In this episode, we continue our journey through each of the Four Engagement Elevators by stepping into elevator number 3: Valued Voice. In this elevator, employees trust their coworkers and leaders, participating in open, two-way communication. They allow others to talk as they sincerely listen and, in turn, share information and concerns.
Helping us explore Valued Voice is Lori Clark, Director of Local Sales at TEGNA. Lori provides valuable insights, like:
- How companies with repeated success almost always have one thing in common: a strong company culture.
- Why being fully transparent as a leader can make it easier for employees to feel as though their voice is valued.
- And how providing your employees with the truth will always be better than allowing their minds to “fill the vacuum.”
A Strong Company Culture = Repeated Success
Beginning the conversation, Beth asks Lori why she thinks company culture and employee engagement are worth so much intentional focus.
“I think the importance is really about repeated success,” Lori says.
“Companies can have success without a strong culture, but the ones that continue to be successful over and over again seem to have a really good, strong culture.”
And those that have a strong culture not only achieve repeated success through endless “wins” but also from a strengthened ability to weather a landscape of near-constant uncertainty.
“Well, and particularly with the last couple years being so uncertain...you know, with COVID, with the war, with supply issues, etc. By having a good culture, you can work through that together as a team, and that's back to where employee engagement comes in.”
“You can't work through things without everyone on board with the plan.”
Is Your Door Really “Always Open?”
Citing ENGAGE 2022: The Company Culture Report, Beth shares the finding that “A surprising number of people, almost one in four, do not feel as though their opinions matter at work.”
“I was actually surprised by that statistic, too,” Lori says. “But I think it's all about it being organic, right? In your everyday conversations, your everyday one-on-ones.”
She continues, “I think it is all about not just saying we want your feedback, but in every moment taking that opportunity to get their feedback and then also for you to give your feedback too. Right?”
“And none of us are an exception to needing feedback. We all need feedback, right? So, it becomes a part of what you do every day.”
Lori also points out the stark difference between leaders that claim to be open to providing and receiving feedback and those who can actually sense when certain conversations need to happen.
“You know, you hear a lot of times, ‘oh, my door is always open.’ Well, what does that mean really? Is it really?”
“It's not something I feel like you can just say, ‘come talk to me if you have a problem.’ It's more about being aware of what's going on and maybe sometimes even reaching out like, ‘Hey, I noticed X, Y, Z, let's talk through that.’ Or ‘Are you having trouble?’
“It’s being a little bit intuitive about what's happening around you and not just, as a leader, being tunnel-visioned to, ‘okay, I've got to check all this stuff off my list of to-dos. I don't have time to check in on so and so.’”
“I think being intentional and being organic in those everyday conversations really do make your door ‘always open.’”
The More Transparent You Are, The More Trust There Is
“My philosophy is to be as transparent as possible,” Lori says. “So, employees know that they can go to any one of us and get the information that they need. And because we have created this culture of giving us feedback, they are not shy about saying, ‘Hey, why didn't we know about this?’ Or, ‘Hey, I'm hearing X, Y, Z.’”
Lori also mentions that often when leaders aren’t forthright with information that their team might find valuable or useful in their role, employees fill the vacuum on their own.
“I have found that if you're not [transparent], then they just make things up. Right?”
“So, I'd rather people really know, even if it's a difficult conversation or even something that they don't want to hear...I would rather them know about it than speculate and make things up, because that is detrimental.”
And when leaders do share key information (good, bad, and ugly alike) with their team? Deeper trust begins to form for everyone involved.
“Employees trust you more as well.”
“And then the other thing I'll say, sometimes I've heard leaders say, ‘well, ooh, do you trust everybody with that information?’ Yes, I do, actually.”
“Trust to me, is a really big thing. And you know, when we hire you into the organization, you automatically come in, in my mind, with a hundred percent trust. Then every day after that, you're either continuing to build that, or you're breaking it down, right?”
“So, if for some reason you don't trust [one of your employees], then...you just probably shouldn't have them on their team.”
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