job. If what you do doesn't interest them, they won't want to do it. Interest is imperative to growth and fulfillment. Pat Lencioni calls this HUNGRY in the Ideal Team Player.
In order to show up every day there has to be an inherent NEED to. A desire to show up and do good work. That need has to be there to be fulfilled at work.
I am a believer in The Working Genius, the Table Group's new Productivity assessment. It talks about living in your GENIUS more than your frustration. You will love what you do if you leave your day full of energy. Working within your GENIUS the majority of the time will help that.
Step Three: Check In Frequently
Frequent check-ins will help everyone stay on the same page. It doesn't have to be formal every time. Just a "Hey, how are you doing?" or a quick "Are you ACING your role today?" That quick question can help everyone align to expectation and whether the ability to meet that expectation is there.
Conclusion
As a Leader, it is your job to ensure your team has the tools and resources to understand if they are ACING their role. It is also your job to help them when they aren't. This is a two way street and when the traffic flows everyone will be happy, engaged and fulfilled!
If you want to learn more about ACING the role or even The Working Genius, go to www.heightenedleaders.com to start a conversation!