In her November 14 “Your Best Next Move” video, Bobbie LaPorte discusses the second of the 3 Cs of Employee Engagement: Certainty. That’s something that’s pretty hard to come by these days! But you as a leader do have the power to create some certainty to keep your team focused and engaged. Watch now:
Transcript of Your Best Next Move: A New 3 Cs Approach to Employee Engagement – Part 2
Hi everyone, Bobbie LaPorte here again with my weekly leadership tip for your Best Next Move, where I help you see continuing curveballs as an opportunity.
Last week I focused on the issue of employee engagement – again. It continues to be an important issue for most companies. I cited a new survey from the Conference Board where 30% of employees say their level of engagement is lower than six months ago. And 18% said their level of effort had declined over the last six months.
There has been so much emphasis on this issue, and we seem to be making little if any, progress. I certainly don’t have any magic answers, but last week I offered perhaps a new way of approaching this issue based on my experience training for endurance events. I suggested three points that have helped me successfully cross the finish line that I hope will be helpful to consider.
They are the three Cs:
- Connection
- Certainty
- Contribution
Last week I covered Connection. This week let’s examine the concept of Certainty.
The basic concept here is that our brains are not wired to deal with uncertainty. And given the continuing state of uncertainty, we find ourselves in – both on a macro environment level and on the ground in our own companies – it’s not a surprise that people are retrenching and disengaging.
When faced with unrelenting uncertainty and the high cognitive load this produces in all of us, we default to the negative. We don’t believe we have any control over our environment or have the personal agency to make things happen, so we just hunker down and take a “go-it-alone” mode that further disconnects and disengages us from our work and from others.
As leaders, you, too, have limited control over what is happening at the macro and organizational levels. But you can create some certainty to help your team members stay engaged.
Here’s my tip:
Think simple. You don’t have to launch a big program or initiative to help create certainty.
For example: make sure expectations are clear about near-term deliverables you’ve asked of your team members.
Restate what you expect, when, and who can possibly be a resource for them to complete it. Don’t assume that they know – even if you have already told them. When cognitive load is high, even the most minor tasks and details can be confounding. Just a simple reminder and reassurance that they are on track can go a long way to creating much-needed certainty and keeping your team members engaged and connected.
That’s my tip for the week. Next week we’ll cover the third “C” – Contribution. I’ll see you next Monday.