Gina London: Harness the ‘power of moments’ to engage with your co-workers

I remember the small town parades in Farmland, Indiana where I grew up or in LaPorte, Indiana where both sets of grandparents lived and where we often visited over the national holiday. High school bands marched, inevitably playing The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa. Firefighters strode alongside their fire engine with lights flashing. We kids pleaded for the driver to blare its siren. Sometimes they would and we would cheer. Local politicians, perched on the backs of opened convertibles, waved and tossed candy toward the spectators lining the streets. The grownups would wave small red, white and blue flags handed out by parade organisers back to the politicians in response while we kids scrambled to scoop up the scattering of candy.

Later in the afternoon, I recall gathering at my Grandpa and Grandma London’s house. My dad would manage the hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill while we kids splashed around in a plastic kiddie pool. When it began to get dark, we lit sparklers and fluttered them around laughing as the pink and bluish flames made streaks in the air. Mom would call us into the car filled with blankets and snacks and we’d all head over to the fairgrounds to try and stake out a piece of ground big enough to stretch out and lay down so we could look up to the sky and wait for the firework show about to take place overhead.

When night became dark enough, the first rocket sound shot forth and crowd-fulls of ooohs and aahhs were said collectively from the hundreds of people gathered together; in sync with each colourful explosion bursting overhead.

We’d return home late. Sleepy but satisfied.

Like the various sizes and hues of fireworks, here’s a festive display of workplace reminders.

The Power of Moments

I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Heath at the Workhuman conference I was chairing in London earlier this month. An academic based in the US along with his brother Chip, he’s one-half of a best-selling writing duo of business books. The Power of Moments is the name of one of those tomes and it was also the focus of his keynote speech.

He kicked off by talking about summer holidays and for each person to think back to a beloved memory.

And, as with my recollections of family Fourth of Julys, it won’t surprise you that none of you remember every single detail. You might picture the hotel or the beach or a meal. It’s always moments. You didn’t think about how long it took to get from the taxi to the hotel or what you ate on the plane because, of course, it’s only and always – the moments. Psychologists call this duration neglect. When time passes, we are only left with moments.

In the business world, creating the best moments for your team-members doesn’t take five stars, it requires four elements.

Elevation

These moments spark joy, delight, and surprise. Power-up your meetings with pops of the unexpected and watch engagement soar like fireworks.

Insight

Rather than inform your team that something isn’t working or needs to be transformed, find a way to help them discover it for themselves. Deciding to change always comes with less resistance and friction to implementation than when people are simply directed.

Pride

How often do you celebrate moments of accomplishment? Celebrating in groups rather than quietly singling out an individual is shown to be beneficial to team productivity and morale.

Sharing with more people gives the others who are not directly being feted, a chance to join in the overall sense of pride and spirit.

Connection

When we create moments, we forge connections. Striving toward making peak moments deepen our ties to other people in the workplace and any place.

Importance of Transparency

There’s a lot of news at the moment about pay transparency. No matter where you work, research consistently shows it’s a good thing that creates a happier and fairer environment for employees.

The downside comes obviously, as Tomasz Tadeusz Obloj, associate professor at the Kelley School of Business at my alma mater of Indiana University says, when wage transparency reveals discrepancies. “Those can be costly in terms of decreasing morale, increasing mobility and politicking, and so on.”

The Investment in Relationships

Like my family gathered at the Fourth of July, it’s essential to seek every opportunity to go beyond the transactional processes and invest more in essential relationship building.

According to Gallup polling from the US, UK and Ireland last year, only one in four said they feel connected with their culture while only one in three said they feel they belong. So, let’s recommit to making memorable moments every day. In a good way.

Write to Gina in care of SundayBusiness@independent.ie ​

With corporate clients in five continents, Gina London is a premier communications strategy, structure and delivery expert. She is also a media analyst, author, speaker and former CNN anchor. @TheGinaLondon 885