Human needs during the new normal

The pandemic has shifted the workforce to different levels considering human needs. We all know Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Those needs are physiological needs which are basic needs, safety needs, belonging & love needs, esteem and then self actualization needs. During the pandemic employees lost their jobs, they were worried about their and family’s health and hence basic needs like physiological, safety and belonging, love needs became more dominant. However, there was another need which we never thought of and that was cognitive needs - knowledge and understanding, curiosity, exploration, need for meaning and predictability. Employees wanted to be aware about the situation, they wanted more information, and a clear understanding of the impact on them. 

Cognitive need is the new need of the new generation. We all know that the future has already arrived and considering the disruptive trends and pandemic the future will be different. In this whole process people are more concerned about their identity. The human being is becoming more smarter, explorer, curious and want to experiment in his own career. 

In any case, you will find five fundamental needs of human beings at new workplaces. 

Identity: They want the identity in the organization. Each human being is different; however, they want what is their role and how they are uniquely contributing to the larger purpose of the organization. 

Image: Atharva Bidwaik

Inclusion: They want to be part of the team. Each member of the team needs to feel part of the team. They want to be included and hence creating inclusive culture is very important. 

Clarity: They want clarity of everything. They need clarity and the impact of different changes on their life. They are curious about what is happening in the organization and how they are engaged in different things.  

Contribution: They want to contribute to the larger purpose of the organization and expect that their contribution to be values and respected. 

Respect and trust: They expect respectful treatment. Organization needs to create the trust capital in the organization.  

Image: Atharva Bidwaik

Employees in the new normal want to be productive and engaged members of the team. They want to accomplish things together. Once leaders start taking care of the above five needs, teamwork will flourish, and your organization will excel towards the best place to work. 

(Opinions are purely personal & does not represent my organizations, current or past) 

Author's book are available on Amazon, Flipkart, Pothi and BookGanga. Income from books is used for social cause. 

Leadership Role Needs

Leadership is always a hot discussion topic in spite of having a lot of theories and material available on it. There are different views, different opinions, and different theories, still organizations are struggling having the right leadership in place.. Every research, every survey done internally and externally has some views on the leadership. On the other hand, if you search “thought leaders” on LinkedIn, you will get millions of profiles which list leadership and thought leaders as a strength of those individuals. This is a contradiction.

Leadership is a behaviour. Leadership has to be proved in the organization, then only it gets the recognition. However, one of the flaws one can say is that leadership is subjective, it totally depends upon the organizational context. That’s why employees and managers working in MNCs are not interested in working in Indian companies and vice versa. In both organizations leadership behaviour expectations are different. The great leader in one company may be a failure in another company. However, a true leader is someone who is flexible, resilient, adaptable and adjusts his/her wavelength with any type of culture and atmosphere.

I would like to make the leadership simple for you if you are managing a team directly or indirectly.

In any organization, there are three overlapping needs that have to be focused by the leader. Fulfilling these needs is the right recipe of leadership. 

Task Needs: These needs are mainly related to the results leader and his/her function needs to achieve. This is a typical management function where you are expected to set up targets, define workflow, define the task, planning, briefing, controlling, etc. but moreover aligning the team with a larger purpose.

Team Needs: to achieve the task, you have to build and maintain the team. You need to identify the right talent which is diverse in your team. Your team needs to be cohesive but still diverse and should be able to work together.

Individual Needs: Here you have to understand the individual needs, their aspirations, motivation. It is good to understand what are the driving forces that are motivating employees to come to the job every day, what are their development plans and how they can contribute to achieve the tasks.  

Leadership is not a rocket science, you have to prepare your right recipe which can be cooked whenever required, but sometimes you also need to change it as per the context and create new one. You have to add other dimensions in the recipe as and when required. Your leadership behaviours are spices that make the recipe best to consume. 

(Opinions are purely personal & does not represent my organizations, current or past) 

Author's book are available on Amazon, Flipkart, Pothi and BookGanga