Hartford Business Journal

18 Hartford Business Journal • April 17, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com 14 Hartford Business Journal • April 17, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com SPONSORED CONTENT "We can't do the very important work we do without our colleagues," says Christopher M. Dadlez, president and CEO of Trinity Health – New England. "As an organization we will continue to develop and grow strong leaders so that we can continue to provide exceptional care to the communities we serve." Health care leadership, hard data Don Rheem, founding partner and CEO of E3 Solutions, facilitated the interactive session. Rheem, who combines his background in science with business, has been working with Trinity Health – New England on colleague engagement, designed to provide managers with the tools needed to engage their staff. "When it comes to how we lead people, we need to link what we know drives human behavior, especially at work," Rheem told the managers. "We've made much progress in the field of neuroscience in the last five to eight years. Although there are more than 1,000 books published on leadership — which are great case studies and historical narratives — very few are based on science." Rheem stressed the overwhelming need to show appreciation for work efforts; a practice that motivates an employee even more than salary increases. "Respect for employees is critical in order to keep a well-working atmosphere. When we look at the science as it applies to the role of money, it's not a very promising picture. Money is a very poor, inefficient discretionary effort," he noted. Even if you give an employee a decent raise, said Rheem, it is only appreciated for about two pay periods. Soon after, the employee falls back into their former pattern of work, which can range from "actively disengaged," "somewhat disengaged," "engaged," or to the highest level of "actively engaged." According to Rheem, only 5 to 15 percent of employees fall into the final category. According to Rheem, employees in highly engaged workplace cultures are 78% less likely to quit; financial performance is four times better for organizations with fully engaged colleagues compared with dissatisfied employees; companies with highly engaged employees are 26% more productive, have lower turnover risk, and are more likely to attract top talent. Rheem said every employee comes to work knowing what minimal effort they have to provide. The difference between what someone is capable of doing versus what they have to do minimally is called discretionary effort. There is no way to force discretionary effort out of an employee. They have to want to give it to their employer, he said. He used a Pizza Hut promotion as an example. Elementary school students were offered a certificate for a free pizza if they went to the library and read more. Results showed that students selected lesser- quality books (thinner, more pictures, etc.), which constituted "collateral damage." While they fulfilled the terms of "the bribe," their behavior shifted and their reading comprehension went down, Rheem said. Rheem said the purpose of these exercises was not to ask managers to do things "the brain was not meant to do," but to do things "that the brain has been looking for every day since birth: to be with others and have common resources." "The default position of the human brain is to be engaged in a group with similar values and objectives," he said, using early tribes of Homo sapiens as a metaphor for today's work environment. "Early Homo sapiens survived because they were hyper-cooperative. The need for social resources is so deeply embedded that the brain literally views them as interchangeable with resources like food, water and nutrition," said Rheem, adding, "Work is the new tribe of modern Homo sapiens." In the end, Trinity Health – New England leaders left with some concrete strategies and a clear understanding of how the human brain responds to leaders who are positive and focused on what employees are doing right. ● ' When it comes to how we lead people, we need to link what we know drives human behavior, especially at work.' – Don Rheem, E3 Solutions Photo / Nick Caito Pictured, left to right, Saint Mary's Hospital colleagues, Keon Blackledge, administrative fellow; Frank S. Strazza Jr., director of Food and Nutrition Services; and Diane Gaborc, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, manager of staffing and staff relations at Saint Mary's Hospital.

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