The Hawthorne effect

Have you ever heard of the Hawthorne Effect? 👍 or 👎

Well if you are a manager in your business with a team reporting in to you then take a few seconds to stop and look at your calendar/diary and check to see how much time you have scheduled to spend with your team over the next month.

I'm not talking about staff meetings, where you stand in front of everyone and tell them how they are performing. I mean time with your team/individuals to develop an understanding of the success they bring to the business and identify the challenges they face so you can determine how you, as a leader can help alleviate those challenges.

If the answer to the question is "I don't have any time scheduled over the next month to do this" then ask yourself why.

Is you diary filled with meetings that you take little value from and give little value to? Do you spend your day reading and sending emails?

If so - then open your web browser and search for "Hawthorne Effect".

It is difficult to put a value on the importance of a business leader spending value add time with their team - the leader gains a better understanding of how the team operate and the challenges they face.

They can identify where their time could be better spent in removing blockers which affect the productivity of their team.

However, the team members themselves will be significantly more engaged in their work, because their leader is taking an interest in what they do. They will be more productive and more positive about working in the team.

So if you are a manager - then ask yourself if you would like to improve employee engagement and productivity in your team. If you do, then plan ahead and make sure you do it.

If you don't, then you might be in the wrong job!!