What Jerry Seinfeld Taught Me About Employee Engagement

By Zina Sutch and Patrick Malone

From a success perspective, it’s pretty hard not to admire Jerry Seinfeld. And just in case your alarm clock hasn’t gone off since, oh, 1998, here’s why.

In 1998, his highly successful situation comedy “Seinfeld” aired its last episode after nine seasons and 180 episodes. It has consistently been referred to as one of the greatest sitcoms ever. So there’s that. Seinfeld also has 20 Primetime Emmy Award and four Grammy Award nominations. His show “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” has aired since 2012.

Seinfeld, along with other comedians such as Trevor Noah, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jim Gaffigan, tickles our funny bone through a form of humor referred to as “observational humor.” Observational humor is an approach to comedy wherein the comedian takes everyday occurrences and makes them relatable, then funny. Topics are those from ordinary life, such as

taking the bus, grocery shopping, or going to the dentist. Frequently stand-up comedians will begin their observational monologue with the famous phrase “Have you ever noticed?”

How to Lead a Loving Organization
Zina Sutch and Patrick Malone C-Suite Lifestyle
July 10, 2021
In the recent pandemic year when so many businesses were compelled to require a remote workplace, many became acutely aware of the power of human relationships. In truth, it was the power of human connection that built the foundation for a successful telework environment. Now, as employers bring staff back into the office, it’s an opportunity for leaders to rebuild these much-missed workplace relationships. Sadly, it is the rare leader who recognizes the importance of cultivating loving relationships and laughter within the workplace. Yes, that’s right: loving. And no, we’re not talking about the romantic type of love, but the compassionate and caring kind. And yes, that’s right: cultivating laughter. And no, we’re not talking about just telling jokes.

Before we start exploring leadership myths, let’s take a moment to examine these three “truth or myth” questions:

Truth or myth? Caffeine and its effects are addictive.  

Answer: We can hear it now, “I can’t start my day without it, I’m addicted!” We even feel what some call withdrawal symptoms when we don’t get our morning brew on. This is a myth! By accepted definitions of “addictive,” caffeine is not addictive.   

Truth or myth? I need less sleep as I get older.  

Answer: Yup, many of us sleep less as we get older and we assume that as we age, our sleep needs decrease. This is a myth! While getting enough sleep is healthier mentally and physically, we need the same amount of sleep regardless of our age.   

Truth or myth? Eating at night causes weight gain.  

Answer: Many of us refrain from eating past a certain time at night thinking it will lead to weight loss. Some even adopt the age-old practice of eating a big breakfast, a lighter lunch, and an even lighter dinner all in the hopes of losing those pounds. This is a myth! It doesn’t matter when in the day you eat. The USDA and nutrition experts say it’s about how many calories you take in versus how many calories you burn.  

Did you know the correct answer to any of the myths above? If not, don’t be surprised. Most of us have come to believe these fabrications.  

Why is it that we have these beliefs and carry them with us in our day-to-day lives? Mythology resonates soundly with us today. We have an uncanny ability to be able to remember specifics about myths far more readily than details about more mundane matters. One of the reasons for this is that it’s much easier to recall information when it’s in the form of a narrative as opposed to in its raw state. Myths make it easy. 

Sometimes myths can be of tremendous benefit to us in that we’re able to remember a situation from which we can learn or grow. Captivating stories allow us to make sense of more multifaceted matters by crossing psychological, social, political, or even spiritual lines. But myths have a downside as well. Without challenge, myths become gospel, and we can find ourselves hanging on to thoughts and practices that are simply ineffectual.  

Thank you, John Lennon. You offered leadership advice to all of us more than 50 years ago with these five simple words.  

The word “love” garners a range of reactions and finds its origin in any number of sources. The Greeks defined seven types of love ranging from self-love, to love of convenience, friendship or lust. We see love symbolized in a disturbingly muscular infant known to the Greeks as Eros and to the rest of us as Cupid. Hearts, roses and apple blossoms have also come to be seen as symbols of love over the years. 

We even use the word love in inconsistent ways. We love our partners, our children and our siblings. We also love tacos, puppies and sleeping late. Sincere? Probably. Inconsistent use of the word? Absolutely!   

Love in the workplace is even more confusing, until we give it a little thought. Consider the amount of time we spend with colleagues versus family, even when we work from home. The average full-time employee works 1,801 hours per year, or 37.5 hours per week, higher than any of the other 38 nation members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Big shocker that we form bonds with our “work spouses” or work families — terms that have gained popularity over the years. In fact, 56 percent of workers say they spend more time with their work family than their real family. Work spouses are often reported as being among one’s best friends.   

People are more likely to embrace organizational change when their leaders show them empathy.

Today’s guest post is by Zina Sutch and Patrick Malone, the authors of Leading with Love and Laughter: Letting Go and Getting Real at Work (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

There’s no doubt about it, organizational change can be frightening. Yet – change is constant and it is imperative that organizations continue to evolve in order to meet the complex challenges of a modern world. But people don’t always adjust well to change, so it should come as no surprise that it is difficult for most to think about change in the workplace. Before we grab ahold of this new existence, new reporting pathways, and new organizational structures, we must first understand what this change means at the human level.

Change impacts people at the most intimate level. We are all born with genetic need for consistency and constancy. Predictability and autonomy matter as well. The human workforce like to know they have some control over events unfolding before them. It provides a sense of comfort. Sadly, as senior leaders drive change in the organization, they often forget that organizations are made up not of boxes and lines, but of people with hopes, dreams, and fears.

In order to safely and effectively execute change in our organizations, our planning has to go beyond office space, IT support, plexiglass walls, and mask requirements. We need to begin by assessing the readiness of our workforce. Our workers are not positioned, emotionally or otherwise, for rapid and unpredictable change in their work environments. And just because we as leaders recognize the need for change, it does not mitigate the real fears present in those we lead. Leaders must take this into consideration when planning for the new workplace. In order to ensure success, consider the following steps:

Emotional intelligence is about people. And so is talent development (TD). For TD professionals to succeed, they must be comfortable with all aspects of working with people. The best tool for their success is emotional intelligence.

Tapping into what’s real.

Why do leaders often falter at tasks like building trust, handling poor performers, or engaging with employees? Because too many training programs reduce leadership to an equation, a matrix, or an acronym. But leadership is a relationship. It’s one human helping another. The most successful leaders show they genuinely care about their employees, and are, well, fun. It’s just like any relationship. Leading with love and laughter offers powerful dividends: tighter teams, stronger performance, improved morale, greater trust, more creativity, even better health! While Zina Sutch and Patrick Malone cite the science, and offer examples, tips, and practices, their larger purpose is to reintroduce the warmth of human interaction and emotion as the foundation of what leadership is all about.

WE OFTEN THINK of ourselves as good leaders — or at least somewhat good. Afterall, we got this far in our careers by following our instincts, practicing what we learned, and applying appropriate business strategies. But are we leading? Truly leading people? Before we answer that question, let’s think about what’s really happening.

Over the course of a career, we gain a myriad of tools and tips on how to lead. It’s easy for us to deduce that implementing everything we’ve learned has gotten us where we are now. We follow the acronyms, rules, and checklists we’ve learned from the innumerable books we’ve read, classes and symposiums we’ve attended, and mentors whose wisdom we’ve sought. We rely on this vast collection to get us through the daily challenges.

Let’s call this methodology what it is: a recipe for leadership. We seek these quick fixes to leadership dilemmas like we’re shopping on Amazon.com and expecting next-day delivery, especially if we’re new leaders. Perhaps it’s because as managers, we face a horde of challenges. Bottom-line pressures, competitive marketplaces, and maybe a little self-doubt. We’re forced into decisions that answer a time crunch but do little to nurture high-performing organizational cultures. So, we rely on the leadership recipe.

Busting the following myths:
MYTH 1: Aggressive leaders get results
MYTH 2: Leaders are supposed to have the answers
MYTH 3: Leaders do not have enough time
MYTH 4: Extroverts make better leaders
MYTH 5: Leaders do not make hard decisions based on feelings
MYTH 6: Leaders tell it like it is
MYTH 7: Leaders make mission first
MYTH 8: Leaders are highly credentialed and educated
MYTH 9: Great leaders are born
MYTH 10: People will take advantage of a humble leader

Before we start exploring leadership myths, let us take a moment to examine these three ‘truth or myth’ questions:
Truth or myth? Caffeine and its effects are addictive.
Answer: We can hear it now, “I can’t start my day without it, I’m addicted!” We even feel what some call withdrawal symptoms when we do not get our morning brew on. This is a myth! By accepted definitions of ‘addictive’, caffeine is not addictive.

Truth or myth? I need less sleep as I get older.
Answer: Yup, many of us sleep less as we get older and we assume that as we age, our sleep needs decrease. This is a myth! While getting enough sleep is healthier mentally and physically, we need the same amount of sleep regardless of our age.

Truth or myth? Eating at night causes weight gain.
Answer: Many of us refrain from eating past a certain time at night, thinking it will lead to weight loss. Some even adopt the age-old practice of eating a big breakfast, a lighter lunch, and an even lighter dinner, all in the hopes of losing those pounds. This is a myth! It does not matter when in the day you eat. The USDA and nutrition experts say it is about how many calories you take in versus how many calories you burn.

Did you know the correct answer to any of the myths above? If not, do not be surprised. Most of us have come to believe these fabrications.
 

Public organizations from villages, communities, counties, states and the federal level are all coming to a reckoning—a new frightening, unnerving and never-before-seen new normal. There’s no doubt about it—the last 18 months have been some of the most trying times we’ve withstood both personally and professionally. COVID-19 yielded harmful consequences and immense loss for so many of those serving our communities. So much so that it remains difficult to think about returning to the workplace. Many agencies and departments are now making that move and starting to go back not to the way it used to be, but rather to a “new normal.” But before we grab hold of this new existence, we must first understand what this transition means to so many of those in our public space.

On June 6, 2019, more than six months before COVID-19 hit the shores of the United States, I wrote in this column about the need to rethink the value of telework, “Want Better Mission Accomplishment? Embrace Telecommuting!” In that piece I extolled the virtues of telework and made the argument that it was time for us to rethink the value of a virtual approach. A few months later, the deadliest pandemic in our lifetime arrived and we had no choice but to transition into a virtual world. And we did.

Our experience with virtual work has proven that in many cases, it is a far superior alternative to the traditional workplace setting. Operational and energy costs are reduced significantly. The physical footprint of the office is considerably diminished, saving money on pricey office leases. Our environment and quality of life improved as team members avoided hours of commuting to and from their workplace. One 2019 study published in The Journal of Business and Psychology noted that employees achieved increased levels of performance when working from home as opposed to the company office. Finally, employees were happier, resulting in fewer sick days and less turnover.

Hence the challenges that our leaders face. For much of the last 18 months, organizations have succeeded in transitioning to a virtual environment and still meeting their organizational mission. As workers return to more traditional settings, some are pushing back on their supervisors. They are arguing that if they were able to accomplish their jobs in a virtual environment, it is not necessary to force them back into a physical workspace. Some are going as far as to request special accommodations for being able to work from home permanently.

Employee engagement is a powerful dynamic and, even though it may seem as if this subject has been over-hyped in recent years, it hasn’t. Research shows that engaged employees have less turnover, take fewer sick days, and perform better. The mission is accomplished, and the bottom line improves. So why wouldn’t we want that?

The problem has been that many companies build their employee engagement strategy on mass-produced mandatory fun. Think about it. How many times do we see leaders excitedly introduce employee contests or monthly gimmicks with the intent of bringing people together? Supervisors hope it will boost productivity. Staff roll their eyes and attend because they must. Are these approaches beneficial? It depends.

Ask yourself this question: after the party is over and the free donuts are gone, what has changed? Do your workers still seem detached and on autopilot? The answer is usually yes.

Tapping into true engagement

Engagement is much more than forced participation. It’s about getting to the core of what makes human beings tick. Ever notice that when a group of people are together and connecting at a heart and soul level there is a comfort infused with energy and passion? When we become human together, laugh together, care about each other and allow bonding to occur, we tap into true engagement.

The good news is we can have it all. Engagement, productivity, all of it! If done properly, your employees will feel inspired, and you will hit those performance targets you’ve been longing for. How? Tap into your “funny bone” and have the confidence to laugh at yourself and create a culture of joy. Send the message that it’s okay to have fun at work. Then watch the energy and passion grow.