the last word
Are You Tired?
YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE, AND IT’S AFFECTING THEIR ENGAGEMENT LEVELS
By Brady Wilson
Today’s organizations are seeing
a troubling trend: managers and
employees might be engaged, but
not energized. Many employees
are loyal and committed to the cause –
they come in early, stay late and get things
done. But they are exhausted.
According to brain science, when humans
are low on energy, the “executive
function” of the brain suffers. This affects
a person’s ability to connect the dots, focus
their attention in the midst of massive
distractions, regulate their emotions in
tension-filled situations, predict outcomes
or make smart decisions. Essentially, these
are all “power tools” that employees need
to be innovative and to provide remarkable
customer experiences.
Traditional engagement initiatives do
nothing to help energize and fuel the executive
function; instead, they focus on
how to get more discretionary effort from
people. But without the executive function,
all the effort in the world is, at best,
redundant.
Organizations looking to evolve their
business culture to one of value-creation
and innovation must recognize the critical
significance of the executive function. That
requires thinking beyond traditional employee
engagement strategies.
THE POWER OF CONVERSATION
Moving beyond engagement means leaders
must implement strategies geared
toward energizing the executive function.
One such way is through quality
conversation.
In fact, science shows that meaningful
conversation has the ability to release
three high-performance hormones in the
brain – dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin
– releasing energy so people can get their
executive function back.
Despite this fact, traditional engagement
strategies ignore the importance
of the brain in defining people’s own experiences
– often foregoing conversation
altogether and appealing to employees in
ways that do nothing to acknowledge their
emotional needs.
As a result, leaders simply perpetuate an
“engagement paradox”: the more leaders
manage engagement, the more disengagement
they may produce.
TACKLE THE ENERGY CRISIS
One effective way leaders can move toward
managing energy is by holding quick, frequent
“energy check” conversations with
employees.
As mentioned, meaningful conversations
can release hormones in the brain
– priming positive emotions that help employees
feel connected, calm, creative and
curious, boosting their brain’s processing
power. An energy check can help leaders
determine and acknowledge what matters
most to employees based on five emotional
needs:
■■ Belonging: Teamwork, inclusion,
connection, relationship, acceptance
■■ Security: Consistency, clarity,
predictability, rules and fair play
■■ Freedom: Autonomy, decision-making
latitude, flexibility, creativity
■■ Significance: Achievement, feeling
valued and respected, reputation,
quality, excellence
■■ Meaning: Purposeful living,
contribution, legacy, understanding the
“why”
By identifying what is energizing and
depleting individual employees in their
day-to-day lives, leaders and employees
can work to co-create the conditions that
release energy within the employee.
Moreover, by safeguarding employees’
executive function, leaders can unlock valuecreation
and innovation, generating true and
sustainable engagement like never before.
ENERGY: THE NEXT FRONTIER
Overcoming the human energy crisis
changes the game for businesses. By
shifting from managing engagement to
managing energy, leaders can fuel not
only discretionary effort but innovative
thinking in employees. As energy is most
certainly the next frontier for value creation
and economic viability, this blend of
intelligent effort is the only way to sustain
energy and drive superb results. n
Brady Wilson is co-founder of Juice Inc.
and author of Beyond Engagement: A
Brain-Based Approach That Blends the
Engagement Managers Want with the
Energy Employees Need.
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64 ❚ OCTOBER 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL