There is this quirk of mine that I indulge in during every 1-on-1 review session with team members I’ve managed over the years. Regardless of how the discussion unfolds, before we part ways, I pose a heartfelt question: “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest, how happy are you?” ✨
No one ever prompts me to do it, and I never share these responses with anyone else. I do it because I firmly believe that, in the grand tapestry of an employee’s journey, what truly counts at the end of the day is their overall happiness and contentment. Individual elements like salary, perks, or the nature of their work, while essential, play a secondary role.
You might wonder why I don’t just ask a simple “yes” or “no” question instead of utilizing a Likert scale-type quantification. The reason is simple: happiness isn’t something that can be measured on a binary scale – there are degrees to happiness or the lack of it and the shifts matter.
If a ‘happy’ employee slides this scale over a few months, it signifies a decline in their happiness, yet in a binary question, you cannot spot this nuance and take prompt action, even if it is needed. For example, if a once-ecstatic top performer, formerly rated at 10, has slowly slipped to a 7, even if they claim to be content, you understand that unresolved issues need addressing.
Conversely, if someone progresses from a 3 to a 5 over the course of a quarter, it indicates a positive trajectory for an unhappy employee – things are getting better!
Likewise, if the team’s average happiness score slips 1 point over a quarter, it hints that something is now amiss at the team level, making it all the more concerning.
Once I gauge where a team member stands on the happiness scale, my follow-up question revolves around what I, as their leader, can do to enhance their workplace happiness, recognizing that there may be areas where I’m currently falling short.
Their responses can help me uncover blind spots I may not have been aware of. Just as my feedback offers them areas to work on, their feedback serves a similar purpose for me.
Of course, there are occasional downsides to this approach. Occasional outliers remain dissatisfied despite your best efforts because a few may foster expectations that simply do not align with the organization’s reality. However, these instances are a small price to pay for the holistic insights.
In the end, I believe it’s the shared journey towards happiness and understanding that weaves the strongest bonds between leaders and their teams, and each member’s unique happiness is an essential thread of collective success. 🙂
PS: One day when I retire and write that management book of my own, you can be assured that there will be a chapter I will dedicate to what I call the Happiness Quotient. 😀
#EmployeeWellBeing #Leadership #HappinessQuotient #WorkplaceHappiness #TeamManagement #WeekendWriting
Six Strings For Supper 