Many leaders are unaware of the needs and concerns of their workforce. Unmet needs produce strong negative feelings and resentment. These employees become complainers, cynics, and faultfinders. They resist change, and they disengage from the culture and all initiatives. They “just work here,” and they only do enough work to keep from getting into trouble. If they fail in this outcome, they will demand more money, more benefits, or unusual work arrangements – and this is the mindset that they come to work with every day. It is a mindset that is also easily transmitted from employee to employee.
If you recognize this mindset, or recognize any of this behaviour showing up in corporate culture, you are not meeting at least one of the seven employee needs, which are:
1. Inclusion and belonging.
2. Appreciation and Recognition.
3. Challenge and Achievement.
4. Trust and Accountability.
5. Growth and Learning.
6. Power and Control.
7. Meaning and Purpose.
This list might seem daunting and unachievable, but science has proven that the lack of just one of these needs, can trigger negative employee behaviour as a way of compensating for a lack of positive emotional fulfillment in their job. Science has also proven that as humans, a negative mindset and negative behaviour is the most natural reaction of employees to an emotional deficit.
The biggest challenge as an organization is identifying the issue and then giving your people the necessary tools, skills and language to create the mindset and behaviour that will overcome the negative. In today’s environment of complexity, ambiguousness, and constantly changing organizational landscapes, creating a new culture with the skill of Positive Presence will take your people and your organization to a new level of emotional awareness and performance
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.