PEOPLE
WHAT YOUR
EMPLOYEES
CRAVE AND
HOW TO GIVE
IT TO THEM
BY KATHERINE FOSTER,
ACCOUNTABILITY COACH
HAVE YOU ever struggled to uncover
what your employees truly want in a
workplace experience? According to Gregg
Lederman in his book Crave, “the three
things that humans crave, especially at work,
are respect, purpose, and relationships.
When an employee gets these things, it
will help them be happier, more motivated
contributors to their organization’s success.
So, as a leader, how can you ensure your
employees feel respected, connect with your
organization’s purpose, and have thriving
relationships with their team members?
Gaining respect isn’t easy, and it’s hard
to have authentic respect for someone
if you 1) don’t trust them or 2) don’t have a
deep connection with them. Think about
it. When you’re faced with a challenge,
conflict, or adversity, are you more likely to
have a successful outcome with someone
you genuinely respect and trust, or with
someone you only have a surface-level
relationship with?
Another crucial element of respect
in the workplace is learning to have
healthy conflict. How is this possible?
By genuinely listening and reserving
judgement. Remember, there is a feeling
behind every behavior and opinion, so
take time to hear where the person is
coming from and what they’re feeling
before responding or criticizing. If you
can listen to understand rather than listen
to respond, you will be able to dive deeper
in your relationship with that person and
increase both parties’ level of respect.
The second idea is purpose. People want
to feel like they’re part of something bigger
than themselves. Humans make decisions
based on emotion, not logic, so if you can
tap into your employees’ emotions, you
can win their support. This is where Core
Values and Core Purpose tie in. When you
instill your company’s Values and Purpose
in your employees, they become emotionally
invested in the overarching mission of the
organization and their personal role in
achieving it. When their emotions come into
play, so does their buy in.
Purpose ties into people’s individual
talents and passions as well. Give your team
the freedom to explore what drives them,
and they’ll find a sense of purpose in the
13
work they do. Give them the power to learn
from doing and encourage them to make
mistakes. The greatest lessons come when
you recover from things that don’t go as
expected—it’s in those moments we learn
the most.
I have worked with firms that recruit
top talent because of their Core Purpose
drawing employees from what most people
would call a ‘better’ job and bringing them
on board with a desire to be part of a bigger
meaning.
Additionally, I recently witnessed
a ‘Coming Home Celebration’ for the
Director of Safety at a regional Design-
Build Construction firm. He initially left
his role to embark on a new adventure
with a national firm, but it wasn’t even a
week before he decided his heart wasn’t
in it and made the decision to come back
home to his previous organization. That’s
the thing about great relationships: you
celebrate when people grow and change,
and you always welcome them back home.
That leads us into the last concept:
relationships. How do you build a successful
relationship with your employees? As
humans, we are always looking for
something—our eyes only see, and our
ears only hear, what our minds and hearts
are seeking out. If you consistently look
for the good and recognize the good, your
employees will do more ‘good.’
Within Petra Coach, another way
leaders build positive relationships is by
implementing what we call “Two-Weekers:”
a one-on-one meeting with your direct
support in a more intimate setting to share
both personal and professional happenings.
What are the personal and business highs
and lows going on with your team, and what
can you do as their leader to help them
succeed?
As leaders, it’s our moral obligation to
create more leaders. It’s our responsibility
to create an environment where people
thrive, where people feel safe and secure,
where people can find their own personal
motivation that will allow them to reach
their full potential. Leave ego, passive
aggressiveness, and dictatorship at the door
and start giving your employees what they
really crave.