"The stick management is out, and the carrot principle is in!", says Chester Elton, author of the New York Bestsellers like The Carrot Principle, All In, and The Orange Revolution.

Chester, while addressing the audience at the People Matters Total Rewards Conclave 2018, shares the formula of Engage, Enable and Energize to enable employees to deliver extraordinary results.

Chester co-authored the book All In with Adrian Gostick which is based on the analysis of 300,000- engagement surveys conducted globally. The authors founded that leaders of the of the high performing teams create a culture of belief. A culture of belief enables people to believe in their leaders and the company’s vision, values, and goals. Employees are not only engaged but also enabled and energized which leads to deliver greater outcomes which escalate the business revenue and profit.

Here are the three questions you need to ask while crafting a roadmap that creates a culture of belief:

1. What does it mean to be engaged at work?
   
   Ever wondered the psychology behind why employees loathe to join back office on Monday? Why is that they don’t want to put their discretionary efforts in office? While writing the book The Carrot Principle, Chester found that while accountability and communication drive engagement but appreciation turned out to be the most sought by the employees and hence making it the most critical element of engagement. The team of Willis Tower Watson that was working on the analysis of the engagement surveys concluded highly engaged organizations had operating incomes of +19% while disengaged had a minus (-)30%.
   
   Hence, appreciating employees is vital for organization’s prosperity.
   
   
   
2. What does it mean to be enabled at work?
   
   Chester shares the story of Tony, son of Adrian Gostick (Co-author of All In). Once, Tony’s iPod stopped working and therefore, they went to the Apple Store. While checking the iPod, the guy at the store dropped it on the floor. He quickly went and got a brand new iPod and handed it to Adrain saying, “Our policy is if we drop it, we replace it at no charge.” On being further inquired, the employee at the Apple store told him that the new iPod didn’t cost him anything.” He further said, “We train very carefully on how to recover from my mistake. But we train just as hard on what they cannot promise because we never want to make a promise we can’t keep.”
   
   Set parameters for your people, empower them and enable them to deliver on that promise. 
   
   
3. What does it mean to be enriched at work?
   
   Chester shared an example of a Canadian Airline- WestJet which is supposed to have the highest engagement of employees, customer quality and profits than any other airlines in Canada. Every year the airline does something whacky for their passengers. A couple of years back they did “WestJet Christmas Miracle.” While the passengers were amazed by the gesture, the WestJetters were equally proud of this activity. That’s culture. It attracts and keeps the right people. This is what you should be doing that makes your people, both the customers and employees proud of your brand.

It’s a pat on the back not a slap on the head, says Chester. Keep it simple! Appreciate and say thank you to your people. This will not only make you happy but your employees too. “According to the research when you are happy at work, you are 150% more likely to be happy at home. Send your people home happy. It impacts their families, and it makes a difference.” 

(This article is curated from the session All In- How great leaders develop a culture of belief and deliver big results by Chester Elton, Bestselling Business Author, Organizational Culture, Employee Engagement and Teamwork Expert)