Video: To Connect With Employees, Stop Talking Only To Yourself!
When you communicate with your employees, are you really just talking to yourself? In this video lesson for AthenaOnline's MyQuickCoach Series, Ann Herrmann-Nehdi explains that to connect with all of our employees we have to pay attention to all mindsets and preferences, not just our own. She provides 4 communication tips for making sure your messages get across in the way you intended, no matter how diverse your audience. Watch the video.
back to topEmployee Engagement Starts with Engaging Their Brains
It's hard to miss the blaring headlines and statistics every day emphasizing that even though most employees are happy to have a job right now, it doesn't mean they're happy in their jobs. Survey after survey reveals dismal employee engagement numbers worldwide. Here are just a few of the stories we've seen lately:
- It's “payback time” for all that slashing and burning of the workforce.
- The vast majority of managers don't know what truly motivates their employees.
- A staggering 84% of employees in the US and Canada plan to look for a new job in 2012.
And the ones who stay but remain disengaged? They may be doing more harm than good. As Towers Perrin Managing Director Julie Gebaue says of the high numbers of partially or completely disengaged employees:
Broadly, organizations face something we've labeled an "engagement gap." They are not getting the discretionary effort they need from their people to drive their performance and growth agendas, and it's hurting both their top and bottom lines.
One of the constant themes that comes up in tandem with these alarming statistics is the fact that managers not only play a large role in whether or not employees are engaged, they don't seem to know what actually engages them.
This is a topic we've been discussing lately with clients and practitioners as well as on the Whole Brain® Blog, where we've talked about how important it is for leaders to be paying attention to what really matters when it comes to employee engagement and retention.
We've seen that in many cases, you can trace the roots of disengagement back to one or more of these problems:
- Leadership fails to understand the full diversity of the organization and the impact cognitive differences have on work approaches, motivations and performance.
- Leadership assigns work without regard for mental preferences and competencies.
- Day-to-day management ignores individual preferences, motivations, reward needs and business needs, instead applying a “one-size-fits-all” approach to management, often based on the leader's own preferences and assumptions.
- Financial performance is viewed as the only measure of success, and therefore management ignores opportunities to improve production processes, employee and customer relationships, and the unleashing of the organization's creative potential.
As this month's video lesson highlights, when leaders fail to connect with their employees, it's often because they are trapped by their own mindsets, viewing the world through their own preferences and completely missing the mark on what different employees actually care about. And that's why a Whole Brain® approach can provide the foundation for helping leaders bridge the engagement gap.
Here's a story that will shed some light on just how much of a difference it can make:
A number of years ago, Herrmann International worked with a lamp manufacturer that was struggling with performance issues. The Vice President of Manufacturing led a staff of 40 plant managers, and although there were significant differences in the roles of each of the 40 plants, he assumed the plant managers were essentially clones of each other. In forming staff teams and delegating executive work, he made no distinction between any of the 40. To him, a plant manager was a plant manager was a plant manager.
Changing this mindset started with bringing together the managers and Vice President to learn about different thinking preferences and how thinking styles impact performance, communication, team effectiveness and approaches to work. Each person received their individual Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) profile, and the group composite Team Profile was also presented.
The Vice President was stunned to discover the mental diversity within the group. He was equally surprised to learn that, taken as a whole, his 40-member staff represented a relatively balanced Whole Brain® team, with thinking preferences across all four quadrants of the Whole Brain® Model, from “left-brained” A- (analytical) and B-quadrant (organized, detailed) thinking to “right-brained” C- (interpersonal) and D-quadrant (conceptual) preferences.
He told us he had just assumed all the managers were alike and had treated them as if they were all “typical” plant managers. He hadn't attempted to align each of them with the most appropriate work assignment or delegate staff assignments in a deliberate manner. In considering the overall manufacturing problems and issues his organization was facing, he realized he wasn't taking advantage of the collective intelligence available to him, and he was missing an opportunity to connect with his staff in a more meaningful way.
The experiences of the day, which also included team exercises and Whole Brain® communication skill-building activities, revealed just how wrong his assumptions were, and he immediately began to make changes. He formed mentally diverse teams to solve problems and accomplish key tasks within the department, and he began looking for new ways to optimize his processes and individual approaches based on what he learned.
The group climate was also visibly different: The managers were more energized, open with each other, and positive about the direction the team was taking, and each was encouraged to bring the tools and methods to their individual plant organizations to cascade the value throughout the company.
As this case shows, it is essential for leaders to break out of the traps of their own mindsets if they want to fully engage, retain and get the most from their employees—and there is no time to waste! If you don't do it now, your best employees might be looking for opportunities to take their brainpower to the competition.
Here are five takeaways that will help you optimize your approach to employee engagement:
- Understand the mentality of the organization's intellectual assets.
- Understand the mentality of the work to be performed.
- Cluster the work into meaningful functional components.
- Align employees to the work they do best.
- Remember that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work: Apply Whole Brain® Thinking to the leadership, management and supervision of the organization.
Looking for more insights and ideas to increase employee engagement? Discover how Integ, an Australian IT company, has been able to ease communication problems within teams; improve teamwork, engagement and retention; and consistently deliver excellence to its customers by adopting Whole Brain® Thinking as a part of the corporate culture. Download the case study: Increasing Employee Engagement and Customer Focus at Integ.
back to topAward Recognizes Perfetti Van Melle's Whole Brain® Thinking Culture
From left: Brenda Gumbs, Executive Vice President of HR and Communications, Perfetti Van Melle USA; Ronald Korenhof, General Manager/President, Perfetti Van Melle USA; Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO, Herrmann International; Ralph Chauvin, Vice President of Sales, Perfetti Van Melle USA.
Airheads fueled by Whole Brain® Thinking? It's true!
Perfetti Van Melle USA, maker of such popular candies as Airheads and Mentos, has turned Whole Brain® Thinking into a way of doing business, and the results have been sweet.
On January 9th, Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO of Herrmann International, presented the Perfetti Van Melle team with the Organizational Learning Award, recognizing the way the company has applied Whole Brain® Thinking in a systematic way to tap into their collective brainpower, solve tough business challenges and optimize everyday operations.
“There are a lot of management tools that are available but nothing compares to Whole Brain® Thinking,” Ralph Chauvin, Vice President of Sales at Perfetti Van Melle, said. “It is the best in the marketplace for applying thought processes to drive business results.”
According to Brenda Gumbs, Perfetti Van Melle's Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Communications, the impact has been felt across the organization.
“Our employees are making better decisions, collaborating more productively, and forging stronger connections with their colleagues and customers. It's had an impact on everything we do as a business.”
With strong support and active involvement by Perfetti Van Melle USA's senior leadership, including Chauvin, Gumbs and General Manager/President, Ronald Korenhof, the company has been using Whole Brain® Thinking tools and skills to come up with better ideas, communicate more effectively, solve problems faster, increase sales, and even improve relationships with vendors and suppliers.
Perfetti Van Melle joins such companies as IBM, Microsoft Game Studios and Telecom New Zealand in receiving this award.
back to topUpcoming Webinars
Public Webinar: Optimize Your Sales Organization for Better Results
Gear up for long-term growth without sacrificing today's numbers. This highly interactive webinar will explore:
- The risks and costs of a short-term mindset
- The agile, adaptive thinking skills sales leaders need to sustain growth
- A framework for optimizing your entire sales organization—from processes and training to leadership, coaching and individual sales results—without getting rid of what you're already doing
- Best practices from leading organizations such as IBM, Coca-Cola and American Express
Bring your questions! The 30-minute interactive presentation will be followed by a special 15-minute Q&A session with the presenters.
Webinar Details:
Outthinking the Competition: Optimize Your Sales Organization for Better Results
Presenters: Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO, and Orin Salas, VP of Sales, Herrmann International
Date: March 1, 2012
Time: 1:00 PM EST / 12:00 PM CST / 10:00 AM PST
Register Now!
This complimentary educational event is open to the public. Please feel free to share the registration link with your colleagues who might also benefit from attending.
THINC™ Webinar: Brain Science Goes to Work—Solving 4 Common Business Problems
Exclusively for HBDI® Certified Practitioners: We're bringing lofty brain research down to earth in this practical webinar. You'll learn:
- The latest brain research and trends you need to be aware of as an HBDI® Certified Practitioner
- How to optimize the problem-solving process by applying what we know about thinking preferences and the brain
- How to use Whole Brain® Thinking concepts to solve common, everyday business challenges
Webinar Details:
Brain Science Goes to Work: Solving 4 Common Business Problems
Presenter: Dr. Mark Schar, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Three Point Solutions
Date: March 28, 2012
Time: 1:00 PM EST / 12:00 PM CST / 10:00 AM PST
Register Now!
Please Note: The March THINC™ Webinar is open to HBDI® Certified Practitioners only. You will need to log in to the Practitioners Area of our website to access the registration page.
back to topUpcoming Events
EVENT SPOTLIGHT: EXECUTIVE BREAKFAST, TAMPA, FL
Harnessing Your Company's Brainpower to Outthink, Outpace and Outperform the Competition
Presenters: Brenda Gumb, Executive Vice President of Human Resources & Communications, Perfetti Van Melle USA
Orin Salas, Vice President of Sales, Herrmann International
Date: February 22, 2012, 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM EST
Location: The Centre Club, Tampa
Register: Reserve your seat online, or call Herrmann International at 800-432-4234 (ext. 308) for additional details. This is a free event, but advance reservations are required.
Hear from the leading authorities on leveraging what we know about thinking and the brain to gain a strategic edge in today's market. This complimentary event is a don't-miss opportunity for leaders in the Tampa area to network with peers and get the inside story on how to harness the collective intelligence in the organization for better results. Please note: Space is limited. Register now to guarantee your seat!
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS:
Training 2012 Conference and Expo
Session 511: Quickly Engaging Learners' Brains for Lasting Results
Presenter: Deborah DeNure, Consultant, Herrmann International
Date: February 14, 2012 at 11:00 AM EST
Location: Atlanta, GA
ASTD 2012 International Conference & Expo
Session TU325: Outthink, Outpace, Outperform: Developing Agile Thinkers to Lead the Way (Trends Track)
Presenter: Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, CEO, Herrmann International
Date: May 8, 2012, 4:00-5:30 PM MDT
Location: Denver, CO
Visit Herrmann International at Booth #711.
Be sure to check our Calendar for the latest event news.
back to topNew Book on Career Development: Survey and Free Chapter Offer
“Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want” is a new book to be published later this year by our colleague and friend Beverly Kaye, best-selling author and CEO of Career Systems International. As a BrainBytes™ reader, you have the opportunity to be a part of the book's research and receive a free chapter before it hits stores this fall.
Beverly is in the process of collecting research to complete the manuscript, and you can help by completing a very brief “Help Them Grow” survey about your experiences with career development. As a thank you for your input, if you choose to provide your name and email address when submitting the survey, you'll get an advance preview chapter of the book.
Slated for publication by Berrett-Koehler on September 3, 2012, “Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go” will provide managers with countless questions, templates, tips and tactics for having the deliberate, focused conversations that drive awareness and action on the part of employees.
As Beverly notes: “Most of us grew up learning that ‘talk is cheap.' Not true. When it comes to the manager's role in development, talk is actually the most precious and results-driving commodity managers have to share. Deliberate, focused conversation is all that's required for deliberate focused development...which in turn drives engagement, satisfaction and business results.”
back to topRecent News on Thinking and the Brain
- Cutting-edge technology taps into the human brain. From “mind-reading” to “mind-powered” applications, this PBS NewsHour report reveals that new developments in neuroscience could affect everything from entertainment to medical care.
- Can boosting cognition change personality? A program designed to build the cognitive abilities of older adults is also changing a personality trait researchers had believed was fixed throughout one's lifespan.
- From “Guitar Zero” to musician. The brain science behind an N.Y.U. professor's journey in learning to play the guitar.
Upcoming Certification Workshops
Did you know? The Herrmann HBDI® Certification Workshop has been pre-approved for 30.00 (Specified Business Management and Strategy) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute.
Herrmann HBDI® Certification
February 21 – 24, Tampa, FL
March 20 – 23, Boston, MA
For detailed location and registration information, please email service@hbdi.com or call 800-432-4234 and select option 6 for Client Services.
Did you recently attend a certification workshop? Be sure to complete your practicum to become fully certified, and then use your certification coupon to get your implementation off the ground!
