I wrote earlier about A Man Called Otto, the book (and movie adaptation featuring Tom Hanks) about a grumpy recluse who’s backing away from life. Otto’s character was a great way to shorthand the question, “How do you summon positivity if it doesn’t come naturally to you?”
If you’re a leader who finds yourself thrust into the spotlight for employee inspiration, then I encourage you to read that post. Today, I’m invoking Otto for a different reason. You might recall that Otto has a bleak view of his life . . . and his neighbors. But when a new young family moves in nearby, Otto’s stubborn veneer slowly starts to crack when the family wedges their way into his life with tough love.
One of my Off the Rak guests, Michael Stallard, reminded me of Otto because he wrote about 10 universal human needs at work. Michael’s article is a sobering reminder that only one in three employees feels engaged at work, and, globally, employee engagement has sunk to 21 percent.
These stats are a battle cry for leaders to double down on revisiting the ten needs that Michael has grouped into three categories:
- survival needs
- social needs, and
- serving needs.
If you have two Ottos for every one engaged employee, it’s time to look at these areas—social needs in particular.
I would guess that many leaders know that fair compensation and safe working conditions address employees’ survival needs, while meaningful work facilitates individuals’ need to serve organizations, colleagues, and the greater good.
However, the second category—social needs—can be a bit tricky because it falls into that critical yet hard-to-define culture area that manifests itself in human behavior, which is messy: team dynamics, leadership skills, and employee followership patterns.
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Is there a climate of respect, recognition, and belonging that flows freely throughout the hierarchy?
The answer to this question sits at the fork in the road—one toward engagement and the other toward detachment. Just like Otto’s neighbors engage him in the positive web of their daily lives with respect, recognition of his life experience, and a sense of belonging, leaders have the same opportunity to model and serve these human needs.
People don’t disengage because they stop caring about the work. They disengage because they stop feeling seen. As leaders, it’s not just our job to deliver results; it’s to create environments where people feel safe, valued, and connected. Respect, recognition, and belonging are hardwired into what it means to thrive, and they drive the performance all leaders want to see.
If leaders want more people in their organizations leaning in rather than checking out, they need to double down on those social needs that too often fall through the cracks. It starts with a conversation. A “thank you.” A moment of genuine interest in someone’s life beyond the job description.
That’s how we build culture: not in mission statements or posters on a wall—but in how we show up for one another day after day.
