At my workplace, we measure everything and I do mean EVERYTHING. So much so that if there's no way to measure a certain metric, it can be created and tracked within a matter of hours.
One of the things that we track on a pretty consistent basis is engagement. Now, some have varying degrees of what they think engagement is; there are those that "check the block" to complete the action and there are those that do graduate-level work by knowing their team with more fidelity. What does this mean?
So on one hand we have leaders that go around to their teams and do the "Good morning, how are you?" type engagements, and then there are those that dive a little deeper; for instance, "Hey Jeff... How was your weekend? Did your son win his soccer game that you told me about last Friday? Did you and your wife try that restaurant that you had asked me about?"
Do you see the difference but more importantly, the VALUE in the second conversation? The employee feels the substance in that conversation and doesn't feel as if they were an afterthought in passing. Additionally what this does is garners trust with the leader/manager and in turn, makes it easier to connect with them when it comes time to discuss metrics or productivity.
In my last role, I used to make time to go and visit in the morning, after lunch, and before end of shift. This gave me quality face time with my team(s) and it made it far easier when I had to deliver a conversation (or a seek-to-understand chat) that maybe wasn't so pleasant.
Teammates WANT to see their managers! It used to floor me when I would ask the workforce "Who's your manager?" and I would get the arms in the air or shoulder shrug... "I don't know" I was mortified. This led to employees that had a low feeling of self-worth within the organization and ultimately led to attrition.
As leaders we HAVE to make time to go and engage/visit/BS with our teams; it's vital for growth, trust, and camaraderie; plus, it's just good leadership! I've learned so much from a 10-minute conversation with an employee at a workstation! There are some very brilliant minds out there that want to share and be heard. There were even some that said "Thank you for coming to see me today, those 10 minutes gave me hope, and made me want to work twice as hard for you and our team" ... Folks, money CAN'T buy that!
So ask yourself, "Do I engage with my team(s) and if I do... is it QUALITY engagement?"
Try it and I guarantee you'll be surprised at what you find out and what you learn from those that do the real work and keep the building alive daily!
SGP
