The Shocking Truth About Employee Engagement You Can't Ignore

Giving people freedom means letting them express themselves freely, openly, and without hesitation. True freedom comes with a feeling of being protected and safe from having to experience shame, physical harm, hurt, or guilt. From small mom-and-pop shops to large international conglomerates, business wars for freedom are being waged daily. People want freedom, and many leaders are fearful of relinquishing control. The battle can become fierce enough that World War III erupts in the workplace. The difference in business is that people can't always see what is happening with their eyes; they can only feel it and don't even know it's a war. They call this business-as-usual activity.  

I love that statement—business-as-usual activity. I think it's my favorite dysfunctional thing I hear leaders say as an unconscious resistant point to change. "We want performance. We want people to be energized and engaged. We want to be innovative. We want people to show up with a great attitude. But we want it in our traditional, prescriptive, hierarchical culture rooted in standard operating processes designed to keep the machine moving and people quiet. That's how good businesses are run and how much money is made. Change is good as long as it fits within our business-as-usual activity." Again, these are often unconscious sentiments, but unfortunately, they are pervasive in many businesses.  

The wake-up call for many leaders is realizing they can't have a healthy, high-performing culture in a traditional, prescriptive, hierarchical environment with silent norms designed to take freedom away and keep people paralyzed and quiet. It's not possible. That's like telling a nation of people they're free, getting their hopes up, creating an excitement that they can finally breathe again, and then turning around and taking all their rights away. "Oh, just joking. You didn't think we would change how we do things, did you? Oops. No. We didn't like that idea. It didn't fit into our comfort zone. Sorry. But we'll consider the possibility if you have any ideas that fit directly inside our box." Sound familiar? 

These silent cultural norms can seem ridiculous when reading an article, but they are more often than not true and harmful to seemingly healthy employees, not to mention destructive to those struggling with change fatigue, burnout, and overwhelm.  

People perform when they can spread their wings and fly. They want to be free to live their purpose in their world, and when they do, there's nothing they can't accomplish. When employees feel the freedom to fly, your business benefits tenfold. Without giving people freedom, your business won't be able to achieve healthy cultural energy, the fuel for innovation and high vibes—and who doesn't want to work in a healthy, high-performing culture infused with high vibes?  

So, how do you build a healthy, high-performing culture driven by freedom? You need a business foundation built on Real Trust. Here's a quick video where I give you step-by-step instructions on how to build Real Trust and create a healthy, high-performing culture that everyone can feel good about supporting. Scroll to the bottom off the page.