Everyone wants to feel seen

This spring I coached several sales leaders at a fast-growing fintech company. What did they want to talk about? How to talk to their teams.

As a communications coach, I have seen so much emphasis on internal communication in recent years. And I love that. Because without your team, what can you get done? Nothing.

Every human wants to feel seen - recognized for who we are and what we contribute. Every human wants to feel valued - to believe that others value us and our contributions.

In the tech industry, we live in a pretty intense “feedback” culture. Recognition (making people feel seen and valued) sometimes falls by the wayside. But look at these three data points in this 2024 Gallup & Workhuman study:

"Among employees who report receiving feedback and recognition from their manager at least once a week, 61% are engaged"

"Employees who strongly agree they receive valuable feedback are five times as likely to be engaged, 57% less likely to be burned out"

"When recognition hits the mark, employees are five times as likely to be connected to company culture and four times as likely to be engaged"

I once had a boss who saw and valued me. I walked through walls for him. Every week.

As a leader, what are you doing to encourage your people to grow their strengths? If you recognize those strengths, either privately or publicly, you are saying to your team, “I see and value you.” You’ll be amazed by what they can do.