They (and you and I) all have a:

Hard Wired Need For Control

... or more precisely... a hard-wired need to not feel OUT of CONTROL

Decades of research with human beings and lab animals show that the need to feel control is hard-wired into the nervous system.

Why should you care?

Because this fact affects EVERY aspect of employee functioning and performance.

The need to not feel helpless is perhaps the most important thing any team leader, supervisor, manager, or senior executive can know about human nature. That’s because the level of control a person feels over their situation affects:

Ability to Handle Stressful Situations– It’s not the difficulties of an external situation that causes stress, it’s the lack of control. People can handle far greater difficulties, demands, and work loads if they have control over their jobs. If you want your people to be maximally productive despite difficult work loads, you need to give them as much positive control over their work as possible. For more on the role control on the job affects stress, see the research by Dr. Robert Karasek (author of Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity, and the Reconstruction of Working Life)

Intellectual functioning – Long story short… the more people feel helpless, the dumber they become. If you want your employees to think for themselves, solve problems, not always come to you to figure things out for them...etc…. you need to give them control.

Maturity – the more helpless people feel, the more they feel, and see the world, like a child… and therefore they act like a child. Thus, if you want your employees to act like “champions” rather than kids, make sure they have positive control over their work.

Initiative– The more people have control, the more they will show initiative. Lack of control leads to “Learned Helplessness” which is obviously not what you want to see in your workforce. (For more on learned helplessness, look at the research by Martin Seligman or just Google it)

Productivity – Research by Blessing/White revealed that THE NUMBER ONE driver of discretionary effort – going above and beyond the bare minimum of work required to keep your job – is Autonomy, which is basically a fancy way of saying employees have control over their work.

Thus… the more every supervisor, every senior manager works with employees to give them positive control over their work experience the more productive, engaged, smart, and change-friendly they will be. The more control they have, the more initiative they show. Also.. the more they can handle pressures and demands without burning out.

Doesn’t it make sense to do something about this?

There's another hard-wired need that relates to this need and is the secret weapon of companies who enjoy EMPLOYER OF CHOICE status. Research with babies, chimps, rats and mice reveals that this need is hard-wired into the nervous system. We’ll talk about this and more in the upcoming seminar

“What Every Supervisor Should Know About Human Nature”
… If You Want To Maximize Employee Productivity, Quality, and Morale

4/13/07 - S. Portland, ME

For all the info and the registration form,

click here

(Please ignore the other dates on the website. At this point, I am only going to give the South Portland seminar.)

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