How Thriving Employees Drive Engagement, Purpose & Growth at Work

Wenn ich in New York bin, verpasse ich es selten, zum Hudson hinunterzufahren und den Flussabschnitt entlangzulaufen, auf dem ich den seltsamen Anblick eines Verkehrsflugzeugs erlebt habe, das einwandfrei auf der Eisfläche gelandet ist. 

Am 15. Januar 2009, kurz nach dem Start vom Flughafen LaGuardia, stieß US Airways Flug 1549 mit einer Gänseschar zusammen. Die Gänse wurden daraufhin in die beiden Triebwerke des Flugzeugs gesaugt, was zu einem Totalausfall der Triebwerke und einem Schubverlust führte. Der Kapitän von Flug 1549, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, sah sich mit einer extremen Krise konfrontiert und musste sich mit einer Vielzahl von Herausforderungen auseinandersetzen. 

Er musste nicht nur das Flugzeug unter Kontrolle halten, sondern auch schnell entscheiden, ob sie auf einem nahe gelegenen Flughafen notlanden konnten - oder eine andere Alternative finden, um das Flugzeug in einer der am stärksten überfüllten Regionen der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika sicher zu landen. 

Back home in Bengaluru, recently, a student of mine, who heads Talent Management for a reputed organization, called me with a not so strange request, considering her job role - What suggestions do I have to help her manage talent in her organization? Attrition rates were spiralling and important projects were negatively impacted! 

I spun her a curveball - What are your incumbent talent management strategies? Well, she said with some asperity, we do the following: 

1. Wir bezahlen unsere Mitarbeiter gut 
2. Wir haben Flexibilität bei der Arbeit und arbeiten von zu Hause aus 
3. Wir geben ihnen einen jährlichen Bonus 
4. Wir gehen mit ihnen auf TGIF-Partys (Thank God for Its Friday) 
5. Wir haben interne Unterhaltungsauftritte 

Fantastisch, sagte ich, aber fühlen sich Ihre Mitarbeiter lebendig? Fühlen sie sich angeregt und kommen sie mit Begeisterung zur Arbeit? Das Schweigen war ohrenbetäubend! Tatsache ist, dass Mitarbeiter nur dann engagiert sind und sich einbringen, wenn es ihnen gut geht. 

Um zu gedeihen, muss man lebendig sein und glauben, dass man lebendig ist. Dazu muss der Mensch kreativ sein und die nötige Autonomie haben, um diese Kreativität auszuüben. Noch wichtiger ist, dass die Mitarbeiter glauben, dass ihr Beitrag nicht nur nützlich, sondern auch wirkungsvoll ist. Dies erklärt, warum es in einigen Berufen hoch engagierte Mitarbeiter gibt - bei den Streitkräften, im medizinischen und verwandten Dienst und bei Lehrern. 

Letztendlich geht es beim Talentmanagement nicht nur um Geld, Partys oder Unterhaltungsauftritte. Es geht vielmehr um Kreativität, Innovation, Wirkung, Nutzen und die Fähigkeit, sich selbst in einem positiven Licht zu sehen. Schließlich muss ein Mitarbeiter lebendig und erfolgreich sein, um engagiert zu bleiben. 

I eventually told my former student - Ask your employees if they feel alive and whether they are thriving? Do they like to come to work? That should take care of talent management! This is easily done by using employee satisfaction surveys or during exit interviews. 

Thriving employees are less susceptible to stress and burnout - and are much healthier, overall. When employees are thriving, they are not satisfied with the status quo and behave proactively to impact their job environment in ways that enable more thriving amongst their peers.  

When employees thrive, they feel alive, energized, and committed and are constantly looking for opportunities to make a difference. They not only drive themselves but their peers too – they have a vitality that is hard to miss. Importantly people who thrive also have a great thirst for learning and try to alter the incumbent and grow all the time. Growth is sustainable because the person is learning fresh skills and competencies at every turn. 

A great example of how people who thrive work and live is the brilliant Capt. Sully Sullenberger, air force veteran and commercial pilot. Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born January 23, 1951) is an American retired Air Force fighter pilot and airline captain. The act of safely landing his stricken aircraft in the Hudson and saving the lives of his passengers and crew is often described by aviation experts as a sheer genius and the act of an inspired person.  

Sully thrives. Sully's story is one of dedication, hope, and preparedness, revealing the important lessons he learned through his life, in his military service, and his work as an airline pilot. It reminds us all that, even in these days of conflict, tragedy and uncertainty, there are values still worth fighting for—that life's challenges can be met if we're ready and prepared for them. Capt. Sullenberger, thought of only one thing in life – flying. It was his dream, his life and his hobby! 

Research indicates that people who are thriving invariably do better at work, their performance is more sustainable and they display greater acts of organization sustainable behaviour; that is, they are ready to travel beyond the normal call of duty in getting a job done. OCB is a rare trait these days where selfishness and short-sightedness permeate the workplace.  

What is it that enables thrivers to do so well? It is found that invariably they have personal missions of excellence, are better team players and create solid bonds with their team fellows and value relationships at work and very importantly are extremely resilient in the face of hardship and difficulty.  

People who thrive, more often than not, have high levels of self-efficacy and confidence and can deal with the rigours of work with panache. It is said that Capt. Sullenberger displayed great clarity of mind and icy calmness in landing his plane on the Hudson.  

The confidence of a person thriving brings passion and calmness and allows them to make decisions' that are more often than not right. 

Statistics around thrivers are staggering – they miss fewer days of work, are healthier, visit a doctor less, collaborate better and communicate more clearly and the important point is that they are vastly superior problem solvers.  

Thrivers create more of their kind at work and are great leaders as they signal vitality and passion to their subordinates and peers. Thriving is infectious and creates employees who are engaged and consistent high performers.  

People who thrive have an innate ability to prioritize their goals and, in an emergency, jettison the least important ones while zeroing on the most important, a critical trait for high performing and engaged employees. This is called goal sacrificing! Sully valued the concept of goal sacrificing.  

He instinctively knew that goal-sacrificing was paramount on Flight 1549. "By attempting a water landing," he says, "I would sacrifice the 'aeroplane goal'—trying not to destroy an aircraft valued at $60 million—for the goal of saving lives." At that critical moment, he was right in his decision making. 

So, my student shot back at me, what makes an employee thrive? Well, the answer is obvious but rarely understood and followed – healthy personal habits, regular and nutritious meals, sound sleep over eight hours, regular exercise and getting breaks from work to re-energize which includes decluttering the mind. Organizations must create a culture and nudge their employees towards leading healthy lifestyles. 

Thrivers also have meaningful jobs and it is an open secret that it is the quality of the job that keeps employees engaged. The well-researched job design model looks at four questions that high-performers ask in delivering great results. 

1. Welche Ressourcen kontrolliere ich direkt innerhalb der Organisation, um die Arbeit zu erledigen? (Spanne der Kontrolle) 
2. Welche Maßnahmen werden zur Bewertung meiner Leistung herangezogen? (Spanne der Verantwortlichkeit) 
3. Wen muss ich beeinflussen, um die Ziele, für die ich verantwortlich bin, zu erreichen? (Spannweite des Einflusses) 
4. Wie viel Unterstützung kann ich erwarten, wenn ich andere um Hilfe bitte? (Spanne der Unterstützung) 

In having engaged employees and managing them organizers must create an environment which is conducive to innovation, autonomy, a free-flow of ideas and have an enabling culture that is conducive to learning. However, the stable business environment and captive talent pipelines in which such practices were born no longer exist. It's time for a fundamentally new approach to talent management and organizations need to create new paradigms in managing their talent in what is turning out to be an extremely complex and changing world where uncertainty is a norm.  

Carefully selected employees who are then mentored and coached need to be retained, not by pampering them but by painting and presenting challenges that pique interest and keep employees excited.  

Unfortunately, mundane, TGIF gigs are passed and do not work anymore. As Herzberg would say – go for the motivator and not the hygiene factor! Ensure that your scarce talent feels alive. 

How Empuls empowers thriving employees 

Empuls addresses every critical element mentioned in the article through a holistic, AI-led platform, to ensure employee wellbeing: 

Just as Sully made a decision that prioritized human life over equipment, organizations must pivot from superficial engagement to deeply human, thriving work cultures. And Empuls makes that not only possible—but scalable by prioritizing employee wellness. 

If you'd like help mapping this mindset into a strategic engagement plan using Empuls, just schedule a call!