Being engaged with our work contributes to both our wellbeing and our work performance. To make or maintain a company’s profitability, leaders of companies must work hard to engage their employees[1] and this is never more than true during this period of global business uncertainty and the ever-increasing prevalence of skills shortages. Having a strong connection with your work and colleagues, feeling like a real contributor, and enjoying ample chances to learn—consistently leads to positive outcomes for both individuals and the businesses that employ them. The rewards include higher productivity, better-quality products, and increased profitability.

Oxytocin is a hormone and neurotransmitter that influences social behaviour and emotions, it is associated with empathy, trust and relationship building. Studies have shown that our psychological safety and wellbeing at work directly correlates with the levels of oxytocin (a feel-good chemical in our brain) being released into our body[2]. So are there ways that leaders can directly impact the physical chemistry of their employees? In short yes. A feeling of trust has been proven to release oxytocin which in turn makes a person happy. If you can build trust, you can create an alchemy that turns a chemical into a more engaged employee.

Based on the many dialogues we’ve had with clients and candidates from our network coupled with existing research on the topic we often highlight these top eight management behaviours that foster trust[2]. These behaviours are measurable and can be managed to improve performance and enhance people potential.

Celebrate success

The neuroscience shows that recognising success has the largest effect on trust when it occurs immediately after an objective has been achieved. Celebrating employee success should be tangible, unexpected, personal, and public. Recognition across the wider organisation, not only harnesses the power of the crowd to celebrate an employee, but also inspires others to aim for excellence. It can also give top performers a platform for sharing best practice, so others can learn from them.

Achievable challenges

A study[3] of 12,000 employees found that 76 per cent of people reported that their best days involved making progress towards goals. Leaders that set tasks that are moderately stressful induce the release of neurochemicals within their team’s brains. When team members work together to reach a goal, brain activity coordinates their behaviors efficiently. But this happened only when challenges are attainable with a concrete end point; vague or impossible goals cause people to give up before they even start. Leaders should check in frequently to assess progress and adjust goals that are too easy or out of reach.

The happiness of autonomy

A survey by Citigroup and LinkedIn[4] found that nearly half of employees would give up a 20% raise for greater control over how they work. Whenever possible, employees should be allowed to manage people and execute projects in their own way. Being trusted to work things out for themselves is a big motivator. Autonomy also promotes innovation, because different people will try different approaches. Often, younger or less experienced employees can be the most innovative, because they are less constrained by what “usually” works.

Self-direction

When companies trust employees to choose the projects they work on, people focus their energies on what they care about most. Gaming software company Valve[5] encourages employees to join projects that seem interesting whilst still being held accountable for their performance. Clear expectations are set when employees join a new group, and 360-degree evaluations are done when projects wrap up, so that individual contributions can be measured.

Transparent objectives

Uncertainty about a company’s direction is stressful for employees and inhibits the release of oxytocin. The antidote is to be transparent about goals strategies and objectives and communication is key. A global study[6] of 2.5 million manager-led teams found that engagement improved when their leaders had some form of daily communication with their direct reports.

Making it personal

A Google study[7] found that leaders who showed genuine interest and concern for their team members’ success and personal well-being outperformed others in the quality and quantity of their work. Leaders can help people build social connections by sponsoring social interactions, and team-building activities. When people care about one another, they perform better because they don’t want to let their colleagues down.

It’s about more than the office

Investing in the whole employee has a powerful effect on engagement and retention. High-trust workplaces help people develop personally as well as professionally. Leaders should not only probe their team for their professional goals but also be prepared to assess their personal growth requirements including discussions about work-life balance, family, and time for recreation and reflection.

Demonstrating vulnerability

“I found that being very open about the things I did not know actually had the opposite effect than I would have thought. It helped me build credibility.”

— Jim Whitehurst, former CEO, Red Hat

Asking for help is a sign of a secure leader and asking for help from colleagues stimulates their oxytocin production which increases their trust and co-operation. Asking for help boosts engagement because it taps into the natural human impulse to cooperate with others.

In Summary

In today’s hybrid workplace your success as a leader relies increasingly on how well you foster trust in your work relationships. Before when able to meet frequently face to face, we were allowed the full use of all the senses in order to understand each other and oxytocin levels were more easily induced naturally. Today we are faced with having to work harder to achieve the same level of engagement amongst our employees. Having an awareness of the chemistry of our human makeup and following these 8 key principles will help you power-up the chemistry in your leadership skills.

References

[1] https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust

[2] Kortmann, S., Gelhard, C., Zimmermann, C., & Piller, F. (2014). Linking strategic flexibility and operational efficiency: The mediating role of ambidextrous operational capabilities. Journal of Operations Management

[3] https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins

[4] https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-ATWORKB-2141

[5]https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/apps/valve/Valve_NewEmployeeHandbook.pdf

[6] https://www.gallup.com/services/182138/state-american-manager.aspx

[7] https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-google-sold-its-engineers-on-management

Alumni

We have more than 30 years’ experience in recruitment, leadership assessment and development and we are passionate about diversity and inclusion. We also practice what we preach within our own organisation. We have some of the most diverse networks of potential candidates across many geographies. We understand fully how to maximise inclusion at all levels of within the organisation and particularly in the recruitment processes. We have tried and tested, formal methodologies for creating inclusive approaches to attraction, selection and onboarding. We also work to develop the leaders of both the present and future, with assessment, training and awareness programmes. If you would like to explore how to make your organisation more diverse, more inclusive and ultimately, more successful, then please get in touch.

The chemistry of employee engagement