Have you ever tried to accomplish something challenging while working with a group of people who were checked out and disengaged? You probably felt like you were carrying a heavy load on your own.
Compare that to a time when you worked just as hard but with teammates who were emotionally committed to success and brought their best every day.
What a difference!
Great companies prioritize creating a thriving workplace where their employees feel inspired, purposeful, and engaged. When people are emotionally committed to their work, they are happier and more productive, and the business enjoys benefits like increased revenue, profitability, and retention.
But how do they do it? How do they create a workplace where everyone’s sleeves are rolled up because they feel invested in the work they are doing?
The Four Engagement Elevators
Peek inside a few companies known for their thriving cultures and you will find they pay close attention to four factors that have the most significant effect on engagement.
At Up Your Culture, we call these the “Four Engagement Elevators” because when company leaders intentionally use them, they can substantially elevate employee engagement. These Elevators are:
Today, we are going to focus on the People Development Engagement Elevator.
It’s just common sense that when managers care deeply about their people and consistently invest in their growth, good things happen. When an entire organization makes this a priority, people thrive!
How To Elevate People Development
Here are a few pro tips to help you elevate People Development:
- Understand the innate strengths and weaknesses of each person you manage so you coach them to maximize their strengths and work around their weaknesses.
- Clearly communicate your expectations so every employee knows exactly what they are shooting for and what success will look like.
- Learn what makes each person you work with “tick.” If you understand their interest, fears, and passions, you can build strong individualized relationships and coach them to go further than they would have otherwise.
- Demonstrate your trust by delegating important work that can grow your people. Discuss your belief that they can handle it and let them fully own it, but support them when necessary.
- Commit to coaching your people (even your veterans) on a regular basis. Even the best athletes in the world have a coach to point out what they are doing with excellence and help them continue to grow.
- Treat them how they want to be treated (not how you would want to be treated in their shoes). For example, some may like public recognition, while others may find it very uncomfortable.
- Open up with those you work with and share information about yourself that will help them understand you and know how to communicate and collaborate best with you.
- Provide consistent and meaningful feedback on what your people are doing well and help them to identify precisely what they could be doing differently to achieve greater success.
- Always celebrate success.
Making People Development a Core Cultural Value
People Development can’t be a “sometimes” activity. Instead, it needs to be an ever-present part of your culture and accurately define how you do things there.
The speed of business is lightning-fast, and the number of distractions in your day is only rivaled by the number of fires you need to extinguish. That means you must have a consistent process for growing and developing your people. If you wait until you have time, it will never happen.
Start by selecting one thing from the list above (or create your own) and then commit to doing it consistently. Once it feels natural to you, select another item to add to your plan. Keep that rolling until you see your people growing in their jobs and feeling more engaged at work.
Beth Sunshine is the Senior Vice President of Talent Services and a Partner at The Center for Sales Strategy.