The pressure of leading a team in the workplace may seem challenging. Yet a critical part of leadership is caring for people as well as accomplishing the needed business goals. In fact, the best leaders are those who put the needs of their people as a priority. You may feel the most pressure to meet your goals at work, but in order to promote a healthy work environment and accomplish the needed goals, it is imperative to be aware of the physical and emotional needs of your employees.
Research shows employees will balance three organizational themes — the three “Rs” — in their decision to remain with a particular company:
Rewards: Salary, commission, benefits, incentives, continuing education, vacation time, retirement plans, etc.
Respect: How they’re treated, work environment, personal and professional growth opportunities, recognition, etc.
Requirements: Clearly defined job duties, realistic goals and expectations, dress code, etc.
Regularly addressing the three “Rs” create a healthy culture where employees can thrive. Studies on workplace effectiveness show that the healthier each individual is on the team, the more productive they will be in accomplishing their work. A healthy, productive team will actually accomplish more.1
If you are looking for ways to improve the culture of your business, follow these guidelines:
Get to know your employees as people before getting to know them as employees. That knowledge will help you know how to get the absolute best out of each of them while at the same time recognizing and rewarding their individuality.
Inspire a positive and upbeat culture at work. Be aware of well-being resources and make it a priority to communicate effectively about the services that will enhance the resilience of your team. Train employees to notice their own levels of stress and how to take note of stress in others.
Provide a safe environment to maximize communication and collaboration among workplace relationships. A psychologically safe environment is a shared belief that a team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. It can be defined as "being able to show and employ one’s self without fear of negative consequences of self-image, status or career."2
Create a positive workspace. Clean facilities, comfortable furniture, ample workspace, proper equipment, collaborative break rooms/kitchens, and ample parking.
Ensure a high level of employee involvement. Give employees responsibility for helping to direct a change in culture.
Identify possible resistance in advance and develop strategies to overcome it. People react to change in different ways. Some embrace it while others need to be brought along kicking and screaming.
Celebrate success. Make sure that you recognize and celebrate successes (no matter how small) along the way.
David Hunnicutt, PhD, WELCOA, “Possessing Individual Strengths to Develop a More Effective Wellness Team.”’
https://www.welc oa.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20070220-ar-aa-teams.pdf.
“A new look at psychological climate and its relationship to job involvement, effort, and performance.” American Psychologic al Association. (Kahn 1990, p 708) Steven P Brown and Thomas Leigh.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
John Boyens
John Boyens is a sales productivity expert and business strategist along with being the co-Founder and President of the Boyens Group. In 2020 John was named as a Top 100 Sales Enablement Consultants by Selling Power magazine and continues in his role as the Executive-in-Residence at the Jones College of Business at MTSU.
Nancy Jernigan
Nancy Jernigan, Ph.D., LPC is a Director for the global executive search firm, Stanton Chase. Her 30-year career has focused on building effective, efficient and forerunning teams in corporate and non-profit settings.