11

ENGAGE: CONNECTING TO THE BIG PICTURE

“The leader is the person who brings a little magic to the moment.”

—Denise Morrison, President and CEO, Campbell Soup Company

Hawaiian shirt day, free food first Fridays, ping-pong tables, onsite I laundry, or the amount of “flair” you wear on your uniform. Is that employee engagement?

Employee engagement. You’ve likely heard the term thrown around quite a bit. What exactly is it, and how do you get it? Although free food is always engaging for me, that is just a very small tactic in your larger strategy of building an engaged team. Employee engagement isn’t defined by employee happiness or even employee satisfaction; the definition goes deeper. In the New York Times bestseller, Building a Magnetic Culture, Kevin Sheridan said that engaged employees:¹

… possess an intellectual commitment and emotional bond to their employer.

… have an eagerness to exert both discretionary effort and creativity.

… become co-owners of their own engagement and commitment to improve.

Our interpretation of these characteristics is:

They have passion and enthusiasm for their company, and they’re proud to say they work there!

They will go above and beyond and take initiative just because they want to. Now, that’s a manager’s dream.

They understand that it’s not all “What can YOU do for me?” They know it’s a give and take.

Now, can’t you see why there is such a buzz about engaged employees? Engaged employees are an absolute joy for you and your organization! Your generation can excel in this area of building an engaged and empowered team. According to a 2010 survey by the Pew Research Center, “nearly six-in-ten younger workers (57 percent) say it is not very likely or not likely at all that they will stay with their current employers for the remainder of their working lives” Furthermore, only 23 percent of millennials think they will still be with their first employer after two years.²

The truth is you can help defy that statistic. The American Management Association states that “The cost of hiring and training a new employee can vary from 25 percent to 200 percent of annual compensation”³ That’s a lot of money. Turnover costs companies dearly, so you want to do your part in keeping your team engaged and away from their job-hopping tendencies.

Most millennials leave jobs because they’re bored, disengaged, or ready for something new. After six months, millennials are asking for a promotion or a change in project. Millennials are accustomed to multitasking, getting information at the push of a button, and adapting to new technologies on a daily basis. Your generation likes to have this change in pace and energy in your work life as well. As a manager, be mindful of this predisposition because you want to make sure that your employees are always engaged and connected to work.

Courtney is a millennial, and she has worked at JB Training Solutions for eight years now. When she tells people about her “tenure,” they say things like, “Oh, wow, you must really like it” or “You must be able to do the job in your sleep.”

Courtney says, “Yes, I do really like my job, but no, I can’t do my job in my sleep.” That’s a big reason she says she is still with the company after eight years. She has been engaged and pushed throughout. Every year, we take on a new business angle or challenge, so she is constantly using and honing new skills. She likes to see the results of her work, and I try to empower her as much as I can.

As a millennial manager, you can create that for your team. Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo!, speaks to some of the underlying drives of your team, “Employees, especially young people, want more than a paycheck.”⁴ It used to be that employees went to work, worked, and didn’t expect much more. It’s not that clear cut anymore. Employees, and especially other millennials on your team, are looking for a fun, fast-paced, interesting, and challenging workplace—just like you are! Since you value these concepts, it’s easy to build that in for your team. Engaged employees produce more, are stronger team players, and let’s be honest, they’re more fun. The Hay Group says companies with highly engaged workers grew revenues 2.5 times more than those with low engagement levels.⁵

“Engaging employees” is a large topic, and I will throw out a lot of ideas in this chapter. Some of them will work for you and your company culture, and some might not. Try them out. Be open to implementing a few risky ideas. Also, note that all of the aspects of CONNECT help engage and empower your team. For example, delivering feedback and communicating expectations are significant ways you can inspire your team, and navigating and adjusting your management style is a big contributor to engagement.

Now, how do you cultivate a culture of engagement? What do you need to do, and what should be your focus? Obviously, engagement looks different for different people. Something that engages one person might be terribly demotivating for someone else. Think back to our different communication and behavioral styles.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU, AND YOU, AND YOU

As a manager, you want to get in tune with your team. You need to sharpen your emotional intelligence to read between the lines and see the heart and core of your team. How’s the morale? How is everyone functioning individually? How are they working together as a team? Who is excelling? Who needs an extra push or challenge? You may find that you learn a lot more from observing rather than talking. I urge you to step back, listen, and observe to get a real pulse on the engagement of your team.

Then get to know your employees individually. As a millennial manager, this is an area in which you excel. You’re all about connecting to your people. Build a relationship by asking how your employees are doing. What’s their life like outside of work? How was their weekend? Ask, but not in a creepy way.

Your team likes to know you care about them as a whole. What are their hobbies? What are the names of their family members? What are they passionate about? What motivates and inspires them? What demotivates them? You need to know what drives your employees, so you can reward, recognize, and encourage them on their terms. Getting to know them will go a long way in keeping them engaged and excited about work.

Show That You Care

It’s so simple, but it makes a huge difference. Any time I read a book or article that applies to one of my employee’s interests or hobbies, I pass it along. It sounds small, but if Nicole is running the marathon, it makes her feel special if I give her an article from Crain’s magazine that shares tips from CEOs running the marathon.

If Allison loves all things British, I can take a picture of the “Keep Calm” store display and send it to her. Learn about birthdays, work anniversaries, weddings, new babies, new hobbies, or big events. You don’t have to attend the baby shower or help throw the bachelor party, but a nice note or word of congratulations shows that you care. Even just share advice. “Okay, here is a list of all the restaurants you MUST visit in New Orleans.” This shows your employees that you care for them as individuals.

Now, how do you determine what motivates someone? Of course, you can guess and go through a little trial and error. Or you could just ask. In one of our management courses, we recommend a fun exercise for managers to do with their employees. It’s a quick team-building activity, but it gets at the root of some great ideas that will help you when it comes to engaging your team. It’s a fun game of “Would you rather?” Feel free to share these questions with your team. Of course, they start out fun and lighthearted, but they then get at some good scoop. Maybe you’re not going to send your employee on a mountain vacation, but you might buy them an iTunes gift card (instead of Starbucks) the next time you want to show appreciation.

Would You Rather...?

(You can only pick one!)

Would you rather go on a mountain vacation or a beach vacation?

Would you rather watch TV or listen to music?

Would you rather be invisible or be able to read minds?

Would you rather be stranded on an island alone or with someone you don’t like?

Would you rather receive a Starbucks gift card or an iTunes gift card?

Would you rather be recognized with public praise or personal praise?

Would you rather write the presentation or deliver the presentation?

Would you rather be recognized with more flexibility or a spot bonus?

Would you rather work independently or on a team?

Would you rather eat lunch with a senior leader or get the afternoon off?

Would you rather receive a gift certificate to your favorite restaurant or tickets to a sporting event? (equal value)

Would you rather be given an open-ended project or a project with very explicit guidelines?

Would you rather read a business book on leadership or watch a webinar on leadership?

Would you rather be separated from your phone for a day or give up chocolate for a lifetime?

Would you rather be separated from your phone for a week or go without Google for a lifetime?

This gives you great insight on the types of rewards and recognition your employees find motivating.

Now that you have some insight into your employees, let’s take a look at the specific drivers of employee engagement. According to Sheridan’s Building a Magnetic Culture, the top five drivers of engagement are:⁶

1. Recognition

2. Career development

3. Manager

4. Strategy and mission

5. Job content

If you think about it, those top three have to do with you—the manager. Besides the employee himself, who is mostly responsible for recognition and career development? The manager. This entire book is helping you become a more engaging manager, and you will learn more about “career development” in Chapter 13, “Teach: Being a Mentor—and Student.” Let’s break down the number one driver—recognition, so you can see where you can make a big difference.

RECOGNIZING AND REWARDING—CUSTOMIZED STRATEGIES

Recognition goes a lot further than the employee-of-the-month star on the bulletin board. Although trophies, ribbons, and certificates can be part of your strategy, I encourage you to think deeper and broader. There are several ways you think about this in connection with recognition, and I will cover a few overarching themes for showing recognition. You can recognize and reward your employees through praise, flexibility, visibility, responsibility, and autonomy.

Praise

Praise is often the form of recognition that comes to mind first. The great thing is that it can make a huge impact on engagement, and it doesn’t cost a thing. That’s actually an important element of many of the tips I will share. They don’t cost a thing.

Now, there is public praise and private praise, and you want to make sure you are giving both. Employees, especially millennials, crave recognition through praise. Private praise is great to do in a meaningful way. When your employee is doing an especially good job, pull her in a one-on-one to tell her just that.

Ken Blanchard says, “Catch someone doing something right.” Almost 100 percent of the time, when you catch someone doing something wrong, you say something. How often do you comment when you see someone doing something right? 10 percent? 5 percent? Try to catch someone doing something right today, and tell them right then and there.

For public praise, be creative. How do you feel when your boss congratulates you on an amazing job, and then he CCs your boss and others from your team? You feel pretty good, right? That doesn’t cost anything—just two minutes of your time.

At your next team meeting, recognize employees in front of the entire team—and just watch them glow! As I have mentioned before, be specific. Anyone can say, “Malvin, you did a great job on the competitive analysis.” This sounds a little better, “Malvin, I was really impressed by your resourcefulness and persistence with the competitive analysis. It gives us a really clear picture of where we are and where we need to be. It is work like yours that helps make this team great.” Just imagine how good Malvin will feel after you say that in front of your team. He feels valued, appreciated, and ready to tackle the next project with just as much, if not more, energy.

If you work with clients, customers, or external groups, sing your all-stars’ praises to them. You can tell your client, “Lindsey, you’re going to love working with Connor. He’s very thorough and sharp, and he will be a great partner.” That gives Connor the confidence and recognition he needs and deserves to begin a great partnership with the client.

“I praise loudly, and I blame softly,” a great idea from Catherine the Great. Praise doesn’t cost a thing, but it’s incredibly powerful. Especially for your millennial employees who are accustomed to receiving positive accolades.

In fact, a Workforce Mood Tracker survey found that 69 percent of employees would work harder if they were better recognized!⁷ Despite this convincing statistic, I heard from one manager—let’s call him Ebenezer—who was skeptical of this idea about praising employees. He was worried that if he praised employees too much, they would get complacent and not work as hard. Now, you’re not giving praise for every little thing; you’re giving praise for a job well done. It’s not like “Congratulations, Abe, you showed up to work today. You’re amazing! Hey, everybody, Abe is here! Let’s give him a round of applause!” I encouraged the skeptical manager to try giving credit where credit is due and see if his team did indeed slack off. Ebenezer found just the opposite. The root of the idea is that people like to hear praise and they like to be recognized, so they want to do more things that will get them more praise. You’re doing a really impressive job reading this book, by the way.

Flexibility

Flexibility comes in a few different forms: when, where, what. As I have discussed, flexibility might be one of the most motivating and engaging elements for your employees. I work with hundreds of companies and thousands of employees. Across the board, I am hearing that flexibility is what everyone is craving. It’s an appealing reward for your high-achieving employees.

Flexibility in When

As more and more employees try to fit work into their lives, flex hours can be priceless. In fact, 82 percent of Fortune 100’s Best Places to Work have virtual workforce policies.⁸ Maybe a team member has obligations in the evenings, so starting work earlier but leaving work right at 5:00 PM is helpful. If there is an important project, the person tunes in early or late, but the work is getting done and it’s on their own terms. When you give employees this type of flexibility and empowerment, they want to do a good job for you, and they want to prove that the system works.

At our company, when we achieved a goal, I would give a small but fun spot bonus of $50. I was finding that my millennial employees didn’t seem overly impressed. The next time we hit our quarterly goals, I tried something different. I gave them an extra vacation day around the Fourth of July that was coming up, and you would have thought they won the lottery. They were ecstatic and motivated! I was finally speaking on their terms.

Flexibility in Where

With technology, employees can work when they want and where they want, and millennial managers are all for it! Now, nearly everyone has a “home office” and more and more companies are jumping on the work-from-home and telecommuting bandwagon. Case in point, 72 percent of employees say flexible work arrangements like telecommuting would cause them to choose one job over another.⁹ Consider offering this perk to your employees. The hour they gain back in commuting often is put toward generating results for your team. Time and time again in our workshops and in our surveys, millennials say they would choose flexibility over an increase in salary. That’s huge!

Furthermore, everyone seems to worry about this “productivity” idea when people aren’t in the office. Employees tell me that they find working from home twice as productive because they don’t have to worry about interruptions, drop-ins, or impromptu meetings. Who says that someone is being productive due to the mere fact that they are in the office building and sitting at a desk? Do you know Stanley from the sitcom The Office? Stanley is in the office, but he’s secretly napping and often doing crossword puzzles.

If you have engaged employees, they will be productive wherever they are working, and empowering them with flexibility propels that engagement. As a millennial manager, you can begin pushing for this employee benefit. If it’s not currently accepted or offered, present that as an amazing solution to recruit, retain, and engage your star employees.

Flexibility in What

Maybe you work in a business where you can’t control the where and when. You work at a hospital or at a production facility, and employees have to be there on time at a certain time. Maybe your organization is still stressing the importance of “face-time.” While you’re pushing for flexibility for your team, begin offering flexibility in the work. One of our healthcare clients is doing just that. The client has flex schedules, but can’t be as free with the “when” or the “where.” So, the client is looking at the “what.” This means things like job shadowing and job content.

This type of flexibility is especially helpful for your new hires. Just think about it. They have lived with a “semester mentality” throughout school. Everything could be measured in three-month increments. If they had a project or a hard class, it was bearable because it would change and something new would come along after three months. Now think about the workplace and companies that are slow to make decisions or have extended projects. Maybe a new employee takes part in a strategic plan where the end results won’t be seen until five years down the road! They could have a hard time wrapping their heads around this extended timeline, and giving them more flexibility within and outside of the project could keep their engagement from slipping.

Also, think through new opportunities or “fun” projects that you can give your team. Is there a special project they can run? Can you give employees the flexibility to look at other positions, jobs, and responsibilities? Can you change some of the job content for your employees, so they can have flexibility and new challenges in what they do?

The bottom line is that flexibility is huge. It’s huge. Your employees want it and crave it. Be creative about how you can use flexibility in the when, where, and what to engage and empower your team.

Visibility

Visibility is another great tool for showing recognition. Millennials especially love this idea of getting their name and face in front of senior management. If Taryn did an impressive job with her last project, can you take her to the next big meeting with senior leaders? Here, the benefits are two-fold. It’s a learning experience for your emerging leader, and it also allows your rising star to get some exposure. What about asking if your boss would like to take Taryn to lunch to recognize her personally?

You can give them visibility with your key constituents, whether that is your clients, customers, board members, or different departments. This visibility recognizes your employees and keeps them engaged while also exposing them to critical parts of the business that allow them to expand their minds and take on larger roles. Many of these recognition ideas are win-wins. Meeting with senior-level clients is a perk for your employee, but it also helps them do a better job for you by gaining experience and new insights.

Finally, trumpet their successes. When someone on your team does a great job, talk about it. This is where “employee-of-the-month” awards, trophies, or plaques could come into play. Let’s be honest, your millennials still love trophies. I will never forget the Facebook post from one of our clients. The employee had just won “Employee of the Month,” and she had a picture of herself with the trophy on Facebook—she was so proud! To top it all off, the first comment was from her mom, “You didn’t tell me about this! Congratulations!” Boomers also appreciate more formal recognition with a certificate or plaque that they can put in their office.

Another element of trumpeting success is giving credit. If you’re presenting new ideas to your boss, but you know that Manisha came up with the majority of the ideas or did the hard work, absolutely give her credit. If Manisha wasn’t there to hear your accolades, then let her know what you said. When your employees are doing some of the behind-the-scenes work, they really appreciate you being a champion for them. Employees work hard for those who work hard for them.

Responsibility

Giving more responsibility is a great way to engage and empower a star employee. It’s important to note we’re talking about star employees right now. If you have a poor performer who finally does something right, more responsibility might not be your first choice for recognition. That being said, your high performers are craving this stuff. They actively seek responsibility and consistently put themselves in a position to take on more, so they can learn, grow, and excel.

Give a Stretch Project

Lin, a millennial manager at a not-for-profit organization, notes, “Rudimentary assignments get rudimentary results. Challenge tends to motivate.” A stretch project is a responsibility outside of a person’s current skill set—it’s going to make them stretch and push to be able to accomplish it. Maybe this is a responsibility that would help them take a step toward promotion. They might not get it perfectly the first time, but that’s part of learning.

Many times, managers lament about what to give their employees to really push them. First, look at your project list. Is there something that you’ve been meaning to get to, but you just haven’t been able to make it a priority? Hand it to your employee. Empower your employee with a couple items from your “B” list projects that are labeled important but not urgent. What about that business problem that you want to tackle? Have your employee lead a special project team to get it done.

At DICK’s Sporting Goods, each year they hire a few high-potential Associates for their leadership development track. As part of the program, the Associates are given a stretch project where they must tackle a company challenge. The new Associates work on this project for months—the activities could include visiting stores, researching and analyzing data, speaking with company leaders, and getting in the trenches to discover new insights. It’s incredibly eye-opening for them. They even have an opportunity to present their findings to some of DICK’s most senior leaders. Now that’s beautiful—responsibility paired with visibility. All of the high-potentials say these stretch projects are one of the most crucial elements in their development as an Associate. Consider how you can roll this out on a smaller scale with your team.

Another way to give responsibility is to position the individual as an expert. Do they have a certain skill that they could teach others? Can they lead training on the topic? Can they be the go-to expert when any department faces this issue? For instance, we work with OmnicomMediaGroup (OMG), who tapped some of their digital media employees to be experts and to train colleagues and managers. These digital media experts traveled to each of their U.S. offices and led training workshops. Normally, these employees would not have had this type of exposure or responsibility, but because they held the deep digital knowledge, they were positioned as subject-matter experts, and their skills and knowledge were heavily leveraged.

WWTBD—What Would The Boss Do?

As a manager who wants to foster growth of your employees, get out of the habit of sharing your opinion first. Wait. Any time your employee asks for your thoughts, turn it around and ask them before you answer. Don’t jump in right away with your opinion. Rather, give your team members a few minutes to voice their ideas and share their perspective. It can be intimidating to follow the boss’s perspective with your own—especially if it’s different.

You may be surprised how many good ideas come out while you’re just sitting back and waiting. Maybe Avery even has the exact same idea as you, but now that she voices the idea, she feels more buy-in and connected to it. It’s much more fun to implement your own ideas rather than your boss’s ideas!

This is what I did with Courtney, and this is what Courtney does for her team. It’s easy for your team to come to you with a question and then implement your answer. Likewise, it’s pretty easy and fast for you to just give them your answer, but you want to develop their critical thinking skills. Challenge yourself to always ask them “What do you think?” before sharing your thoughts. It gets them out of the habit of asking and executing and into reflecting and decision making. Often, they have the right answer when they step back and put themselves in the responsibility of being the provider of the answer. Who knew—they had the answer all along!

It also drives home that they need to come with a perspective. They can test their judgments in low-risk situations and conversations with their manager. Along these lines, try to solicit their point of view as much as you can. Again, this goes a long way toward building confidence in your people and gaining buy-in for projects. By getting them involved in more decisions and higher-level thinking, they are better able to perform in their job. They also feel more connected and invested in the project.

Finally, offer training before they need it. If one of your employees aspires to be a manager, can you get her to training courses that prepare her for this role before she even enters it? That way, she gains the skills so she can hit the ground running when she makes that transition.

Cars.com is on top of this idea of engaging employees with responsibility. The company has a large group of millennial employees who are interested in the management track, so management classes are offered through the company university for individuals before they become managers. As mentioned, sometimes companies don’t offer any formal management training. If they do, it can be a few weeks or months into the new manager’s role before they receive training. Cars.com is proactive, as the company wants its managers to feel comfortable and able to contribute from day one. Management also recognizes that it is incredibly engaging to give employees the responsibility of management training before they are even managers. You better believe these employees will want to stay with the company until they can take that exciting next step.

Autonomy

Autonomy is the freedom to bring your strengths and personality to your position and responsibilities. There are a few different things you can do to give autonomy to your employees. First, have them create their own, personal PUSH goals. Share your organization, department, and team goals, and they can align their goals with the bigger picture. Really encourage them to embrace something HAIRY.

Also, give them more autonomy in how they do their jobs. Issue the “do something you’ve never done before” challenge. Maybe that means thinking of a new process to track the logistics or implementing a new marketing message, but encourage them to embrace the position as their own. The challenge gives them the courage to think big and think differently.

Garry Tackett of CareerBuilder advises, “The world is much bigger and more complex than you know. Understand that whatever you are doing is a part of an ever-evolving process.” Tackett goes on to say that it is important that you understand your current role and expected deliverables, “Trust that others are taking care of theirs, too. As long as you know what is expected of you and how it fits into the overall picture, you don’t need the details of what everyone else is doing.” Be comfortable taking a step back from the exact way your employee is completing a task, and focus on the end product or deliverable. Giving this autonomy empowers your people to step up.

BYOB Day

Sorry, it just means “Be your own boss,” but quite a few companies we work with find beer cart Fridays engaging for employees. If you want to try an out-of-the-box idea, consider BYOB. This creative idea was brought to us by one of our clients. The company has a “be your own boss” day during which employees can do anything they would like—they are the boss. Employees don’t come to work or check their e-mails. They can do whatever they wish, as long as it somehow helps the business. Employees might choose to run along the lake while brainstorming new ideas, visit the Museum of Science and Industry special exhibit to learn creative new insights, or work on a special project that combines a passion for music with business consulting. It’s completely up to the employee, AKA boss. After the BYOB day, employees return and present their ideas to the company. Our client talks about how fired up everyone is after their BYOB day! They have implemented numerous creative ideas because employees had a chance to step back and think freely. Their company trusted them, rewarded them with autonomy, and the company was repaid with an engaged workforce and some solid ideas.

Those are just a few ways that you can show your employees recognition—the number one driver of employee engagement. If you look through those ideas again, you will see that they are budget friendly and helpful for your to-do list. By giving autonomy and responsibility, you can get a few important projects off your plate while rewarding your team. Refer to this list often when you’re stumped and want to offer creative ways to keep your team engaged.

SHOWING APPRECIATION: “THANK YOU”

Appreciation and recognition go hand-in-hand, but appreciation deserves its own category. Entire books have been written about showing employees appreciation. It’s such a critical part of being a manager and fostering a positive environment, and it is so easy. Seriously, it is one of the simplest things you can do. “Thank you.”

I conduct webinars to thousands of employees across the country, and I ask people what motivates them and how they would like their manager to show appreciation. You would not believe the number of people who say something along the lines of “a simple thank you.” It’s astounding. No one at their company sees their answers, so they’re not being brown-nosers. They could say money, Starbucks gift cards, time off, or promotions. Granted, we do get answers along the lines of “$$$$$,” MONEY!!, and the random “new pair of shoes.” The truth is, about 75 percent say a simple thank you is all that they need.

For example, Samantha works at an architectural firm. During one especially hard week, she was cranking on proposals and putting in a lot of hours. She was tired and drained, but the principal of the firm told Samantha, “Thank you so much for everything you did this week. I know it was crazy, and you worked a lot of hours, but I’m so appreciative. We’re lucky to have you.” Samantha was wowed. Suddenly, she didn’t seem quite as tired. Someone noticed—and in this case, that someone happened to be the founder and principal of the company. She noticed, recognized, and expressed appreciation. You see, Samantha previously worked at a design firm where she could work until 2:00 am several days in a row, pitching in on projects without even a word of appreciation and recognition from her manager. Her new company and work environment was completely different. Samantha doesn’t mind putting in extra hours because she knows her work is valued and appreciated—she receives a simple thank you.

When is the last time you told your employees thank you? I’m not talking about a passing thank you as they put something on your desk. As you may be catching on, I’m all about making communication direct, sincere, and specific. Any time someone on my team goes above and beyond, I try to thank them—specifically. Now, I may pair that expression of appreciation and verbal thank you with another perk or one of the responsibility ideas I discussed, but I absolutely include a sincere thank you. It could sound something like, “Thank you for dropping everything to put together this proposal. Judging from when I received this e-mail, you worked really late on this, and I can tell you put a lot of time and energy into it. Thanks for doing a great job.”

When it comes to showing appreciation, there are countless things you can do. You could even write a personal, handwritten note—remember those? Oh the joy when I see a handwritten note amid the bills, junk mail, and magazines!

Then, as you know, personalize and customize your gestures of appreciation among your different employees. Aimee might appreciate you taking her to a “thank you” lunch at the new sushi place that just opened (her favorite!). For Garrett, you can show appreciation by telling him to take the morning off, so he can be there for his kids’ first day of school (Taylor and Landon). For Heath, just buy him a box of Lucky Charms for breakfast at the office because he is always raving about that stuff. For Carrie, you can tell her that you will handle the expense report for this week! You know that this is her least favorite responsibility, so as thanks, you will take it off of her plate for a week. Again, all of these are particularly nice because they show appreciation, AND they show that you really know the individual. I could go on and on about fun ideas for showing appreciation.

Have fun thinking through creative ideas and add some personality. One of my favorite Zig Ziglar quotes is, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.” No need to be stingy with those thank-you notes. When I’m in the office, every single day when I leave, I tell my team thanks. The power of the thank you goes a long way.

BUILDING IN FUN: WORK HARD, PLAY HARD

When it comes to engaging your team, especially if you’re managing millennials, building in fun is imperative. Millennials expect work to be fun. Building in fun can play out a few different ways. First, think about your team and its perspective. What does your team enjoy? How can you make the work day interesting and stimulating? How can you make sure the members are always learning and growing?

You want to foster an energized culture and spirit. It’s something that you feel when you walk in the door. Lead your team with a positive attitude. If you have a positive attitude, fun usually follows. Negativity and cynical dispositions sour and dispel the energy. According to Helen Keller, “No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.” It sounds like pessimists really miss out.

That’s one of the biggest criticisms that we heard about bad bosses. Bad bosses are moody and negative. That keeps their team on edge—tense and anxious, hoping not to set off the big, bad negative boss. Try to lighten the mood and keep things in perspective. This is one area in which your generation excels. Help your team see the bright angle in situations, and you will build a lively and energetic culture—an environment that people want to be a part of and return to each day.

The ways for building in fun are countless. Don’t be afraid to incorporate some new ideas. At JB Training Solutions, we always are trying something new. Some ideas include:

Chili cook-offs and brown bag team lunches

Lunch and learns—Lunch and educational presentations by team members

Boggle breaks

Morning yoga in the office

Walking outdoor meeting

Adventure lunches—Write down a bunch of directions on a piece of paper and see where you end up (Courtney ate at Taco & Burrito Place for her birthday/anniversary lunch!)

Wise Up! Weekly educational sessions

Wine Down Fridays—Everyone sips wine and “wines” down a busy week at 4:00 PM

Decorate the office day (We’ve had Blackhawks, Royal Family, and Amelia Earhart themes)

Ring the Bell—If you seal a deal or accomplish something big, ring the bell!

Stress relief day—Massage therapist on site

Contests! (Best hair, most creative cubicle, best team logo)

Marshmallow dodge ball (Now, we’re talking!)

This list goes on and on and on. They’re usually more fun to implement if you or your team think of them yourselves, so I’ll stop the brainstorming list there. As I referenced in Chapter 8, “Own It: Taking—and Giving—Responsibility,” there is a significant value in taking a pause and inserting fun.

EMPOWERING YOUR PEOPLE: YOU CAN DO IT

Although it sounds like a tall order, you can boost engagement by empowering individuals in their jobs. This goes hand-in-hand with giving them ownership. How many companies do you know that are stifled with bureaucracy? No one can really get anything done because no one has the power to make a decision. Someone has an idea or a business solution, but it has to be floated to management, and then it has to be sent to legal. Then, everyone has to meet, but nothing is really decided. Then, five months later, when you get a tentative “go ahead,” you have lost all of your energy and excitement. At that point, the problem or challenge probably needs a new solution because so much time has lapsed. So, you go through the whole process again. Now that’s stifling and discouraging.

I referenced Zappos in the amazing way that management gives its employees autonomy. I especially love an example from Tony Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. Hsieh is the CEO of Zappos, and he wanted to test—and even prove—what amazing customer service his company has. He called his company—which sells shoes and clothes—posing as a customer wanting to buy something very different. He was on a business trip with some clients, and they arrived at their hotel late one night well after the kitchen was closed. The group was starving for food, but no one knew of any pizza places in town. On a hunch, Hsieh bet his clients that Zappos’ 24/7 customer service was so amazing that they could call the 1-800 number, pretend to be a customer, and the agent who picked up the call would find them a place to buy pizza in Santa Monica at 2:00 am. This was not a routine question or a product offering, and the employee who answered that call definitely did not have a script for this one. The employee didn’t have to check with the higher-ups. She was empowered from day one to do what she needed to do to provide great customer service. Therefore, she did what any great customer service agent would do—she found the pizza! She quickly researched and discovered several pizza places that were still open and that delivered. That had nothing to do with selling shoes, but she did help the customer. The CEO got his pizza and proved the strength of a culture of empowerment.¹⁰

Furthermore, one of our clients—Centro—has secured the number one spot on Crain’s Chicago Best Places to Work list for two consecutive years. Centro has a laundry list of exciting employee initiatives, and the majority of their managers are millennials. One idea that really drives Centro and its employees is the “Employee Manifesto” written by CEO Shawn Riegsecker. It talks about the values that the company upholds and, importantly, that they emphasize a key aspect of responsibility and empowerment. “Every employee is responsible for his or her own improvement, the improvement of the Corporation, and the improvement of those around them. Lasting success can only be achieved through dedication to the growth and wellbeing of the individual, not the corporation.”

To me, this is a powerful testament of empowerment and speaks to how a manager and an employee need to meet halfway. You’re offering it to employees, and they’re expected to step up to the plate and take that on for the betterment of themselves and the organization. From the moment you enter Centro’s office, you can tell that all employees take this message to heart. Centro empowers its people and expects employees to rise to the occasion. On multiple occasions, I have been standing in the waiting room, and employees who passed smiled and asked if I had been helped. They weren’t the receptionist, but they felt the responsibility to ensure a visitor had a positive experience. No one told them they should do that; they just had that sense of responsibility and ownership.

It’s all about building a team culture that is rewarding, inspiring, and inviting. You want people to want to do an amazing job. Tanja Nitschke, millennial mentor and HR Business Partner at Groupon, echoes this sentiment, “I like the idea of being a career manager versus a job manager. Here are the goals, now, how can we get there? How can we leverage your strengths?”

CONNECTING TO THE BIG PICTURE

Engage and empower. “Empowerment is a term of management. The key is to pull back and stow away one’s ego as the joy comes in watching your people soar and aspire to do great things at a level that derives from your confidence, your trust and leadership in them,” explains Nava Yeshoalul, Staffing Business Partner, Global Business Organization at Google. “Engagement is a term of leadership. The leader has the responsibility to remove barriers. If you really want your employees to develop judgment and wisdom, then they have to be allowed to make (and own) their decisions—creating a work culture that fosters the collective community to act in empowered ways.”

This is where you can make an impact on the bottom line and the future of your organization by involving your people and activating their passions. You can customize your appreciation, recognition, and rewards for your team, and they will keep generating and customizing great results and positive outcomes for you. Experiment with different ideas and discover what works. Offer praise, flexibility, or visibility, and follow up with a little responsibility or autonomy to help connect employees to the big picture. Pepper in the “thank yous” and sprinkle in the fun. This is a mandate made for millennials. You want to be a part of a rewarding and engaging environment. If you build it, they will come—and play—and stay.