Passion Struck with John R. Miles
Episode 610: Dr. Zach Mercurio on How Leaders Can Help People Feel Seen
Release Date: May 13, 2025

Introduction

In Episode 610 of Passion Struck, host John R. Miles engages in a profound conversation with Dr. Zach Mercurio, a renowned researcher, speaker, and author of the newly released book, The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Cultivate a Culture of Significance. This episode delves deep into the concept of "mattering" in the workplace, exploring its critical role in enhancing employee engagement, reducing burnout, and fostering meaningful organizational cultures.

Overview of the Episode

The episode centers around the pivotal idea that feeling significant—"mattering"—is a fundamental human need that profoundly impacts our sense of fulfillment and performance in various aspects of life, especially within organizational settings. Dr. Mercurio shares insights from his research, illustrating how leaders can foster environments where individuals feel seen, heard, valued, and needed.

Key Discussions and Insights

1. Understanding Mattering

Dr. Zach Mercurio introduces the concept of mattering as a survival instinct integral to human well-being. He distinguishes it from related concepts like belonging and inclusion:

• Belonging: Feeling welcomed, accepted, and connected to a group.
• Inclusion: Being able to actively participate and play a role within the group.
• Mattering: Feeling that the group or team wouldn't be complete without you, emphasizing individual significance.

Dr. Zach Mercurio [00:02]: "Belonging is feeling welcomed, accepted and connected into a group... Mattering is feeling significant to individuals in the group."

2. The Mattering Deficit in the Workplace

Dr. Mercurio discusses the alarming findings of Gallup's employee engagement data, highlighting a "mattering deficit" where a significant portion of the workforce feels invisible and undervalued.

• Key Statistics:
  • Only 39% of employees feel cared about as individuals.
  • A mere 30% believe their potential is recognized and invested in by their workplace.

Dr. Zach Mercurio [06:37]: "This is a mattering deficit. People don't feel seen. They don't feel heard... only 30% of the workforce feels 'invisible' in work."

3. Mattering vs. Belonging and Inclusion

The conversation clarifies the distinctiveness of mattering compared to belonging and inclusion. While many organizations focus on fostering a sense of belonging and ensuring inclusion through structural means, they often overlook the deeper need for individuals to feel personally significant.

Dr. Zach Mercurio [13:47]: "Belonging is feeling welcomed, inclusion is being able to play in the game, but mattering is feeling that the team wouldn't be complete without you."

4. Anti-Mattering: The Corrosive Effects

Dr. Mercurio introduces the concept of "anti-mattering," where individuals feel insignificant, leading to negative behaviors such as withdrawal, disengagement, and even hostility within organizations. He shares real-world examples, including his own experience at Lowe's Home Improvement, to illustrate how a lack of recognition and significance can devastate team morale and performance.

Dr. Zach Mercurio [28:24]: "Anti mattering... can spread like a brush fire. It leads to behaviors like withdrawal or acts of desperation, which are corrosive to any organization."

5. The Role of Leadership in Fostering Mattering

Central to the discussion is the pivotal role leaders play in cultivating a culture of significance. Dr. Mercurio emphasizes that effective leadership involves:

• Noticing: Paying attention to employees and recognizing their presence.
• Affirming: Acknowledging and valuing individuals' unique contributions and strengths.
• Needing: Ensuring individuals feel indispensable to the team's success.

Dr. Zach Mercurio [50:35]: "Noticing people is important. They have to feel seen and heard. Affirming their strengths and making sure they feel needed are critical practices."

6. Practical Practices: Noticing, Affirming, Needing

Dr. Mercurio outlines three actionable practices that leaders can implement to foster a sense of mattering within their teams:

• Noticing: Actively observe and remember details about team members' lives and work.
• Affirming: Regularly acknowledge and celebrate individuals' unique skills and contributions.
• Needing: Communicate the indispensability of each team member to the collective success.

Real-World Examples:

• John Bacon's Turnaround of a Hockey Team: By focusing on the personal lives and strengths of each player, Bacon transformed a losing team into one of the top-performing groups without changing the talent level.

  John R. Miles [44:27]: "He spent time learning about their personal lives and affirmed their unique potentials, which led to a dramatic improvement in their performance."

• Japan Airlines' Safety Culture: By remembering and honoring the lives lost in past tragedies, Japan Airlines instilled a deep sense of significance and commitment to safety among its employees.

  Dr. Zach Mercurio [53:16]: "They created a place with pictures and stories of passengers and crew, ensuring employees felt the significance of their safety procedures."

Notable Quotes

• Dr. Zach Mercurio [08:52]: "Mattering is not a preference—it's a survival instinct."

• John R. Miles [15:46]: "People need to feel value to add value."

• Dr. Zach Mercurio [17:29]: "Reflected appraisals are the little components of evidence that help build our beliefs about ourselves."

• Dr. Zach Mercurio [38:57]: "We've been communicating via short transactions for the past 25 years, which has eroded our ability to develop deep interpersonal skills essential for mattering."

• Dr. Zach Mercurio [43:47]: "Mattering happens through interactions. It’s not something you can throw a program at or an initiative or a platform."

Conclusion and Takeaways

This episode of Passion Struck underscores the indispensable role of mattering in fostering engaged, resilient, and high-performing teams. Dr. Zach Mercurio's insights reveal that beyond structural initiatives, the heart of meaningful organizational culture lies in the daily interactions where leaders actively make their team members feel seen, affirmed, and needed. By implementing the practices of noticing, affirming, and needing, leaders can address the root causes of disengagement and cultivate environments where every individual feels significant.

Actionable Advice for Leaders and Organizations

1. Invest in Relationships: Take the time to understand each team member's unique experiences, strengths, and aspirations.
2. Implement Daily Practices: Incorporate routines such as personalized check-ins, recognition of individual contributions, and clear communication of each person's impact on the team.
3. Reskill for Interpersonal Excellence: Encourage and provide training in active listening, empathy, and compassionate communication to rebuild the lost social skills crucial for mattering.
4. Redefine Success Metrics: Shift focus from purely performance-based indicators to include measures of employee well-being and perceived significance within the organization.
5. Create a Secure Base: Foster an environment where employees feel safe to express themselves, take risks, and know that their leaders have their back.

Further Resources

• Dr. Zach Mercurio's Book: The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Cultivate a Culture of Significance – Explore comprehensive strategies for embedding mattering into organizational culture.
• Previous Episodes:
  • Solo episode on five mental health habits.
  • Interview with Dr. Andrew Newberg on the neuroscience of belief and spiritual resilience.
  • Conversation with Elizabeth Weingarten on the power of uncertainty and emotional clarity.

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Upcoming Episodes:
Don't miss the next episode featuring Beette Simpkin, the spiritual teacher and artist often dubbed the "David Bowie of meditation," in a raw and stirring conversation about grief, transformation, and creative awakening.

"Mattering isn't just psychological. It's organizational oxygen."
— Passion Struck Episode 610