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Do You Want Engaged Employees? Place Your Bets On Caring.

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Ace of Hearts - Gallup Chairman• In 2014, Jim Clifton, CEO of the Gallup Organization editorialized: “…

traditional beliefs about how best to motivate human beings continue to be the key reason why 70% of the working population is disengaged.”

• “…many CEOs have been repelled by (the) idea that management must incorporate more heart to be successful,” but, “They're beginning to recognize that an authentically caring culture provides a clear & sustainable competitive advantage.”

• “…managers must be driven, love productivity, profitability, & competing," he added, "but they must also have an inclination to maximize the potential of every person on their team.”

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Easier Said Then Done!• The problem is that Clifton’s last statement represents two misunderstandings

about the nature of caring management:1. Caring behaviour is more subtle than a conscious inclination to maximize

potential of an employee. It is found in the everyday acts of communication between manager & employee.

2. Driven, competitive managers tend not to exhibit caring behaviour in their everyday behaviour. They’re more likely to command than connect.

• The managerial role comes with built-in justifications for not connecting:1. I don't need to connect because I’m in charge.2. Connective talk is a waste because it’s not about the work, &3. Telling people what to do is simpler than engaging them.

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Engagement & Our Two Minds At Work

• We need to wake up to the the fact that we have two minds - rational & emotional - not one to get us through the day.

• When employee’s emotional minds read control in their manager’s talk & actions, they disengage emotionally – an automatic act of self protection – and work less.

• When employees’ emotional minds read regard, liking or concern for them in their managers’ talk, they read care. They open up emotionally & release their full neural energy into their work.– As current neuroscientific research reveals, we need connective relationships

and that compliments & fairness fire up the craving circuits in our brain. We will work harder for them.

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Mindful Management: Wake Up To Where You Are• On behalf of your team or your company be competitive but with your team be mindful of a

key rule: Everybody knows you’re the manager so stop talking & acting like one! Wake up & lead with care:

• Create positive emotional connections through “management by talking around”. Get to know your employees – make small talk, be friendly or at least courteous & respectful.

• Appreciate them for work done well. Compliments matter. Consider their opinions & ideas in your decision-making & say thanks from time to time. It shows

• Respect & builds

• Emotional engagement in their work.

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Connect on ca.linkedin.com/in/communicate4life

Dr. Dalton Kehoe has been a teacher, organizational change practitioner and communications consultant for over 40 years.

Routinely voted one of the top teachers at York University, and chosen by the province’s educational television network as one of the best lecturers in the province, Dalton Kehoe is a dynamic business speaker. He is also a top-rated instructor in the Executive Education Center at the Schulich School of Business at York University, where he trains executives from leading companies.

Now the President of Communicate for Life, Ltd. a firm dedicated to helping people to improve their workplace communication skills.

Download the book!Mindful Management: The Neuroscience of Trust and Effective Workplace Leadership

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