Keeping people energized and engaged is one of the greatest challenges of any business. We are in challenging times.
Businesses need staff that are motivated and committed to the job at hand. They need to be surrounded by people who care and who are excited about the roles that they are in.
Being in a room full of exhausted people who have given up is not an environment for success. Exhaustion comes from many places at work. We get mentally exhausted from bad leadership and constant meetings. Teams get emotionally drained from lack of flexibility and unrealistic expectations and people get physically demotivated from poor environments and not having the right resources to do the right work.
Having a CEO who is energetic and engaged is one of the best ways to create a culture of energy and engagement. Leaders looking after themselves is a great way to walk your talk. To lead by example. Good leaders know who they are. They know their strengths and their weaknesses. They know where they are heading and what they are trying to achieve. This takes time.
It’s about reflection, not perfection. It’s knowing you are a constant work in progress, believing in your potential and surrounding yourself with people who understand and support you.
When looking to improve energy and engagement I think that there are five areas worth considering.
1. Inspiration
What’s the goal? What’s important? Do your people know where you are headed, what the priority is and why? The greatest way to engage people is to include them – to get them to buy into the work that you are doing. Care is a huge currency. When people care they will go above and beyond.
Having a CEO who is energetic and engaged is one of the best ways to create a culture of energy and engagement.
Inspiration is the job of a leader – being someone people want to follow is my favorite definition of good leadership.
Are your leaders fit for purpose? Are they examples of what you want more of in your company/industry? The most inspiring leaders take people on the journey with them. They ask rather than tell and include people in their plans.
2. Effectiveness
Do you have a culture of effectiveness? Businesses that waste people’s time with boring meetings and frustrating processes will disengage staff very quickly.
Designing processes that don’t take into consideration the impact on people is not clever. Happy energized people will be more valuable than an outdated process.
Getting the best out of your people is about letting them get stuff done. Letting them make decisions and make things happen. We all love the ability to make things happen and not being able to be effective is one of the worst limitations.
3. Expectations
Unrealistic workloads and constant pressure to perform erodes people’s energy. Never getting out from under the weight of your world is a path straight to shutting down or giving up.
Great companies allow for humanity in their workplace expectations.
Great companies allow for humanity in their workplace expectations. They allow some grace for family pressures, health problems and lifestyle challenges. There is a generosity created when we offer tolerance and space to people to live and work well.
4. Flexibility
Life is hectic. Giving what you want to receive is a wonderful way to do what you want. When you give your people flexibility and support you get it back. Rigidity is for robots. Try asking your people what would improve their working life. Would a later start make life easier?
Trusting employees to be productive regardless of where or when they work is an excellent model. Workplace flexibility that acknowledges individuals’ needs and their wellbeing is an excellent way to improve trust and the physical and mental health of staff.
5. Environment
Space that feels good, that looks good and that is good will return good work. Providing the space and equipment that people need to be at their best is a no brainer for businesses. What do your staff need? What would make their lives easier or better? Would a great coffee machine boost morale? Would a faster printer make things more efficient?
To have energized workforces, organizations need to shift their emphasis from getting more out of people to putting more into them.
People want to come to work as themselves. They want to be valued as individuals. They want to contribute to something meaningful. This is the ultimate energizer.
Identify areas of your business that are not human centered. Recognize the needs of your people, encourage them to be at their best. Offer spaces for relaxation and restoration. Allow people to work in a way that’s best for them offering flexible hours and regular breaks.
Workplace energy is impacted when staff are constantly working long hours. When businesses are out of alignment with their values they are often on the wall but not in the room. Creating company quests where people are encouraged to move more, sleep more or eat better can drastically improve morale and energy.
People want to come to work as themselves. They want to be valued as individuals. They want to contribute to something meaningful. This is the ultimate energizer.
