Engagement is the Rx for S.S.D.D.

Would you rather:

a) Work with a team of people that has a very strong personal connection — you all get along famously — but are mediocre or barely competent at their individual roles.

OR

b) Work with a team that is civil and polite, but has no personal connection, yet everyone is a rock star at what they do.

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Think back to a job you've had where you were eager for the alarm to go off, ready to hit the ground running and enthused about what was in store for you each day (hopefully you've had this experience).

What was it about that job that made you feel so engaged? Odds are you experienced a combination of these characteristics:

• You had a sense of purpose. You knew that what you did mattered and would be appreciated.
• You had a sense of clarity. You knew what you needed to accomplish without ambiguity.
• You had proper feedback. The information you needed to do your job, and the message that you were appreciated, was conveyed in the right amount and at the right time.
• You had a sense of confidence. You knew you had the skills and aptitudes to achieve the task, and that all the tools you needed to succeed were available.

As a counter example (we've all had those), think of a job where you got along great with your co-workers but the quality of their work was sub-par or mediocre at best. Perhaps your contribution wasn't appreciated either by your supervisor or the customer, or what you were doing was uninspiring. Maybe you lacked the quality or availability of the tools and communication you needed to be effective at your job.

You had a serious case of S.S.D.D. Syndrome.

S.S.D.D. Syndrome

Both of these examples highlight the concept of employee engagement. One has it, the other doesn't.

Employee engagement is a state of being that benefits both sides of the relationship, the employee and the employer. The employee has a sense of enthusiasm and self-worth that adds value to their life. The employer gains a productive member of their team that positively contributes more than their cost.

Since both sides of the employment relationship benefit when the employee feels engaged, why do so many organizations either ignore it or put it low on their list of priorities?

The Great Resignation currently going on is a direct manifestation of a lack of engagement on a large scale. A lack of engagement occurs for many reasons, but most have the same points in common outlined above: a lack of purpose, clarity, or feedback.

If a blue collar worker at Ace Tomato Company is underpaid compared to workers that do the same job over at Zen Vegetables, Inc., the Ace employee will feel a lack of purpose (what they do feels unappreciated). Their days will seem to run together without variety or flavor, and they will feel as if there's no point in trying hard.

If a white collar worker in the main office at Ace Tomato Company spends their days being supervised by someone who ascribes to the Mushroom Style of Management (keep them in the dark and keep dumping manure on them), they will find it difficult to get out of bed each morning when the alarm goes off. They lack clarity and the feedback sucks fetid dingo kidneys (to quote Douglas Adams).

S.S.D.D. syndrome has set in because of a lack of clarity, purpose and feedback.

Side Effects Include...

When someone feels their contribution doesn't matter or isn't appreciated, or they have no clarity on what they're supposed to accomplish, or the message is the same day in and day out, or they lack the availability or quality of tools they need to succeed, engagement will suffer.

When engagement suffers, everyone suffers — the employee and the employer, and perhaps most crucially, the customer suffers, too.

Have you ever eaten in a restaurant when it was obvious the server didn't want to be there?

The antidote to this S.S.D.D. syndrome is to foster engagement with every member of the team, at every level in the organization. Don't forget those in leadership positions, either. You can't build a rock star team that is led by a sub-par supervisor. Remember, more people leave a job because of a bad boss than for any other reason.

The Prescription

Despite how simple these steps are, it is surprising how reluctant some employers are to take them.

1. Provide a sense of purpose. This applies to the organization-wide mission and vision down to how each individual spends their day. Compensate people fairly and do it equitably, i.e., stop paying men more than women, etc.

   → There are tools that can help determine if your compensation is equitable. See APEX at eRep.com

   Make sure everyone in the organization knows that what they do matters, and that their contribution is genuinely and consistently appreciated.

2. Provide a sense of clarity. Eliminate ambiguity in each person's role. Make it clear what role they play and how it fits within their team and within the organization as a whole. Tie their contribution to the mission.

   Clarity also means keeping your promises.

3. Provide adequate feedback. Give employees the information they need to do their job when they need it. Don't keep them in the dark and hope they can read minds.

4. Give people the tools they need to do their job effectively. You wouldn't outfit a Formula 1 pit crew with second-rate zzt-zzt tire change wrenches and expect to win races.

BONUS TIPS:

— Fill every seat in your organization with individuals who are psychometrically aligned to their role. It's easier to be engaged in what you do when you know the rest of your team are the best of the best and are fully engaged. Conversely, work with a disengaged Sad Sack and watch your enthusiasm take a nose dive.

— Define your corporate culture via your mission and vision, then let that culture manifest dynamically. When your team is filled with enthused and engaged people who are hardwired for success in their role and are clear how their role fits into the mission and vision, you'll be amazed at the positive and constructive culture that emerges.

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NOTES

If you don't know what S.S.D.D. stands for, we'll leave it as an exercise for you to look it up on your own.