Break out and re-engage

Claudia Williams, founder of The Human Zone LLC, shares key insights on employee engagement at TEDxPSU



Photo courtesy of Herbert Reininger

Photo courtesy of Herbert Reininger

University Park, PA – Penn State’s locally organized, student- run TEDxPSU conference saturated the State College community with inspiration and motivation once again this year, featuring speakers that not only highlighted important ideas on the current cultural climate but also showcased important research designed to educate and empower the audience.

One speaker, Claudia Williams, had a particularly compelling topic that showcased how to increase personal and business success while also leading a happy, engaging life.

The TEDx presentations spanned all day and included Professor Theresa Vescio, who presented a speech on what women want men to know about sexism.

The TEDx presentations spanned all day and included Professor Theresa Vescio, who presented a speech on what women want men to know about sexism.

Claudia Williams, the founder and chief “Frientorship” officer of The Human Zone, LLC., was named by the Central Penn Business Journal as one of the “Top 25 Women of Influence” in Pa. Her many years of service as a lawyer in private practice led her to work at The Hershey Corporation, where she remembers being the person who was called in when things went wrong. She began to want to play an active role at the front end of preventing negative situations, a desire that led her to starting her own consulting company, The Human Zone.

Quiet, calm, and poised, Williams took the microphone on stage, a deep breath and the audience’s full attention.

“We have a problem and it’s a zombie apocalypse kind of problem,” Williams said, walking across the stage while mimicking zombie movements with her arms. “ … Eighty percent of people don’t like their jobs. Eighty-seven percent of people aren’t engaged at work or are actively disengaged. We’re zombies. Just going through the motions.”

According to Williams, actively disengaged employees cost companies a whopping $450-500 billion each year while costing individuals their health, relationships and personal happiness. She recalls the moment she realized she was a “zombie” in her career while standing in the driveway with her husband and kids waiting for the bus to take her to the airport for yet another work trip away in China.

“The car pulls in and my boss comes over to meet my kids for the first time. I make the standard introduction and my 7-year-old looks up at her with her big brown eyes and says, ‘So you’re the reason my mom is never home,’” Williams said.

Contrary to her daughter’s belief, Williams points to herself as the reason she was never home. She was a zombie in her career: stagnant, unmotivated, just going through the motions of her day- to-day life. Determined to help herself and other professionals in her situation break out of the cycle of disengagement and unhappiness at work, Williams created the idea of “frientorship” in the workplace. Frientorship is an idea designed to ultimately increase happiness, professional engagement and company success through the important principles of friendship, mentorship and leadership.

According to Williams, workplace friendships lead to higher views of company culture, more creative work environments, increased teamwork and collaboration, all while ensuring higher job satisfaction and engagement.

“You need someone to tell you when you’re too hard on someone in a meeting or to challenge you to look at something a little differently,” Williams said. “You have to be open to that feedback.”

She advises professionals to stop and pay attention to little details about their coworkers like the pictures or knick knacks on their desk to strike up beneficial “chit chat,” and to make new friends in the office “one cup of coffee at a time.”

Williams highlights the benefits of mentorship, as research suggests mentored employees make more money and help their company earn more money, all while increasing customer satisfaction and employee retention rates. Her advice on getting knowledge in the workplace: seek it out.

Last but not least, Williams stresses the importance of great leaders. In today’s world, leaders are typically thought to be the bosses and CEOs of a company rather than the average professional but Williams explains that all professionals are leaders in their individual career journeys.

According to Williams, the show of a great leader isn’t in an individual’s personal accomplishments but is in the way one trains, nurtures and develops their team to lead after they are gone. To be an effective leader, Williams points to three important qualities: accountability, self awareness and effective communication. She emphasizes that a great leader communicates goals and says that an expectation that isn’t fully communicated is nothing more than empty, meaningless words.

“How are we going to stop the apocalypse? With frientorship.” .


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