Dear Friends,

At The Waymakers Change Group, we’ve proven that when employees feel seen, respected, valued, and protected, organizations are better able to close the contribution gap (the difference between what employees could give and what they actually give), and more positively impact business outcomes.

In our last two newsletters we shared examples of how leaders have helped employees feel seen and respected. In this issue, we’ll share how Courtney leveraged negotiation, coaching, and discipline to ensure all people on her team felt valued and reveal the impact her efforts had on her team, their division, and the company.

Courtney has been employed at an international nonprofit for 10 years, the last 6 as a leader in operations. In a one-on-one meeting with her manager, Courtney was presented with staggering results: The employee engagement score for her team increased year over year four years in a row; her team had the highest employee engagement score in the operations division as was true last year and the year before; and this year, Courtney’s team had the highest scores of any team their size—across the entire company.

“I want to know what you’re doing,” her manager said, “So we can have other leaders do the same.”

Courtney’s reply made every one of us at TWCHG want to do cartwheels! “I found out what ‘feeling valued’ meant for everyone on my team and I became intentional about helping each person experience that value.” Yes! (Cue cartwheels!)

As Courtney implied, everyone wants to feel valued, but everyone interprets “value” in the same way. Some people equate receiving a promotion, raise or bonus with the company valuing them, their work, and their efforts. Others may see public recognition for a job well done, or words of affirmation as evidence of their value to the team and company. Moments of value are elevating, legitimizing, and humanizing. When employees feel they are valued as an integral part of our business, they report a higher intent to stay with the company.

As Courtney discovered, leaders can help people feel valued by leveraging negotiation, discipline, and coaching.

Negotiation 

Courtney consistently negotiates on behalf of people who do not always have a voice—whether they are on her team or not. Courtney got to know her talent—90% women who were mostly from underrepresented groups—individually and collectively. She asked about their aspirations, their experiences to date, the feedback they’d been given from other leaders and peers. In talent discussions with her peers, Courtney brought up the names of lesser-known talent, sharing their aspirations and skill sets. She asked others their perceptions of those people and, when needed, challenged whether they were evidence-based or assumptive. She used her power to open doors for others and remove roadblocks so they felt supported.

Coaching 

Coaching is how leaders guide people toward their desired outcomes. When we don’t coach people along the way, we miss opportunities to course correct. And because we fear being perceived as racist or sexist or otherwise discriminatory, we do not offer coaching when it might make the most difference. A few years ago, Courtney attended a feedback training session with TWCHG (now a LinkedIn training course). After the training experience, Courtney began providing specific, timely, relevant, and growth-oriented feedback for all people on her team. The new approach ensured Courtney was as objective and bias-free as possible and made her employees feel she was genuinely invested in their success. They felt valued.

Discipline 

Courtney held herself accountable for the outcomes she and her team wanted. She wrote down what made each person feel valued and she worked to come one step closer to making that happen for them every day. She changed her habit of morning coffee at home to make sure she was able to take each of her direct reports for coffee once every two weeks, as each had told her that uninterrupted time to talk helped them feel valued. Courtney was also consistently vocal about enabling equal opportunity for people. She shared facts, questioned unwarranted stereotypes and unfair pay gaps, and, on a few occasions, interrupted microaggressions to ensure she championed equity for all people—including underrepresented talent. Courtney understood that employees would only feel valued when she was disciplined in her efforts to show them and stand up for them.

When hard work is overlooked and people are repeatedly passed over for pay and promotion, they lose steam. They fall behind. They question their potential in the company. They quietly quit. They leave. Courtney understood this and used her negotiation, coaching, and discipline skills to create 2 people leader roles for deserving members of her team and ensure they received equitable pay when compared to others in similar roles in the company. She rewarded work and readiness with opportunity—pay, influence, and promotion. That’s what Waymakers do to help employees feel valued.

Friends, helping all people feel valued is not easy, but it is simple. Follow Courtney’s example. Develop your negotiating, coaching, and discipline skills. Not sure how to start? Contact us. We’ll show you The Way. And we’ll celebrate your healthier culture along with you–cartwheels and all!

Until next time, keep making a way.

The Waymakers Change Group