Solving for “Engagement Atrophy” by Seeding Change™

If you lead a team or an organization, you have probably seen the same dynamics we have over the last handful of years – a noticeable decrease in people’s ability to engage well with each other. I’m not talking about sophisticated global corporate conflict resolution across multiple cultures and languages (although those are incredibly challenging), I’m talking about the basics – how to give and receive feedback well, how to interact with appreciation and recognition, how to motivate a team individually and collectively, or how to simply be courteous in the workplace, just to name a few. This is not at all a criticism of individual people within organizations or teams because we believe that folks are genuinely doing their best in wha tis a tricky climate. Rather, it is our observation that the amplifying effect of the major upheavals these last five years - a pandemic, social justice protests, changing national political landscape, economic challenges, and an increase in hybrid work (and thus less ‘water cooler time’) – have led to a collective atrophying of the core skills and abilities necessary to function well in the workplace no matter the organization’s size or industry. To be clear, the staff in organizations we interact with are smart, dedicated and good-hearted people, but for some, their skill and ability to work most successfully with each other has been dulled by these major factors leading to the rise of conflicts and challenges that simply were not there a handful of years ago.

So how can organizational leaders respond? What we have suggested to our clients is a return to foundational skill development that has as its lodestar people-first values. For example, HCG’s Seeding Change™ content does just that by providing a large menu of short and digestible trainings, coaching sessions, implementation tools, webinars and practice materials that help individuals and teams engage more effectively with each other by focusing on key relational skills and connections. Just last week I was coaching an organizational leader and when they shared an email they had sent to a direct report, I asked, “how do you think that landed for them?” and it had never occurred to them to think about the impact of their email because they were attuned only to their intent and perspective. After we talked, they sent a follow-up to that direct report, addressing the unintended impact, which was met with appreciation for the thoughtfulness. This may sound like an incredibly basic example, but that is my point – it is. We have reached such a level of interactive skill regression that we have to get back to basics and remember how to engage more relationally in the workplace.

Many leaders have asked us how to address this issue, secretly, or not, hoping for some magic one-off solution. But our experience and research in the field has shown that quick fixes never work because they are devoid of depth, complexity and real application. The solution here is to slowly and steadily invest time and energy into the “small moves” of building engagement skills. Leaders must attend to their organizational or team needs in a way that feels real, connected and relevant. We are in very complicated times and while relationality may seem simple, a steady and wise hand on the wheel is required.  

In subsequent posts I will highlight various learnings from HCG’s Seeding Change™ work in an effort to address this pattern of “engagement atrophy” and support organizations in actualizing the very best of who they are.

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