After a six month hiatus, I am back in 2024 and looking forward to creating a new path in the face of very difficult times.
I will endeavor to continue with several posts per month and I may be looking to add some new initiatives to the basket of my offering.
Now to get to it.
I wanted to start the year with something that I truly believe is essential and sorely needed in a new kind of work environment.
I came up with this acronym a few years ago that I called HAPPI.
The H stands for Hope.
The A stands for Autonomy.
The first P stands for Purpose.
The next P for Practice.
The I for Interest.
This essentially becomes a formula for engagement.
Engagement = Hope + Autonomy + Purpose + Practice + Interest
This stems from years of being on the front-line, in middle management, in higher level leadership roles, and from substantial staff feedback and observation.
I believe, before people can be engaged, they need the tools, training, and support even if they do not love what they do at work.
The reality is that many people do not love their work, yet can they still have HAPPI?
Ideally, we need to develop the passion for what we do at work. If not, we need to try and get people engaged at minimum to have HAPPI.
Here is what it would look like in practice from the staff perspective:
Hope = I need to know what we do is realistic to accomplish, and we can be successful at it.
Autonomy = I do not want to be watched or asked every minute what I am doing, I know what needs to be done, let me get it done my way.
Purpose = I need to know what I am doing is important and has meaning.
Practice = I need to apply consistent effort and develop good habits otherwise I will not succeed, and I need to be aware of my autopilot.
Interest = I do not want to be bored and I want to like what I do.
The onus will be on leadership to ensure such a workplace exists through tactical actions that are done purposely and consciously.
I have tangible ideas on how to make this happen which I will be sharing in more detail this year.
Lastly, I would like to end this first post of the New Year with a few words that have come to mean a great deal to me, “I am so proud of you.”
I don’t think we say this enough inside work and outside, I will endeavor to do better on this.
Giving honest and authentic praise is of paramount importance and can be golden to those who receive it.
Team SCCCM forever 😊.