Start connecting to stop quiet quitting

If you are an ambitious and determined leader of people, you will no doubt be aware of the latest leadership challenge to get your energy, talent and leadership skills focussed on. Quiet quitting

The importance of improving our people’s engagement and energy has increased focus with the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy releasing the Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health & Well-Being in the Workplace. The Surgeon General’s message released with this framework is powerful. It is a signal to leaders and employers that it is time to stop asking questions about whether employee well-being is their responsibility. There are 5 areas which are called out, protection from harm, connection and community, work-life harmony, mattering at work and opportunity for growth

A recent Gallop poll also found that over 50% of the US workforce are disengaged. This may well be a shocking statistic, yet when you remove your own ‘too busy, too burnt out, too ambitious’ spectacles and look around your team of no doubt very different individuals through honest eyes, you can probably see the real-life consistency with the statistics. The day-to-day reality and resonance of the words 'connection and community'

So, what do most of our people need, in order to feel more engaged and have higher energy in their work?

Really, at a simple level, what we, as leaders can do to improve this situation is to show our people that they matter and that their work matters

A big part of this is to build real, genuine connections with the variety of different people we lead and a great place to start is to learn how to have meaningful conversations with each of them individually. This can really help reduce disengagement and burnout and increase their sense of connection and community. You know yourself that in reality only managers and leaders are in a position to know their team as individuals - their life situation, strengths and goals

It’s not just us who believe this is an important part of the solution. Gallup finds the best requirement and habit to develop for successful managers or leaders is having one meaningful conversation per week with each team member for 15-30 minutes

So really, part of the solution to quiet quitting is about building stronger connections by having meaningful conversations with all the people in your team, not just the ones you recruited in yourself, or the ones you find easier to connect with

The thing is this type of thing can actually feel quite awkward for a lot of us. Maybe we smashed our MBAs, have launched highly successful products and campaigns, and have saved our companies fortunes through cost cutting but actually – building strong connections – with everyone in your team, seriously – where to start?

What’s more, you might actually believe you are having those conversations, you might actually be thinking you already understand your team. Well – clearly the statistics show that even if we think we have good connections – there is more to be done to stop the quietly quitting

So - where do you go to for new ideas, for best practice, for the best insights on how to start building stronger connections with your team?

To help you build stronger connections with people – from the new starter to the CEO – we have created an Upskill (our name for a course/masterclass) called People muscles – you can discover more about it here…

Building People muscles introduces you to the psychology behind a good conversation where people feel they are being really listened to

What is great is that we have broken down this intangible concept of how to help people feel listened to, into the practical mechanics

So rather than listening to podcast after podcast or watching Ted talk after Ted talk, or reading management book after management book – you can get straight to the nuts and bolts and start to learn and apply this fundamental people skill

Our People muscles Upskill combines bite-sized videos, private podcasts, 121 Mentor sessions, bespoke Journals and purposeful self-reflection exercises for you to apply - at home, at work, in your whole life. Building People muscles focusses on communications and relationships - building your people strength, so you can excel and inspire - in every interaction, at every level - from the new starter to the CEO

You will build your ability to communicate mindfully not mindlessly, courageously not cowardly, present with purpose and poise, and perform, even excel in great teams so you build your interpersonal strength

Today, start building stronger connections with the people in your team, to stop quiet quitting