A Mistake We Make That Kills Employee Engagement
It was a Saturday morning in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and a friend of mine and I had been walking the golf course and watching all the PGA players in the RBC Heritage Tournament. Life was good! The weather was perfect, not too breezy, a little overcast, and about 72 degrees.
We had digital tickets, and we had been guests in a hospitality house on the course. So we were able to walk out onto the course without going through the front entrance. As we walked, a young lady dressed in a uniform pulled up to us on a golf cart. She said, “Gentlemen, I need to see your tickets.” I realized that we missed a lanyard with printed tickets because we had walked on the course without going to the front gate. We stopped and got our phones and showed the security person our tickets. She was friendly and even gave us two paper tickets so we wouldn’t have to get our phones out for the next person.
Then something happened; as we walked on, she noticed a group of guys walking behind us with no lanyards. She said, “Gentlemen, I need to see your tickets.” They looked at her and said, “No,” and then kept walking. Their response surprised her, and she asked them to stop, but they kept walking. She looked at her partner, an older man sitting in the golf cart, and said, “What do I do, now.” I will never forget his response. He said, “Let them go; we are not allowed to do anything anyway.” This all happened in front of a crowd of people, and I am sure the young security guard felt humiliated. She walked over to the golf cart, got in, and slowly drove away.
I could not help but think how defeated the young security guard felt as I walked away. How many people do you think she asked for tickets the rest of the day? My guess after seeing her drive away is zero. You could see the energy and enthusiasm she had vaporized when she was told she had no authority to do her job. You could see the attention and care she had taken moments before with my friend and me vanished. As she slowly walked back to the cart, she was resigned and apathetic. She knew the deal.
I felt so bad for her. Not because she had a run-in with some rude attendants at the wonderful event, but because she lost the value in her work that day. Her contribution to the team was made null and void because she did not have any real authority to support her responsibility. When people feel like their contribution doesn’t matter, or they feel like they don’t have the tools or authority to do their job, they lose something fundamental, their engagement.
Engagement is key to success in any business. A simple mistake can do a lot of damage and lead to disengagement on your team. Keeping your team engaged and motivated is important, especially during tough times.
What is Engagement?
Engagement is the level of commitment and passion your team has for their work. A disengaged team will likely have a more challenging time achieving success. Engagement is about bringing your whole self to the job, showing up early, paying attention to the details, and staying late if necessary because you care about doing the job right. More engaged employees are more productive and even more innovative. A disengaged team will likely have a more challenging time achieving success.
How can a Simple Mistake Damage Engagement?
Disengagement can be caused by poor communication, lack of motivation, or poor leadership. A simple mistake can do a lot of damage to your team’s engagement. In the case of our golf course security guard, the mistake that lowered her engagement was poor communication. The old saying from George Bernard Shaw, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place,” is so true.
It seems the security guard was only told to complete the task of checking tickets. However, what was the reason for the task? Was it to find people who had snuck into the tournament? Was it to make people feel safe? Was it to verify that the gate and ticketing system was working efficiently? The WHY behind the task is so important to communicate. Also, critical communication is how to respond to different situations that arise when you complete your task. What happens if they reject your request, if they get angry or physical, and what happens if they show you their tickets.
If the security guard knew her “why” and knew the protocols she would follow in that situation, she could rest on knowing that she did the right thing. Even if the men kept walking, she would still maintain her engagement if she knew she correctly handled her job. Her contribution to the team would count.
How To Keep Your Team Engaged?
There are a few key steps to keep your team engaged.
- Make sure the team knows why they are doing what they are doing. COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE. So the team member knows what they are expected to contribute.
- Provide opportunities for growth and development. The security guard should know how she could specialize in more security tech, manage other security operations, or at least the best practices of her current role. So the team member can raise the level of their contribution.
- Encourage creativity and innovation. You never know when a novel and cost-effective solution will present itself. It would have been interesting to ask the security guard her opinion on handling people with no tickets and how she would solve that problem. So the team member can experience new ways they can contribute beyond their daily tasks.
One thing is for sure; I was very engaged in the tournament. We had a great time, and one of my favorite players, Jordan Spieth, won on Easter the following day. I noticed something about Jordan when he missed a putt on one of the holes on Saturday. He lifted his putter and told it how it had to start playing better. I guess even putters need constant communication!
If you are leading a team or an organization, it’s easy to overlook the simple steps that keep things running smoothly. Take time this week to communicate and get feedback from your team members. You will need them to sink game-winning putts.
Have you have been looking for a way to increase employee engagement? If so, check out our 1on1 Coaching App. For the most effective results, contact us to set up training for your coaching system launch. If some of your team members are struggling to understand how they contribute to the team, check out MOVE! as a resource to help gain clarity on what is most important and give your productivity healthy boundaries.
~ Coach D
A Mistake We Make That Ruins Employee Engagement
It was a Saturday morning in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and a friend of mine and I had been walking the golf course and watching all the PGA players in the RBC Heritage Tournament. Life was good! The weather was perfect, not too breezy, a little overcast, and about 72 degrees.
We had digital tickets, and we had been guests in a hospitality house on the course. So we were able to walk out onto the course without going through the front entrance. As we walked, a young lady dressed in a uniform pulled up to us on a golf cart. She said, “Gentlemen, I need to see your tickets.” I realized that we missed a lanyard with printed tickets because we had walked on the course without going to the front gate. We stopped and got our phones and showed the security person our tickets. She was friendly and even gave us two paper tickets so we wouldn’t have to get our phones out for the next person.
Then something happened; as we walked on, she noticed a group of guys walking behind us with no lanyards. She said, “Gentlemen, I need to see your tickets.” They looked at her and said, “No,” and then kept walking. Their response surprised her, and she asked them to stop, but they kept walking. She looked at her partner, an older man sitting in the golf cart, and said, “What do I do, now.” I will never forget his response. He said, “Let them go; we are not allowed to do anything anyway.” This all happened in front of a crowd of people, and I am sure the young security guard felt humiliated. She walked over to the golf cart, got in, and slowly drove away.
I could not help but think how defeated the young security guard felt as I walked away. How many people do you think she asked for tickets the rest of the day? My guess after seeing her drive away is zero. You could see the energy and enthusiasm she had vaporized when she was told she had no authority to do her job. You could see the attention and care she had taken moments before with my friend and me vanished. As she slowly walked back to the cart, she was resigned and apathetic. She knew the deal.
I felt so bad for her. Not because she had a run-in with some rude attendants at the wonderful event, but because she lost the value in her work that day. Her contribution to the team was made null and void because she did not have any real authority to support her responsibility. When people feel like their contribution doesn’t matter, or they feel like they don’t have the tools or authority to do their job, they lose something fundamental, their engagement.
Engagement is key to success in any business. A simple mistake can do a lot of damage and lead to disengagement on your team. Keeping your team engaged and motivated is important, especially during tough times.
What is Engagement?
Engagement is the level of commitment and passion your team has for their work. A disengaged team will likely have a more challenging time achieving success. Engagement is about bringing your whole self to the job, showing up early, paying attention to the details, and staying late if necessary because you care about doing the job right. More engaged employees are more productive and even more innovative. A disengaged team will likely have a more challenging time achieving success.
How can a Simple Mistake Damage Engagement?
Disengagement can be caused by poor communication, lack of motivation, or poor leadership. A simple mistake can do a lot of damage to your team’s engagement. In the case of our golf course security guard, the mistake that lowered her engagement was poor communication. The old saying from George Bernard Shaw, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place,” is so true.
It seems the security guard was only told to complete the task of checking tickets. However, what was the reason for the task? Was it to find people who had snuck into the tournament? Was it to make people feel safe? Was it to verify that the gate and ticketing system was working efficiently? The WHY behind the task is so important to communicate. Also, critical communication is how to respond to different situations that arise when you complete your task. What happens if they reject your request, if they get angry or physical, and what happens if they show you their tickets.
If the security guard knew her “why” and knew the protocols she would follow in that situation, she could rest on knowing that she did the right thing. Even if the men kept walking, she would still maintain her engagement if she knew she correctly handled her job. Her contribution to the team would count.
How To Keep Your Team Engaged?
There are a few key steps to keep your team engaged.
- Make sure the team knows why they are doing what they are doing. COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE. So the team member knows what they are expected to contribute.
- Provide opportunities for growth and development. The security guard should know how she could specialize in more security tech, manage other security operations, or at least the best practices of her current role. So the team member can raise the level of their contribution.
- Encourage creativity and innovation. You never know when a novel and cost-effective solution will present itself. It would have been interesting to ask the security guard her opinion on handling people with no tickets and how she would solve that problem. So the team member can experience new ways they can contribute beyond their daily tasks.
One thing is for sure; I was very engaged in the tournament. We had a great time, and one of my favorite players, Jordan Spieth, won on Easter the following day. I noticed something about Jordan when he missed a putt on one of the holes on Saturday. He lifted his putter and told it how it had to start playing better. I guess even putters need constant communication!
If you are leading a team or an organization, it’s easy to overlook the simple steps that keep things running smoothly. Take time this week to communicate and get feedback from your team members. You will need them to sink game-winning putts.
Have you have been looking for a way to increase employee engagement? If so, check out our 1on1 Coaching App. For the most effective results, contact us to set up training for your coaching system launch. If some of your team members are struggling to understand how they contribute to the team, check out MOVE! as a resource to help gain clarity on what is most important and give your productivity healthy boundaries.
~ Coach D
