We've heard it again and again from our workshop participants.
And, the research supports it.
Money is not enough to keep good employees working for you AND engaged in their work.
Leaders are being challenged to get to know their employees needs, and meet them with creative solutions.
The people who work for you want to be treated like humans, not like robots.
Life and work are now becoming closely intertwined, for better or worse.
This evolution is bringing even more needed attention to what employees really want, and need, to be successful at work.
In the last few years flexible work hours and mix of in-person and work from home have become standard questions potential employees ask about.
Social events are also increasingly important. Employees want to get to know each other and connect on a more personal level. Creating non-work related social events builds camaraderie and is supports team building.
Creating a challenging work environment and helping employees find meaning and purpose in their work is also key to retention and engagement.
But, if you don't do this ONE thing, you could lose it all.
Building trust is a non-negotiable with your team.
You must ACTIVELY work to earn their trust.
Lost their trust, and it's over.
Several years ago Jeff referenced writer and theoretician on leadership, Bruce Avolio on this topic to address the question....
"How do I build trust within my team to accomplish our goals?"
In this blog post, outlined these five things that Avolio suggests:
- Deliver on all agreements
- Be clear and explicit about your expectations
- Take responsibility for your mistakes
- Whatever you say to inner circle will reach the outer circle
- Deal with the source of the problem, not the symptom
You can read Jeff's full explanation of these five tenets here.
