Everybody knows...
Recommendation: if you hear this phrase, power-up your BS-meter. It's not a rule, but close.
Everybody knows that no one wants to work anymore.
Everybody knows that a good lawyer has a great success rate.
Everybody knows that people need external incentives to do their best work.
Just because we've heard it a lot, doesn't make it true.
Briefly: people don't want to be exploited; they're looking for more than just an exchange of time for money.
Less briefly: a lawyer with a flawless record is really good at getting the slam-dunk cases. Your BS-meter may alert you to consider whether you them to serve you if you've got complexity in your situation.
Brevity out the window: (see "Briefly" above as a reminder) People are whole, entire humans. They are more than lawyers, stockers, managers, sawyers (for real, search if this looks like a typo). But, just for fun, assume people are machines. What is the fuel that gets that machine to go?
I've got a collection of 3 machines: a car, a computer, and a generator. They're all machines so make them go! Give them all gasoline! This doesn't work for the computer, some cars, or some generators. Give them all electricity! It will likely work for the computer, but not necessarily the car or generator (which in this case could run on wind or water).
"Do I actually have to figure out what each machine requires for fuel and give it that to make it run effectively?"
Yep. That's the deal.
People are more diverse than machines and have different "fuels" to get them to run effectively. It might work to fuel one person with money, but not most people. It might work to fuel some people with awesome benefits, but not all.
What works most consistently? Quality leadership. Leaders who show interest, care, and concern for their teams tend to foster teams that are more engaged, productive, and stick around.
MAYBE, maybe this is also an "everybody knows." If it is accurate, what is one thing that is keeping more leaders from engaging their teams in this way?
More specifically, what is one way you could level-up your leadership skills so "everybody knows" you're interested in your team being engaged?
Photo by Eldo Rafael on Unsplash