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Here at The Engagement Coach, we are on a mission, to help organisations bring their employees’ passion to work. People go to such lengths to follow what they are passionate about outside of work, but image if their employers could unlock that passion at work. To help us achieve this, we are always looking for talented people who share our vision and enthusiasm.
I’ve been a social psychologist for over 20 years, and it has been a fascinating journey. I’ve delved deep in to the human psyche, investigated what makes us ‘us’, what drives our hopes and fears, what makes us love and hate. This journey has helped me understand our capacities for creativity, leadership, and teamwork; how to turn scientific knowledge in to practical application. For all the wonderful insights this journey has provided, for me one fundamental truth about the human mind has stood out. What really defines us, our aspirations, aptitudes and abilities, is the distance between us.
In a world where our perceived value can be largely driven by our visibility in the office, the number of hours we are working, or from the number of meetings we attend, is it any wonder that productivity is suffering? The frustration for many employees is that activities in the workplace are taking them away from actually getting things done. Attending meetings can be very useful, when well-planned and organised with a definitive outcome - but how often do you get to attend meetings such as these?
So you want your company to offer the very best customer service? Some new thinking from the field of social psychology is suggesting something quite radical: Stop thinking about customers as customers, and start thinking of them as part of your team.
The field of social psychology provides some fantastic insights in to teambuilding; insights that, properly applied, could make all the difference in attempts to enhance employee engagement. One seemingly counterintuitive tip comes from research on “social identification”. This work suggests that we shouldn’t always be thinking about how to make our team members feel included. On the contrary too much emphasis on inclusion can actually counter a basic human need for distinctiveness; leading, ironically to dis-engagement with group goals.
Have you ever had to change a tyre manually? Hard work, isn’t it? Although we’ve all got tools to change a tyre in the boot of the car, how much effort do we need to put in to achieve this? I’m no expert myself, but I suspect that within a matter of time; after watching YouTube tutorials, combined with excessive physical labour, you could eventually get the job done, wipe the sweat off your forehead after your exertions, and get on your way.
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