Whether you are a first-time manager or experienced and have a new team, there is always so many things to think about and do.
Like me, you may have come across one of those books in the airport with a catchy title; your First 30 or First 90 days as a manager and had a flick through to see if you are on track, you may have even bought a copy.
Usually these ‘airport books’ are full of great suggestions, however in today’s business landscape one of the areas I have often found has less focus is the broader topic of employee engagement. Often this subject is associated with the more prominent organisational picture and the annual company ‘employee engagement survey’.
Which is why in this week’s article I want to explore what you can do when you start managing a new team to get your employee engagement off to a flying start.
Get Off To A Good Start: Leading vs Managing
I remember a mentor once saying Julia, ‘be in no doubt people want to be led’. Let’s look at some simple definitions of the words manage and lead.
Manage is “to be in charge of,” while the definition of the word lead is “to be an example for others to follow.” While both are important, managers forget the latter. Employees thrive under great leadership. They look for leaders who walk their talk, who have a vision and can inspire their team to follow them on the journey.
Have A Purpose, Do Meaningful Work
Now you don’t need me to tell you how busy your schedules are and the pressures you and your teams routinely experience. The risk is that as you and your team get focused on everything on your task list such as meeting regulatory deadlines, clinical trial coordination, managing the appropriate systems and processes and everything else on your growing to do list, the purpose and meaning behind your teams’ work can take a back seat.
Remember people are more engaged when they are involved in work that has meaning. Sometimes you must remind them how important their work is…
If your work is within the Pharmceutical world, you might be tasked with ensuring correct processes are being used for clinical trial data collection. This isn’t just about checking the system is being followed. What your team are doing is creating the possibility for a grandma to see her grand-daughter walk down the aisle. For a dad to watch his son represent his school football team, for a husband and wife to celebrate their wedding anniversary together for as long as they can.
I can’t think of anything much more meaningful than giving individuals across the globe an opportunity to live a longer, healthier life. What ever your role is within your organisation, spend time helping your team seek the deeper purpose behind what they do.
You Can’t Escape It: Performance Management
It’s widely accepted that employees are more engaged when they know what is expected of them and they understand their goals. When managers set out this expectation with clarity and use performance management to support team members to achieve their goals, it’s hardly surprising employees usually become more productive, creative and profitable contributors.
Focus on getting good at using your company’s performance management tools.
Self-Awareness: Yours and Your Teams
Engaged teams usually have good managers, and one characteristic of a good manager is their level of self-awareness. They know what they are good at and what’s not a strength. They look to capitalise on their strengths and recruit team members whose strengths will compliment theirs.
Similarly, good managers coach their team to build their own level of self-awareness, while at the same time focusing their coaching on developing strengths rather than weaknesses.
Communicate…Communicate… Communicate
A Gallup survey from 2014 on comunication “found that consistent communication – whether it occurs in person, over the phone, or electronically – is connected to higher engagement.”
For example, employees whose managers hold regular meetings with them are almost three times as likely to be engaged as employees whose managers don’t”; though the survey is a few years old, it is still as relevant today.
While virtual working may not allow for face to face meetings, the point here is more about regular meetings. Too often I hear employees at various levels in organisations talk about how their 1: 1’s with a manager has been cancelled, and not only once but on several consecutive occasions.
Gallup go on to say in their findings; “The best managers make a concerted effort to get to know their employees and help them feel comfortable talking about any subject, whether it is work related or not. A productive workplace is one in which people feel safe – safe enough to experiment, to challenge, to share information, and to support one another.”
Show Appreciation
Fact: People want to feel appreciated. Yes, even those who say they don’t need recognition.
Feeling appreciated is motivating, and people do want to feel appreciated. This is even more crucial than what someone is paid. Why? Because feeling appreciated is connected to personal values and this is a deeper core value than the need for money.
Take some time to reflect on how engaged are your team? What are you basing this on?
Remember this is a new team and you may not have had feedback from a company engagement survey to evaluate your progress. What you can do is ensure you are paying attention to the above areas, and you will engage your team.
Until next time,
Julia Carter
