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Prioritizing the Human Experience at Work

April 29, 2022 Misti Aaronson

prioritizing-human-experience-at-work

Are Workplace Friendships Priceless?


"If you have a friend you look forward to seeing at work, it's like earning $100,000 more in salary each year."

As more teams are starting to come together for in-person gatherings and team days, we're seeing "building camaraderie" as the primary goal leaders are focused on right now.

Team events pre-COVID tended to look a lot more like all-day working sessions and engineering hackathons. Now people are flipping the script and putting far more attention on purely social activities.

Whether it's a full-blown team gathering or an informal 1:1 with someone from another department, it's always worth encouraging teammates to connect and support each other.

teamwork-experience



Prioritize the Human Experience at Work


People leaders aren't immune from feeling emotionally disconnected from their team.

This FastCompany article highlights a few tactics that managers can use to bridge that emotional gap.

Ultimately, it comes down to the five main points of connection.

  1. Connection to Self: Am I clear on my purpose and priorities?

  2. Connection to Manager: Do I know, without a doubt, that my manager has my back, and do I have theirs? Do I feel psychologically safe?

  3. Connection to Company: Can I see the direct connection between what I do every day and the impact my work has on our bigger picture and mission?

  4. Connection to Peers: Do I know my colleagues at deeper levels than what's at the surface? Do I feel that we are all in this together and committed to the same values and outcomes?

  5. Connection to Work: Am I inspired to consistently contribute at the highest levels of performance? Do I perform in a way that is consistent with that inspiration?

Replace BLTs with C.R.E.D.

cred-model-feedback
Are you using the sandwich method for feedback?

If the answer is yes, then it's time to learn how to give an employee constructive feedback that inspires growth.

When creating your framework for feedback, remember the C.R.E.D. model.

  • Constructive: All feedback needs to be constructive. Otherwise, it distracts from the point of feedback, and it can create fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

  • Reinforcing: Provide clarity on what you value and want to see the employee do again – or what does not align with culture or performance expectations, and what/how the employee needs to produce differently.

  • Essential: Feedback should tie directly to specific, role-based performance expectations and company values.

  • Developmental: Deliver feedback in a way that helps your team get better. For example, you can ask questions like, "What specifically worked in that interaction for you? What is one thing you are going to keep doing? What is the one thing you will improve next time?"

 

Return-to-Office Red Flags 🚩🚩🚩

What's a surefire way to drive employees to look for work elsewhere? Create a culture of fear, mistrust, and panic.

That's what is unfolding at JPMorgan where they are monitoring employee ID swipes in order to enforce its return-to-office policies.

According to Insider, one manager said some are feeling "deathly afraid of their teams falling short of 100% compliance."

This kind of adult-to-child relationship – where leaders micromanage and don't trust their team – hurts morale, performance, and retention.

A perfect example of what not to do.

If you're returning to the office or going hybrid, we'd love to hear how you're navigating that transition!


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TOPICS: Workplace Innovation, leadership, stories that shift