You want to grow your business and you’re pretty clear on what you need from your employees. Hard work. Efficiency. Innovation. Motivation. Results. But what do your employees need from you? If you’re thinking in practical terms—a steady paycheck, a quiet workspace, more training—you’re wrong. Well, at least you’re only partly right.
According to Christine Comaford, before they can meet your deepest needs, you have to meet theirs.
Safety. Belonging. Mattering.
“If this sounds familiar, it’s because Maslow said it first,” notes Comaford, author of the new book SmartTribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together. “After our essential needs for food and shelter are met, our next level of needs includes safety, belonging, and mattering. Those are needed before we can seek self-actualization. What that means in a work environment is that people simply can’t perform, innovate, agree, or move forward until those three needs have been met.”
