The Importance of Engaged “People” - 3 Key Reasons Why “People” Are Not Performing

Alright, so now you understand “who” are the “people” that make up your organization. However, how do you get them to “perform” for you?

Internal Stakeholders are perhaps the most important people that truly need to be engaged and need to perform at their optimal levels in order for the business to move forward. Remember, internal stakeholders, are the leaders and talent that make up the business. So the leaders must lead and the talent needs to “talent”. 

Why is it that many employees or certain leaders simply don’t perform? 

Before we jump into the answer, just to give you context that 70% of employees are disengaged from work, 90% of employers are dissatisfied with their employee’s performance levels, and about 74-78% of the leader’s energy and time is spent on putting out fires - how do we fix all that? 

 

Lack of Purpose

As humans we have needs. Most of us have our own vision of how we would like to see this world. We have our drives, desires, and dreams. If for whatever reason these basic human needs are unmet, we feel unfulfilled, unsatisfied, and “empty” in life. No matter what salary we are given and no matter in what type of home we live in, we will feel empty inside.

That is why, as leaders, we understand this basic human need. We seek to align ourselves with other people who share similar visions and missions as us. We look to constantly feed the need for belonging by providing meaningful work that feeds the people’s purpose. Imagine working alongside people who feel fulfilled and satisfied working with you. What effect does this have on the productivity of your business? 

Lack of Trust

The second need that most people have is the need for security. We all want to make sure that we are around people who have OUR best interests in mind. We don’t like hanging around with self-centered and ego-centric people. None of us like to feel like just another “number” and none of us like to feel “replaceable”.

That is why, when us as leaders, take the time to build sustainable, long term, authentic relationships (or as we call it REALationships) that are based on trust (what is trust is a topic for another article) - then the people will feel secure around us and will be more than happy to be engaged in our organization. 

Lack of Drive 

Combine the two suggestions above and you have drive. What is the fuel that gets people going? If they lack purpose and they don’t trust their leaders, the people feel as though they have no reason to show up and to give of themselves in order to make YOUR dream come true. Why should they give of themselves when they feel left out and uncared for?

As humans, we tend to ruminate over this injustice, and for many, these thoughts can eat away at them for a length of time which eventually will keep them up at night. All this culminates in what is known as “burnout”. Now we all know what a burnt-out employee, partner, vendor, or customer looks like… 

Conclusion

If people’s souls are not constantly fed in a truly fulfilling way, and if leadership or the founder of a business does not show true and authentic interest in the people that make up his or her business, they will ultimately have to deal with people who are not interested in having anything to do with that founder and their business. As far as they are concerned, let that founder do it on their own and see what will be of him or her.

Remember, the concept of 80% of businesses fail within a short period of time is not entirely true. It’s more like 100% of businesses fail when the founder quits. The founder will have no choice but to quit their business when they have no business left to work. When they have no one willing to work with them or buy from them - the business is forced to shut down. 

So let me ask you this simple question, how important are the people around you? 

Yermi Kurkus - is the co-founder of the Yermi Kurkus Consulting Group. With a family background in Entrepreneurship, a heart for community and philanthropy, and his love for psychology, Yermi dedicated his life to helping businesses thrive, earning an MA in Organizational and Industrial Psychology and is in the process of attaining his Doctorate in that same field. Today, Yermi creatively partners up with businesses to help them increase their value, productivity, and profitably by focusing on their operations and talent. The results of which helps facilitate the buying or selling of businesses as well as assisting in the overall well-being of the workplace and workforce.

To learn more about Yermi Kurkus feel free to follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. Or you can book your first 30-minute FREE consultation here.