Mind-set matters...

The so-called "placebo effect" is a great example of "mind over matter", referring to the commonly observed phenomenon in which willpower and determination can help an individual persevere through physical pain, fatigue, or other difficult circumstances.  I recently came across an older study published in the journal Psychological Science in 2007 ("Mind-set matters: Exercise and the placebo effect") in which 84 hotel employees were split into two groups.  The first group ("informed group") was told that the work they do - cleaning the hotel rooms - was good exercise and satisfied the Surgeon General's recommendations for an active lifestyle.  The second group ("control group") were not told this information.  After 4 weeks, individuals in the informed group perceived themselves to be getting significantly more exercise than before the study.  More importantly, compared with the individuals in the control group, these hotel employees showed a decrease in weight, blood pressure, body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index!  In other words, simply changing their mind-set and giving their everyday work meaning (it was exercise) produced tangible health benefits.

The author Zach Mercurio talked about the power of mattering at work in a recent Harvard Business Review article ("The Power of Mattering at Work"), which I mentioned in my last post ("To be of importance to others is to be alive...").  The article was adapted from Mercurio's newest book, The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance.  Mercurio suggests that helping others to see the importance of their work and how it connects to the greater mission of an organization can make all the difference in the world.  He writes, "When people know that they matter at work, they thrive."  Feeling that you matter strengthens your motivation, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.  And it improves your performance and engagement.

Mercurio offers several helpful points for leaders to create a sense of mattering in their organizations.  Importantly, he suggests that "mattering" can be measured (and he provides a measurement tool to do just that in his HBR article).  He says that "the first and most important step in cultivating a sense of mattering is to truly notice people."  Noticing others requires both seeing ("acknowledging them and paying attention to the details, ebbs, and flows of their life and work") and hearing ("demonstrating a genuine interest in the meaning and feeling behind their words and inviting them to share their experiences, perspectives, and feedback within a climate of psychological safety").  

In order to notice people, leaders need to make time and space to do that.  Leaders need to pay "deep attention" by fully connecting with the people on their team or in their organization.  And leaders need to respond compassionately and always follow up.  Leaders also need to affirm people by showing them that they are needed, whether by acknowledging their unique gifts and contributions to the team or by telling stories about how their work is connected to the greater mission of the organization.  

Mercurio ends the article by writing, "By genuinely seeing, hearing, affirming, and expressing how we need and value one another across our organizations, we can do more than foster connection.  We can reignite a sense of interdependence and bring our workplaces - and one another - back to life."  I am sure he goes into a lot more detail on how to create a sense of mattering at work in his book, which I have ordered from our local public library!  More to come on that in a future post...