Quiet Engaging
By now you will have undoubtedly heard of the term ‘Quiet Quitting’. The Great Resignation seems to have lost some steam and, as employees start to become more incentivised to hold onto their roles, attention has turned to how they can instead create a work-life balance that works for them.
Quiet quitting at its core is simply doing only those activities that an employee is required to do – not routinely working late or offering to carry out tasks that they’re not directly responsible for. However, the underlying message says more about the employer than it does about the employee. Highly engaged people tend to be excited and motivated by their roles. Employees who make a decision to quietly quit are people who no longer feel excited about their jobs.
The gut reaction – to both Quiet Quitting and the Great Resignation – from many seems to be to carry out a culture audit or transformation programme driven by the top leadership (to show commitment). However, there is a significant problem with this approach. In the vast majority of organisations, there is a drastic difference between managers and non-managers experience of company culture.
Big, flashy cultural change programmes are wonderfully motivating for senior management. They allow leaders to talk about the strategic ramifications of valuing their staff and they come with very beautiful presentations and videos of shiny-cheeked employees cheering and high-fiving as they evangelise about their wonderful work environment. They are also, typically, absolute nonsense.
Here’s the thing: the day-to-day culture of an organisation isn’t noisy. It’s the quiet underlying trust (or lack thereof) that managers are consistent, capable and concerned about their team’s wellbeing.
So, to combat quiet quitting, companies must look to how they are quietly engaging. The response to this phenomenon should not be anything involving posters, team away-days or panel sessions with the Exec. Don’t create videos. Immediately scrap all suggestions of stickers or badges.
Instead, turn to your data. Look at your past years’ leadership 360 assessments and identify what percentage of your leaders score highly for being able to balance getting results with maintaining personal relationships. If that percentage is low, you are highly likely to have an issue with quiet quitting. And you’ve probably had that issue for years.
Next review what your leadership training programmes focus on. It is rare for leaders to be purposefully poor at engaging their teams. However, for many staff, the route to management is often simply through strong upward engagement (getting on with the boss) or being highly skilled in their discipline. Neither of these things directly translates to being a good people manager. Without training, it is unreasonable of us to expect that people will instinctively know how to manage a team. If any of the following statements are true, you have an opportunity to improve the leadership capabilities in your organisation:
We don’t have a leadership training programme
Our leadership training programme focuses on using the IT systems managers need to fulfil their roles (timecards, expenses, holiday requests etc.)
Our leadership training programme focuses on the core discipline for the leader’s function (Operations, HR, Finance etc.)
Leadership training is carried out at the point of an individual becoming a manager with no further interventions taken
If you are a manager, ask yourself these questions:
Do I deliver on my promises to my team? Do I acknowledge when the status quo has changed and explain why? Do I behave in a consistent way and ensure that my team know what is expected of them?
Do I understand the work that my team is tasked with? Can I offer advice and suggestions if they get stuck? Am I up to date on the latest advancements in our discipline?
Do I have positive relationships with my team members? Do I make sure to check in on their well-being and confirm their workload before giving them further assignments? Am I aware of their insecurities and aspirations? Do I work with them to help them develop and grow, even when this may mean that they are growing into a role outside of my team? Could I name their husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/kid/dog if my life depended on it?
Is our team psychologically safe? Do I castigate members of my team for mistakes, or do I talk about failure as an opportunity for learning? Do I talk about mistakes that I have made in the past?
If you are a manager of managers, consider these interventions:
Refresh leadership training programmes to focus on leadership qualities
Put in place regular events where your managers can get together and share best practice, discuss concerns and ask questions. These sessions should not be led from the top but instead designed and facilitated by the managers themselves
Create a leadership mentoring programme for more experienced managers to support those who are newer into the role
Review your leadership 360 assessments and ensure that the data you are gathering covers Psychological Safety, Consistency, Capability and Concern for Wellbeing
Quiet quitting is the way that your employees may be letting you know you have more to do. Quiet engagement is the way that you can ensure you deserve your employees’ productivity, creativity and enthusiasm.