I know I will be dating myself when I ask you this question, but do you remember the movie Jerry Maguire? If you don’t remember it, or if you’ve never heard of it, it’s a must-see. One of the most famous lines in the movie is in direct alignment with every employee’s need to be valued at work.
In the film, sports agent Jerry Maguire leaves the hypocrisy of large-scale sports agency life to start his own sports agency based on mutual benefit and strong personal relationships. As he tries to convince Rod Tidwell, one of his NFL clients, to join him, Rod has only one demand: “Show me the money.” He makes Jerry say that back to him repeatedly—louder, and more emphatically each time. It’s one of the funnier moments of the film, yet it also reveals what motivates both Jerry and Rod. And it sheds light on what drives employees in our organizations.
Rod Tidwell did not feel appreciated. He made incredible plays for his team. He set records. Based on his performance, he should have been considered the team’s star player. But he was often overlooked. And under paid. For the amount of quality work he put in—and at great cost to his physical health—Rod did not feel valued. His demand to Jerry was for Jerry to fix that. Jerry needed to secure Rod a $10 million contract. “Show me the money, Jerry!”
According to the Waymakers research, receiving a promotion, raise, or bonus conveys that we and our work are valuable to our company. But while being valued includes tangible rewards like pay or promotion—or in Rod’s case, a $10 million contract—it’s about so much more than that. Value is also shown through acts of service and words of affirmation. Moments of value are elevating, legitimizing, and humanizing for us. When employees feel they are valuable and integral parts of our business, they report a higher intent to stay with the company.
Making people feel valued requires knowing what value means to them, individually, and being thoughtful about how you might support them in realizing that value. As a leader, when you leverage negotiation, discipline, and coaching, you ensure your people feel valued.
Negotiation
Waymakers negotiate on behalf of people who do not always have a voice—people whose names might never enter the room if not for your insistence. Get to know underrepresented talent. Ask about their aspirations, their experiences to date, the feedback they’ve been given—which is sometimes lacking in depth and specificity. Share your insights with them. And, in talent discussions with your peers, bring up lesser-known talent. Ask your peers about their perceptions of those people and whether those perceptions are evidence-based or assumptive. Role model investing in new talent in new ways to get new outcomes and help your peers do the same.
Discipline
Waymakers understand that changing habits is uncomfortable and will be met with resistance at first. Stay the course in the face of opposition. We must hold ourselves and others accountable for creating the outcomes we desire. Our employees will only feel valued when we are disciplined and consistent in our efforts to show them.
Coaching
Coaching is how we 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. Our coaching is either too ambiguous, too late, irrelevant, or disconnected from employees’ goals. Good coaching is specific, timely, relevant, and growth-oriented.
Jerry McGuire was a Waymaker. He used negotiation, discipline, and coaching on behalf of Rod Tidwell. He negotiated for Rod by getting team owners, other players and stakeholders to look at Rod differently and created opportunities for Rod to showcase his expertise. Jerry was disciplined—in spite of the haters and nay-sayers—in his approach to his business and in the way he lived his agent-client philosophy every day in his relationship with Rod. And Jerry had to coach Rod. He offered Rod specific feedback about his negative attitude and made suggestions for improvement that Rod could unpack, internalize, and address in a timely way. Jerry’s unyielding support, his feedback and coaching, and his ability to create opportunities for Rod to shine helped Rod feel valued. And Jerry was able to “show Rod the money” by securing Rod an $11.2 million contract, which exceeded Rod’s expectations of tangible value.
We can do the same. We can ensure all people can use their skills and talents to position themselves for greater opportunity. And we can reward their work and readiness with influence, pay and promotion. Tangible reward is how people know their efforts matter and that they are valuable to you and your organization.
Chapter 6 of the Waymakers book goes into more detail about helping people feel valued at work. Share your plans to incorporate negotiation, discipline and coaching into your daily Waymaking efforts via our LinkedIn page. Let us know how we can support you.
Our next newsletter will explore the last and most profound of the 4 Talent Needs: To Be Protected. Until then, keep learning, keep sharing, keep challenging. Your actions are creating the equitable cultures we all deserve. You are on the right path. And you are not alone.
