In the last two blog posts I encouraged you to take the time to affirm someone in your workplace. I assured you that you could be confident that you would in fact change the world in doing so.
In this post I will give you hard evidence that you can transform the world by affirming those in your workplace (BTW – this will also impact your community, family, friendships…every connection you have).
In a Corporate Leadership Council Employee Engagement Survey covering 50,000 employees in 59 organisations over 10 industries across 27 countries it was found that leaders who trigger emotional engagement release 400 percent more discretionary effort than those who trigger rational engagement. There is a direct relationship between employee engagement and discretionary effort, such that improved workforce commitment results in increased performance of from 20% up to 57%.
That’s math – and it quantifies the results of spoken affirmation, as emotions arise from the heart.
I suggest that it is the ethical responsibility of any team member (leader or otherwise) to affirm the heart of others on the team. No team member operates in isolation. It takes the health of each to become the health of all. As leaders, it is also the most productive way that one can lead! Would we allow people to starve and expect optimal performance? Individuals cannot be emotionally engaged at work unless they are reconnected or restored into meaningful relationships with all the other members of the same organization (community, family…etc).
The foundational key to the resilience of any individual, and therefore any organization (for every organization is a incorporation of individuals) is the condition of the heart.
