When I speak with successful IT and Information Security leaders, one of their top challenges in today’s competitive marketplace is finding and retaining rock star talent. With the explosion of the IT security field, along with the demands for business savvy technology leaders, finding, developing and keeping top talent is crucial for achieving the goals of every organization. Fortunately (or unfortunately if you’ve got loads of cash and not much else going for you), just waving big paychecks around won’t keep good people engaged. In fact, respondents to Wisegate’s soft skills study report entitled, “Hello, I must be going,” prioritize learning opportunities over the paycheck and aren’t afraid to go outside their current companies for growth opportunities.
So, with the threat of IT recruiters “creeping” your top talent’s LinkedIn pages daily and calling on your folks with exciting new opportunities, the question begs:
How Do You Keep Your Top Rock Star IT and InfoSec Talent Engaged and Fulfilled in Their Jobs These Days?
Strong leadership, a stable work environment, interesting challenges, opportunities for growth, great pay, meaningful work, and, of course, equity and stock options all play an important role in keeping talented employees engaged, but in the event you can’t offer all of these things, there are also other ways to gain a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining key talent.
In the spirit of my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, this week, I’d like to share with you a story highlighting a simple, yet effective way to increase loyalty, engagement and goodwill which costs nothing yet delivers huge benefits for everyone involved.
The Power of Sharing Gratitude
As I was driving up to Tampa last Wednesday for a lunch event with some of the leading CISO’s in the Tampa Bay area, I also had the privilege of participating in our company-wide ‘All Hands” meeting at Wisegate.
Instead of a motivational push to close deals and progress updates on our “Big Rocks” (goals for each area of the business), which is what most would expect for a company wide meeting in November, the critical mid-point month in the biggest sales quarter of the year, Wisegate’s CEO, Sara Gates dedicated our full hour bi-weekly call to Thanksgiving.
On the call she invited each member of our global team to share two things they are thankful for: One in their personal life and one in their business life. This simple act of dedicating an entire meeting at the most crucial time of the year for sales and success made a huge impact on every member of our team.
I’ve realized over the past nine months that I have had the privilege to work with Sara that she is, in fact, what Shawn Achor, in his latest book, “Before Happiness” would refer to as a Positive Genius. Through this simple, yet powerful exercise, Sara was able to authentically spread positive inception throughout the entire Wisegate team.
As it turns out, sharing your gratitude with your work team is not just a way to spread feel-good warm and fuzzies. According to UC Berkley’s Greater Good Research, people who consistently practice gratitude in a meaningful way report a host of benefits, including:
- Stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure; (Better health)
- Higher levels of positive emotions;
- More joy, optimism, and happiness;
- Acting with more generosity and compassion;
- Feeling less lonely and isolated.
Whether you are running a startup, a sales team or an IT or Information Security organization, you can see the benefits of having a team made up of healthy, positive, compassionate and happy people. Not only will they be more engaged in the organization, there are also three key benefits of sharing your gratitude in your next team meeting:
- Improve Your Leadership Abilities: When you ask people to share what they are grateful for, you also get great insights into what is truly important to them. This leads to understanding how to motivate and reward them in meaningful ways and build trust and loyalty. This, in turn, makes you a more trusted and respected leader.
- Develop Stronger Team Bonds: When people feel that they are heard, they also feel important and appreciated. This leads to better collaboration and productivity. When people understand each other, they are more likely to‘assume the best’ in their peers, which leads to greater collaboration and understanding. (Assuming the Best also happens to be one of our core values at Wisegate.)
- Increase Chances of Achieving Goals: People who are grateful are more positive. More positive people believe they can accomplish great things. This leads them to work harder to achieve goals. (According to research by the father of Positive Psychology, University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman, top 10 percent of optimistic sales agents at MetLife Inc. outsold the other 90 percent by 90 percent! This research was so eye opening that the MetLife team started recruiting for positivity. Learn more by reading the Met Life Case Study)
So, with all of the benefits of sharing your gratitude with your team, if you are not currently taking time out to share what you are grateful for this Thanksgiving week, why not take this opportunity to try this simple exercise?
If you are leading your team with an exercise in gratitude this week, I encourage you to share your ideas, inspirations and success stories from your experience.
I’ll even share mine to get you started.
When it was my turn to share with the team what I am grateful for both personally and professionally at Wisegate, I first took a couple of moments to figure out how to unmute myself (and calm myself down after a near death experience on I-75 when a box truck unwittingly took over my lane while I was still in it), I was happy to share my gratitude for the following:
In my personal life, I am thankful for the opportunity to live in Paradise (A.K.A. Southwest Florida – see top image for my daily view from my neighborhood) with my best friend, who also happens to be my husband of over 10 years, and the father of our two girls who continually amaze me with their unique personalities, talent, curiosity, kindness and laughter.
At Wisegate, I am blessed to get paid for doing what I love everyday- listening to and learning from IT and Information Security professionals who are at the pinnacle of their careers and helping them effectively collaborate with their peers to solve problems, save money and avoid reinventing the wheel.
Now, it’s your turn.
Take a few moments to think about the things that make you happy, fulfilled and grateful. Share them here, with your team and with your friends and family this week at the Thanksgiving table.
But don’t let it end with the exercise. Take a few moments each day to think about and say (or shout) out loud the things you are grateful for. This will help hardwire your brain for positivity and attract the benefits of positive genius to you.
After All, Isn’t That What Thanksgiving Is All About?
P.S. – If you are a rock star consultative sales professional who loves IT, listens and cares about helping people achieve their goals, we are expanding our recruitment team at Wisegate. Connect with or Message me to see if this incredible company could be a fit for you to achieve your personal and professional goals.