Andrew Bryant of Self Leadership International explains how individuals can get more emotionally engaged in their jobs, and in turn how they can add more value to both clients and employers.

Date: Dec 2011

Tags: Value

• While logically people know that the job they have needs to be done and that they get paid for doing it, if they don’t feel any “skin in the game” or emotional attachment to it, they get dis-engaged
• To understand whether clients or employers value individual staff members, those employees must be aware of how their employers or clients express value
• To become more valuable, it is important to ask people what their needs are, and how to best meet these needs

According to Andrew Bryant in an interview, there are many reasons why individuals are not particularly emotionally engaged in their job.

For example, while logically people know that the job they have needs to be done and that they get paid for doing it, if they don’t feel any “skin in the game” or emotional attachment to it, they get dis-engaged, he explained.

This might happen because those people who set the task didn’t explain why it was important, said Bryant, or they didn’t ask their staff what they feel about it. As a result, the staff end up not really caring about the goal.

While as self-leaders, individuals need to challenge themselves to be emotionally connected, if they don’t have that autonomy or self-leadership, then they are dis-engaged.

Knowing whether you are valued

To understand whether clients or employers value individual staff members, Bryant said those employees must be aware of how their employers or clients express value, given that different people express it in different ways.

Sometimes, individuals might discount certain words or actions as being expectations, he said, but it is important for staff members to be aware if they are receiving some level of recognition but not acknowledging it.

In some cases, when employers leave their staff alone it might in fact be their sign that they trust them, added Bryant.

However, if that is not meeting the need of an individual employee for recognition and validation, he said that person needs to take ownership for stating that they know they feel valued in the specific situations. It’s all about having the courage to do this, he added.

How people become more valuable

To become more valuable, Bryant said it is important to ask people what their needs are, and how to best meet these needs.

Sometimes it is simple things which add value, for example emotional support, explanations of information, or possibly just being there, he explained.

It is always important to ask clients what is important to them, and what else they need.

This leads to honest conversations, whether this is with colleagues, bosses or clients.