Best Practices for Engaging Your Employees Personally and Professionally

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And your people aren't gonna become better unless they have a coach, unless they have some system in place that, helps them, keeps 'em accountable, helps them, to widen their horizons, ask the right questions. and that's what a great coach does.

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We talked about the opportunities leaders have to help their teams become more engaged, both personally and professionally, and how that will ultimately impact the bottom line of your business. We hope you enjoyed this.

So Tony and I were talking earlier this week, and what was interesting was we're always looking at different reports and data and stats, and what I said to him was, oh man, You know what's so crazy is we look at all these stats and we look at the presentations that we do, and some of these stats have not changed for decades.

I said, so while I enjoy reading all of this data and getting all the analysis from all the companies and what's happening in the world, it also is kind of like, wait a second. 70% of the workforce is disengaged. 70% of the workforce has been disengaged for a very long time, and we're always trying to.

Increase engagement and retention and help people. And then we see, all these stats and it's like, all right, we gotta keep doing the work. We gotta keep doing the work to help more people grow, to help more people live more fulfilling and satisfying lives. And so Tony said, Hey, guess what?

state of the global workplace: 2022

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it was interesting how Gallup put it, something to the effect of, it's like good news, bad news. the good news is it hasn't gone down. the bad news is it's not at a good place. and if you look at that cast, so it's like, you know, I'm still poor, but I haven't lost any more money or whatever that would be.

e for one of our trainings in: 2016

So, you know, I just wanna repeat that. only 21% of workers are engaged in their work. So 71% or 70%, whichever number you wanna go by, are disengaged in their work. And what was interesting in the report, of that 60% of people are, emotionally detached from their work.

So well over half the people are emotionally detached from their work, and, uh, 19 to 20% are miserable at work. So if you're listening to this today, the odds are that, one fifth of the people that you run in today are miserable, at work. it hasn't changed. and we see it.

exactly the same as it was in: 2016

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but I think that's telling, I think it, it, it may speak to the fact that it's, they're not external forces at work in people's, disengagement. There are some, but ultimately, the disengagement resides in the person.

And, companies can do some things about that, but it, it's ultimately, it's an internal, it's an intrinsic, uh, thing that has to happen with people to become engaged, because it, it just hasn't changed with all these things that have been going on in the world.

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And so many people have l have stopped dreaming, And so as leaders, if you know our, the number one role of leaders to help your people grow, not just, hey, get better at doing presentations and excel in all the things that they need to do for their work, but helping them grow as a person, a whole human being.

And the way in which to do that is. Help them identify their dreams, personally, their dreams, so that they are excited and engaged in their own life. So they come into work engaged in their work life. So that's really what that, the, the challenge is that so many people have become so disengaged in their world in everything that they do.

And the one thing that was interesting that I, I really liked, They opened up, the c e o who had written kind of the introduction of the study talking about how over the years, it's just the conversation that is had is around, ugh, work. everybody's working for the weekend, right?

That whole, there's a song about it, right? Everyone's and it's the ah, Monday morning. Everyone hates Monday and everyone can't wait till Friday. And when we feed into that kind of culture, instead of having a culture of work is good for us, like we get to go and we get to, experience new things and meet new people and build something together.

You know, Tony and I, the last conversation that we had and one of our episodes talked all about mission is. And we have to have a mission. We have to feel like we're building towards something, just like people in their own lives have to feel like they're building towards something. And so we have to have those dreams.

But that's another conversation that I feel like as leaders, it's up to us. If you're listening to this podcast, obviously you care about culture. We have to change the conversation from, ugh, everyone's working for the weekend till. Hey, we can enjoy coming to work and doing great things together. How can we do that?

How can we make that happen? How can we make it so that on Sunday evening people aren't dreading and having stomach aches and feeling sick because they get to go to work in the morning, but they rather feel, I'm so excited to continue to do the work that I get to do to build something that I'm so excited to be part of.

And, we can do that because there are plenty of organizations out there that are doing. But unfortunately they just fall in the minority. So we need to help more and more of them come into that majority. So, what are some of the biggest, ideas and takeaways that, that you found in the report?

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In their overall life, which includes their work. So just add a third of the people. It means two thirds of the people are not. and so, you know, there are a couple facts here. the one is, and I think there are a hundred percent facts, everybody agrees with them that it's naive to think that people's personal lives don't affect their work. I think everybody would agree with that. You know, if you've got something going on at home, it affects your work life, in some way or another. And the reverse is true too. Like we always, one way to gauge your culture, for example, we tell folks is when you go home, if, work comes up at dinner, at the dinner table, does the food taste better or worse?

I mean, it's a great indicator of how your, culture's going. So, leaders have to realize that it is naive to think that people's personal lives don't affect their work life. because sometimes people say, well, that's personal stuff. doesn't belong in the workplace.

and then the second question, which I also think is a hundred percent question is you can ask, have people's lives become more or less dysfunctional? Well, if you combine those two that we have, people whose lives are at least more intricate, more, complicated, if you wanna put it that way.

People's lives are more complicated and their life outside of work affects their work. Then it really does behoove leaders to pay attention to that. And so, even if that doesn't convince a leader that this is important, the idea of somebody being disengaged in their work, it only. It only costs companies globally according to the report.

7.9 trillionin revenue a year is wasted or lost due to, employee disengagement. So it's only a 7.9 trillion problem. So that

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So the, the key then becomes okay if, people are struggling, only a third of people saying that, they're really thriving in their lives, then the job of the leader becomes, how can we help people become more engaged in their own lives? Because if you want people to become more engaged in their work, You have to help facilitate them, become more engaged in their own lives first and then the rest

Takes care of itself

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But, We have to bring it down to our level and think about what would that look like in my organization? if you did an assessment of your organization and the people that are currently on your team, and you really took a look at the engagement levels, are there some people that maybe.

Shouldn't be there. They are not engaged. They're not really bringing to the table what needs to be brought in order for you to fulfill that mission and for them to fulfill the mission of the role. So I think it's important for us when we look at big numbers like that, To take it down to the level of what would that look like in my organization?

What would that percentage be for me? And when we can look at that, I think that's a really staggering number for a lot of companies, a lot of organizations, and how much money they're spending, not really building their people up when really they could be investing. In coaching and training and doing all the things that are helping those people become a better version of themselves so that you don't fall into that category and contributing to that 7.8 trillion.

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no one's got a trillion dollars on balance sheet. But if you'd use that 23% and say, okay, how would I like to make 23% more next year? Would I like to do that? And if so, it's a straight line that, that if you help people become more engaged in their lives and then thus their work, those companies

make 23% more than companies that don't pay attention to it. So that's where you can really get down to real numbers. Now, if you could invest, 10% of that, Into your people, okay?

You're still up to 13, 15% increase in revenue from that. And everybody would do that. if give me 10% and I'll give you a 23% return, everybody would do that. So there are hard numbers that are realistic, that point to the idea that investing in my people is gonna return in some real tangible.

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We've all had bad bosses, right? and it was talking about how there was a study, on burnout and found that the biggest source was unfair treatment at work. And this was followed by unmanageable workload, unclear communication from manager's, lack of manager support, and unreasonable time pressures.

And those five causes have one thing in common. Your boss. So if you have a bad boss, obviously you're probably not gonna enjoy the work that you do. And what was so cool is that, they said a manager's effect on the workplace is so significant that Gallup can predict 70% of the variance in team engagement just by getting to know the boss. So think about that. You are the leaders of the organization. If you lead a team, someone can literally sit down and have a conversation with you and. How engaged or disengaged your team is going to be based on these things. Why? Because, I mean, Matthew talks about it in his, in the book, the Culture Solution, right?

Principle number six. Grow your people by creating a coaching culture. We need coaches. We need people that are lifting us up, that are helping us grow, that we feel like they have our back. They feel like they want us to get better. And when we don't have that, it's so easy to be disengaged because we don't feel like we're being supported.

We don't feel like we're able to grow. And that's what people really want. They wanna grow in their work. People really do want to do good work when they're in the right role, they're with the right organization and they have the right. And that leader is a coach. And so I thought that was so fascinating.

So this is another assessment, right? look in the mirror and say, Hey, if someone were to have a conversation with me, how engaged or disengaged would they rate my team? And there are some ways that you can improve as a leader, cuz we all can, right? We all need to grow as leaders. We all have that opportunity to become a better.

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Overcommunicating the plan. That was one of the things they said. I have a non-communicative boss. I don't know what's expected of me, or I have unrealistic expectations. let people know what to expect. and then, as you said, create a coaching culture. and I think that's the good news on this from you.

That all these things are internal. So if I'm a leader, I can look internal and say, how can I be a better leader? How can I be a better manager? and then the second part that I think is also important is that, it's also incumbent upon, the individuals in the organization. So, uh,

Matthew in off balance, Matthew Kelly said that, work-life balance, or work-life effectiveness or satisfaction, whatever you wanna call it, is not an entitlement or a benefit. Your company can't give it to you, right? you have to create it for yourself. You're personally responsible for living the best life you can.

So the leader's role, number one, as you said, is to make him or her the best leader they can. the second thing they need to do is facilitate the people that work for them, on their journey on becoming the best version of themselves. And so, because only they can do it, you can't say, okay, this year we're gonna offer this health plan and this retirement, and we're gonna.

job satisfaction also. it's just not a benefit that you, that you can give people. So then what do you do? Well, you have to set up the situation where people can, invest in themselves. for some folks just getting back to, investing in their own lives, thinking about their dreams, thinking about what's important to them because every one of your employees, they have a different reason for working.

For you if you're the leader. Now, everybody's committed to the mission, but everybody has their own mission and they choose to be part of yours because they feel like if I help the company accomplish its mission, it's gonna help me accomplish my mission. the trouble is the. That not enough people have really examined their lives.

They've stopped dreaming, they've stopped thinking about what's important. They haven't defined their own missions. And, so what the leader can do, you can't give that to somebody, but you can give them the opportunity. And so a program like the Dream Manager does just that. It gets people thinking about their own lives.

First, and now if somebody is, if they're better financially, if they're better physically, if their relationships are better in their life, if they have an idea of what they wanna do professionally, and again, what their dreams are, then they can see the reason for going to work.

Because we spend a lot of time at work and to try to segment those things out and say, I have my work life and I have my personal life. and as you said, working towards the weekend, that's a really bad existence. I mean, that's a shallow existence because the time we spend so much time at work,

again, the leader's role is to help facilitate people. in addition to becoming the best leader they can be, it's to facilitate, a way in which people can become better versions of themselves. Um, and as we said, the Dream manager's a perfect conduit that we see that every day, from our clients and the companies who say, look, my people are getting better and our company's getting better because of it.

we're retaining more people. The people that are, you know, that are staying, are doing great work and we're able to hire more great people because they say, look, those people are really interested in me. look at that program. They have the Dream Manager program.

they're investing in their people. I'm not getting that now. I'm gonna hitch my wagon to them because I think it's the best chance for me to improve. So it's internal and it's, it's incumbent upon people to become better versions of themselves, and the leader can help facilitate that.

and that's really what we, help people do.

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We all have things that show up whether it's. a sick parent or child or taking care of someone or a unexpected bill, or all of these things happen in our lives and we have to handle them right? And so we can play the victim or we can play the victor.

And so when we are able to as leaders help empower our people to recognize. I can make changes in my life to feel better, to be better. We cannot leave it up to somebody, anybody else, right? A boss, a, a spouse, a friend. No one else can make you happy. No one else can do those things for you.

And it's up to us to create that, that empowerment to, to do the work that we know we need to do. And so when you are being held accountable by someone and you're also being encouraged by someone to. Again, start dreaming again. So many people, ugh, we've stopped dreaming. We need to remind people to dream again.

So if there are people on your team, that is one thing that you can do today is simply ask them, Hey, tell me about your dreams. What is one dream that you're most excited about? And oftentimes a lookie like you're nuts. Because when's the last time somebody asks 'em about their dreams? But think about that.

You get to be the person that asks them about their dreams and that person's probably gonna go home or call a friend or be talking to someone and ask that same question because they were so, excited to get that question because if you ask someone, what's your dream? They're gonna start, their eyes are gonna light up, they're gonna be excited to talk about what's most important to them.

And then you get to know them a little bit more and they've remembered. I do love that and that engagement will start to happen in their personal lives and then trickle down into their professional

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What was really interesting during the pandemic, if you looked at some of the research, initially in the pandemic when everybody was home, job satisfaction started to tick up. There was actually a spike. And why was that? Because. People were starting to tend to things that they weren't tending to before they were home.

They had more time with their kids, with their significant others. They were taking care of things. They were taking care of their health. for example, I can, I know a lot of people have, uh, have returned back to the office, but I can remember my neighborhood looking out, and noting going, look at all the people walking and jogging and just getting out and moving around, during the day or even in the evening, whatever that was.

and that that was happening because people had, they had the time and it was facilitated, oh, I can just go for a walk now and come back to my computer. and as I said, I know a lot of people have gone back to an office, but, a lot of people haven't.

And right now I don't see anybody walking. I mean, I see the same people that before the pandemic were walking or running or those things, but it's dwindled and that actually the statistics bore out there was that immediate. But then it le it went down again and leveled back out. So even though I had all the time that I wanted to spend at home, even though I had the ability to spend more time with my kids, to get my other parts of my life in order, cuz it was just best facilitated, we missed interaction with people.

We, we missed that feeling of being on a team and we let those other things go even though I still had the time. So the reality is for most people, unless they're guided, Unless they're coached a bit, they're not gonna attend to those things. And that is really where the power of the Dream manager comes in, that it's so much more than, Hey, what are your dreams?

Because you could do a program and say, what are your dreams? And somebody said, I'd like to go there. And the company says, great, we'll pay for it. That's not what the Dream Manager program is. It's a program that takes people through month by month and examines all the parts of their lives and helps coach people, helps encourage them.

Hopes, foster accountability, in all the different areas o of their lives. And as I said, we just don't do that on our own unless we've got somebody guiding us with us. And that's what a dream manager is. They're a guide and they just help facilitate the change that everybody wants to make. so the point is, You're not gonna become a better manager unless you pay a lot of attention to doing those things about overcommunicating the plan and being a great coach and letting people know what to expect.

And your people aren't gonna become better unless they have a coach, unless they have some system in place that, helps them, keeps 'em accountable, helps them, to widen their horizons, ask the right questions. and that's what a great coach does. So it's not just going to happen. Look, we know that this has incredible financial value for a company.

by doing this, you can help somebody change their lives. and so the benefits are just enumerable but it's just not gonna happen. companies just don't get better. They do just get worse. if you're bad and you don't do anything about it, you're not getting good and you're never gonna stay the same.

You know, day-to-day we don't stay the same. We get better or worse. So these companies are just gonna sink further and further and further into this.

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Intentionality and accountability are the biggest things, most of the time things don't get done because we don't. have Clearly defined written expectations. And two, we aren't being held accountable. So whatever it is that you wanna be really working on this year, around your business, your people need to be attached to those goals.

Whatever they are. Helping your people grow needs to always be attached to the goals that you have in growing whatever business that you're growing because, we can't run businesses without our teams.

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because it's gonna be worse. And so imagine a year from now, it being worse. For some people, they, I don't even think they can imagine that.

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thank you guys so much for listening. We love doing this show. If you haven't yet written a review

wherever you listen. We would love for you to review the show, and of course, we talked a lot about Dream Manager today. If you're interested in learning about Dream Manager and if it might be the right fit. It is the right fit, just so you know, uh, for your organization. we would love to talk to you further about that.

You can go to the dream manager.com and learn more about that and talk to someone on our team and so we can find out about you and your business, your team, and how we might be able to support you over the next, next year or so, that your next year is the best year ever.

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