Our team members often share that they don’t feel valued.
Our leaders often explain, “I value my people, and I tell them that regularly.”
What is the disconnect? Telling people that they are valued is not the same as valuing them.
So, what does being valued look like? Over the past many months, I’ve captured reflections from a number of different clients. “I feel valued when my manager…”
- Ask for my perspective on possible solutions to problems, listens to my ideas, and then incorporates my feedback. The listening and incorporating are vital parts to me actually feeling valued.
- Shares with me something specific I did that they appreciated and emphasizes the impact of my work.
- Knows the name of my spouse and children and sometimes asks how they are doing.
- Acknowledges my contributions when speaking to their own leaders instead of only focusing on their own successes in those conversations.
- Recognizes that I have commitments outside of work and allows for reasonable flexibility.
- Ensures that I’m being paid fairly for my work.
- Includes me in conversations about issues that directly impact me instead of relaying the decisions to me after they’ve been made and without any consultation.
- Offers opportunities for me to develop my skills, such as inviting me to participate in projects that stretch my skills.
- Provides me with helpful, constructive feedback that will foster my growth instead of just telling me that I’m great.
The stories I’ve heard have some commonalities. Often team members want to…
- Feel heard and included in conversations, information-gathering, and decisions (as appropriate)
- Be recognized for their contributions and supported in their development
- Receive specific feedback that includes information around impact
- Be acknowledged as full humans both at work and beyond
- Feel that gratitude is genuine and heartfelt (and not performative)
So instead of telling people that we value them, let’s show them through our actions—it only takes a few extra minutes. These items are a good start. Even better, we can ask our people directly what being valued looks like to them, and then we can tailor our support for maximum benefit to our team members!