The Key to Employee Engagement? Appreciating Effort

Research shows that what employees want the most is: to be seen, to be heard, to be recognized, and to make a contribution. It’s not hard to see how fulfilling the first three items can lead to employees doing more of the fourth.

If you want to help someone learn something—particularly anything that is complex or involves dealing with other human beings—you must move that person into positive emotional territory. Focusing on what has already been done well is the ticket to accelerating a sense...