MAGIC Engagement Archives

Connection: The Sense of Belonging to Something Greater Than Yourself

Connection is a key to employee engagement because we connect with our organizations through the people with whom we work, the mission and values of the organization, and the work we perform. Our work and our company are a part of who we are. The job, then, becomes more than just a set of tasks we perform.

When employees find connection, they work as a team, generate ideas, solve problems, take care of customers, and act with the organization’s best interests in mind. They’re proud of where they work and what they do, and they’re quick to share their experiences with others. They are fully invested. Employees become ambassadors for the organization—they see themselves as part of the organization, and others see the organization through the eyes of the employees. Leaders understand that employees aren’t just part of the company—they are the brand.

Why is Connection Important in the Workplace?

Connection is one of those under-utilized elements of the ENGAGEMENT MAGIC^® keys. We always think about having meaning in our jobs, about the having an impact, about continuing to grow; but we don’t typically think about connection. Do I have a connection with the company? Does the company have a connection with me?

Having a trusted adviser or confidant is, for me, the essence of connection. There is nothing, in my mind, lonelier than spending 8-10+ hours at work each day and not having some type of connection, whether it’s personal, social, or with the organization.

Having a Confidant at Work

Does it matter if I have a best friend at work? Some would say no, but for me, having someone with whom you can trust and connect with is significant. In my case, I have a preference for introversion; however, even as someone who prefers introversion, I thrive on having someone that I can go to in the organization.

I remember when I was working at a company where one of my co-workers and I developed a wonderful relationship. We started around the same time and had both moved to a new city. The company was experiencing many difficulties at the time. They were not making money, which resulted in massive layoffs. There was a feeling of fear and doubt around our survival.

Through this difficult time, it was nice to have a confidant at work a few desks away. While working on several key initiatives, we would grab lunch, bounce ideas off each other, talk about what we were hearing from others, and how we were going to manage through the challenges. Neither of us were caught up in the reductions, and we could talk openly about our concerns. Having that connection was absolutely essential.

Comparing that to my experience with another company where I worked, which had a culture of introversion. At first, I thought I would fit really well inside this company, but I had just the opposite experience. All the engineers would keep their doors closed. You’d walk in these buildings with thousands of employees and it was very quiet. I would think to myself, “Who am I going to talk to today? Am I going to interact with anybody?”
I remember having a conversation and casually mentioning, “Hey, should we just do that over lunch?” The response was, “No, that’s my time and I don’t want to.” It was really difficult to build any type of relationship in that company compared to my previous experiences.

Now I’m not saying that you have to have a best friend or that you have to go to parties after work and always be social. You have to have a life outside of work. But for me, having someone at work that can be trusted and with whom I can have conversations, is extremely important.

Values and Connection

At DecisionWise, we talk about engagement as a 50-50 proposition: 50 percent of the responsibility lies with the organization and 50 percent lies with the individual. Part of the value the organization can bring is clearly stating its values and giving employees the chance to align with those values. But more importantly, the company needs to demonstrate those values.

One company I worked for had a disconnect between its demonstrated values and my personal values. This caused a significant enough strain on the relationship that it was no longer a good fit for me. The decision to leave was not an emotional decision; it was actually quite refreshing.

By comparison, my first job, working for Marriott Hotels, was an absolutely wonderful experience from a cultural alignment and values alignment standpoint. It was very emotional when I left. I had wonderful friends that I have stayed in contact with for many years, whereas with the other company, I have not remained in contact with anyone.

So, when we think of an organization’s value proposition, employees must understand their own values and how they align with the company. The company needs to have policies, practices, and procedures that would make the employee want to stay.

They're in the planning phase of their project

Personality and Company Culture Fit

We often talk about having a good fit with your job; connection is one of those elements where fit is absolutely critical. The key question to ask yourself is, “Do I fit within that cultural construct that allows me to bring my whole self to work in a way that says, ‘yes, I’m really connected with the company and the company is really connected with me?’”

For me, although I have a preference for introversion, I can’t work in my office alone for the entire day. I have to get out and talk to people, not necessarily for the social interaction but for the thought connection. I need somebody to bounce off an idea. Having that connection adds tremendous value. At the end of it, I’m able to say, “I just helped somebody, or they just helped me,” which creates another kind of the intimate connection.

Regardless of whether your company has preference for introversion or extroversion, there are interactions that are critical in making a connection. These connections happen with idea generation, problem solving, or simply having a supporting confidant during a challenging time. Having a company culture style different from your personality type isn’t necessarily an inhibitor to connection; you just need to understand how to navigate through it.

Should I Stay, or Should I Go?

For those that are thinking of moving from one company to another company, remember it is much harder to leave friends than it is casual acquaintances. When we have someone at work that we would consider a friend, there is an emotional reaction when we leave an organization, which is an indicator of the connections you’ve made at work. Connection takes time and can transcend organizational boundaries.

An Environment for Connection

When I was living in the suburbs of Chicago, I had a three-hour commute to and from work every day. I would spend the first hour and a half on the train-I’d leave my house around 6:00 in the morning so I could be in my office in downtown Chicago at 7:30. During that train ride, I created a task list for everything that I was going to do for the day, so by the time I got to work, I was ready to roll. I would head straight into my office and start working immediately because I mentally had already begun work while sitting on the train.

Well, there were members of my office staff that lived in downtown Chicago who had a five-minute commute. They would come into the office, start talking to each other, grab their cups of coffee and have this social interaction before they got ready to do the work. The feedback I received as a manager from my employees was, “It sure would be nice if you would just walk into the office sometime and say ‘hi, how are you?’ and grab a cup of coffee with us before we get started in the morning.” It was great feedback from my staff on the different types of connections that they wanted. I was ready to go, and they needed more of a warm up; an interaction.

I still arrive early to the office, but now when my team arrives, I walk out of my office and have a conversation with my team or I’ll stand outside an employee’s cube and just talk. Not to waste time, but to create a connection. I would encourage us all to remember the power of connection and the value that it can have in association with all of the other elements of ENGAGEMENT MAGIC^®.

Listen to the podcast recording on connection.

Further Reading: How Do You Find Connection In Your Job?

Consider surveying your employees to see how meaning is impacting overall engagement.

Podcast: Connection – The Sense of Belonging to Something Greater than Yourself

We connect with our organizations through the people with whom we work, the mission and values of the organization, and the work that we perform. Our work and our company are a part of who we are. The job, then, becomes more than just a set of tasks we perform.

When employees find connection, they work as a team, generate ideas, solve problems, take care of customers, and act with the organization’s best interests in mind. They’re proud of where they work and what they do, and they’re quick to tell others about it. They are fully invested. Employees become ambassadors for the organization—they see themselves as part of the organization, and others see the organization through these employees.

Leaders understand that employees aren’t just part of the company—they are the brand.

In this insightful conversation, Dan Hoopes, Principal Consultant at DecisionWise, explores the importance of connection in the workplace and how managers can use it to drive engagement.

connection employee engagement engagement magic MAGIC Engagement

Growth: Being Stretched and Challenged in Ways That Result in Personal and Professional Progress

Growing in our jobs doesn’t always mean getting a promotion or a raise. Growth is about mastering new skills, taking on challenges, and pushing to be better—both professionally and personally.

Results from DecisionWise employee surveys show that managers often fail to challenge employees enough to learn and to achieve higher results. Similarly, many employees don’t find their work challenging enough to keep them engaged. Imagine the untapped potential! On the other hand, stretching, taken to the extreme, can result in unhealthy stress. Growth strikes the balance between boredom and burnout.

Definition of Growth

DecisionWise defines employee growth as being stretched and challenged in a way that results in personal and professional progress. What’s interesting about that definition is that the words are really active. Engagement is not a state of being just happy, it’s really giving that discretionary effort invested in your hearts, hands, mind, and spirit in your work. Growth is an active process of stretching, challenging, making progress.

In a business context, growth results in both professional and personal progress. In general, most humans are looking for ways to move, grow, progress, and get better. Many of our ideals in the U.S. are built on self-reliance and “doing-it-yourself” in a business context that translates into people wanting to improve.

Growth Vs. Advancement

Growth is a challenge for many organizations. One of the questions we ask on our survey around this topic is, “my work provides me the opportunity to learn and grow and be challenged and stretched in a way that results in personal growth.” Scores from this question tend to be higher than most others. So, in the day to day work, people feel like they are generally making progress. However, when we ask questions about growth within the larger context of the organization, such as, “my organization provides opportunities for learning and growth,” we find that the scores are a lot lower. People’s perceptions are that, “yes, I’m learning in my day-to-day, but I’m not getting from the organization what I’m looking for.”

Traditionally, we have viewed growth as advancement. In the minds of many employees, they think of growth as advancing in terms of a promotion, a title change, and greater compensation.

First, we have to get comfortable with the idea that growth can’t just mean promotion to a management role. Second, organizations have to create growth and advancement opportunities for people, beyond just moving vertically in the ranks. After all, there are only so many management positions.

young worker

Millennials and Growth

A common perception of millennials is that they are overly ambitious, like wanting to be the CEO within a couple of years. When you really get down to it, a millennial (or anyone for that matter), is anxious to learn and are looking for experiences.

One of my colleagues discusses growth in terms of being stretched and challenged in ways that build, improve, and strengthen personal and organizational capabilities. The word “capabilities” is a nice way to look at growth. It’s not just limited to moving up in an organization, rather it’s the continual process of becoming better.

When I say, “moving up the corporate ladder,” you probably think of going from an individual contributor to a team leader, to a manager or supervisor, and into executive-level leadership. You are on a management trajectory and increasing your influence, increasing your span of control, getting a new title, getting more pay, and so on. Unfortunately, those promotions have been associated with growth. Let’s disassociate employee growth from the traditional corporate ladder. In painting a house, if I put a ladder up against the house, I can’t just climb the ladder and paint that one part of the house. I have to move the ladder to different parts of the structure in order to really get full and complete coverage.

When we think about this idea of a corporate ladder, we must reframe those development opportunities and learning experiences at all levels of the organization. For the individual, it’s less about a straight ladder and more about creating a portfolio of experiences.

Several years ago, I hired an employee into a project manager role which was the first job he’d ever worked. At the 90-day review, I gave him some clear redirecting feedback, “you’re doing well here, but here are some things that you need to do as part of your role as you’re stepping up on that ladder.” I told him to come back to me in a week and provide me with a couple of goals based on our conversation. He came back with goals that had nothing to do with his job. They had more to do with my job!

It’s great he had goals for a long-term vision, but it was important for him to get comfortable and explore the surrounding opportunities. There are often opportunities to understand the different businesses of your organization, work with different managers, or figure out new ways of thinking. Collect that portfolio of experiences and help advance your career.

Creating an Environment for Growth

Organizations can create clear policies or organizational structure to make expectations for growth clear. For example, Marriott says if you’re going to move up the ladder, you have to run multiple business units before you are considered for a c-suite role. They make the requirement clear because they value different experiences.

Understand that there must be a 50/50 proposition of creating engagement between the employer and employee. 50% from the individual and 50% from the organization. In the ideal situation, a manager is looking out for your best interest, however, this is not always the case. Many employees enter their first job and expect their manager to tell them what to do, to give them opportunities, promote, and advocate for them. Most likely, you will have a good, but busy, manager that will dialogue with you, support you and connect you to opportunities. Ultimately, individual growth is your responsibility.

I was recently working with a newly promoted leader who was lamenting that her team “complained” on their survey responses about growth opportunities. She said, “All I’ve been doing is working with them on these growth opportunities. I’ve been trying to figure out how do I give more to them. They want to grow and I’m trying to help. I’m in a bit of a panic.” In her mind, she had defined growth as a vertical path and was worried about taking all the right steps and almost forcing people to get there. My comment to her was, “don’t work harder on their growth than they are willing to work. You just can’t do that. They’ve got to own your own growth path and lean into it.” As managers, we try to fix everything. We try to take everything on for ourselves. The reality is people have to find their own way.

So again, as an individual, it’s up to you first to say, “here’s what I’m looking for, here’s what I would like and I’m asking for this.” It’s the manager’s responsibility to say, “let’s do this first” or “this would be a good step,” and then for you to lean into that and do it, helping to create that collection of experiences for your career.

Can Growth Opportunities Ever Be Negative?

During the first six months of employment, employees should just be primarily learning their job function. Organizations are doing a lot with technology to quickly onboard employees, but during this time we should not create individual development plans. What I find is that you should wait to have those growth conversations until after the first six months, when the employee has had a chance to learn their job and get good at it.
For employees who have been with the organization beyond 6-months, you want to help them find what is called the zone of proximal development, that right spot between the stress of being pushed too far and complacency.

I tell my team, “look, I’m going to stretch you and push you, but know you’ve got a life preserver. I’m not going to let you drown you.” And for each person that’s a little bit different. So, you’ve got to pay attention to the signs. You’ve got to be in constant dialogue so that you aren’t pushing them beyond their capability.

What’s Stopping Growth?

Growth often appears as being an opportunity area more than any other Engagement MAGIC^® key: meaning, autonomy, impact, and connection. I think that’s partly because it’s so personal. Collectively you create growth opportunities based on the 50/50 manager/employee relationship.

In rapidly growing organizations—individual growth might not be a priority; however, the overall growth of the company can be reframed as a growth opportunity.

I worked with one upcoming startup that’s been around seven years or so and they said, “we don’t have time for growth. We’re so busy. Our company has grown 500 percent over the last couple of years and we project we will triple the population of our employee base in the next three to five years.” My response to them was, “You’re getting opportunities to step into new roles, to have new responsibilities. That’s growth.” Part of it is thinking about how we frame the opportunities around us.

Reframing Growth

Employees want opportunities to grow and often that growth opportunity is created by reframing existing situations. Instead of saying, “I know you have a lot on your plate and I’m sorry to ask you to do this…,” Reframe the statement as, “this is a great opportunity for you to leverage your ability to network with people. Here’s a project that I really need your help on. Is this something you can help me solve?”

It’s changing that mentality from, “it’s up to me as the manager to solve everything.” When someone comes to me with a problem, I might instead turn it back and say, “what do you think we should do? Would you be willing to take that on?” Creating those portfolios of experiences and reframing existing opportunities is where growth will occur.

Finally, think of growth as this idea of movement, of constant challenging and stretching on a day to day basis. In our meetings that we have, how do we have the conversations that help each other grow? What do we need to start doing? What do we need to stop doing? What do we need to continue? Let’s make it part of the conversation. Growth then becomes less of a formal experience that people go through and becomes part of everyday development and learning.

Listen to the podcast recording on growth.

Further Reading: Are Growth Opportunities Important In Your Job?

Consider surveying your employees to see how meaning is impacting overall engagement.

employee engagement growth MAGIC Engagement podcast

Podcast: Growth – Being Challenged In Ways That Result in Progress

Growing in our jobs doesn’t always mean getting a promotion or a raise; these are components of satisfaction. Growth is about mastering new skills, taking on challenges, and pushing to be better—both professionally and personally.

In this Engaging People Podcast episode, Kristin Chapman, Principal Consultant at DecisionWise, explores how individuals can experience growth in their careers, as well as how managers can foster an environment of growth in their organizations.

Results from DecisionWise employee surveys show that managers often fail to challenge employees enough to learn and to achieve higher results.

Similarly, many employees don’t find their work challenging enough to keep them engaged. Imagine the untapped potential! On the other hand, stretching, taken to the extreme, can result in unhealthy stress. Growth strikes the balance between boredom and burnout.

employee engagement growth MAGIC Engagement podcast