Monday, March 31, 2014

The Art of Employee Engagement

I was asking a friend what made his company so remarkable. He replied:

"we all like each other so much that we wouldn't want to let anyone down"

How about that? We view employee engagement as a catch phrase or a transaction or platform or a collection of rewards; does not the concept of engagement speak to the attraction of one person to another? We are afraid to use the word accountability because we acquaint it with rule by consequence. What if we were driven by obligation; not because we had to but because we wanted to.


How about that? A drive that is motivated by a belief that trumps a presupposed agenda for success... 

You wouldn't let your friend down simply because you wouldn't have the heart to face the consequences. This doesn't make you a coward it makes you courageous. Somewhere along the line we decided to pretend that caring is a sign of weakness. This makes it easy for people who don't care to systematically navigate success. Caring is the hard part, it's far easier to create a system to mandate effort. 

Indeed, in this world of Big Data we have predictive analytics to determine the viability of our every action. This way, no one has to take chances and we can waste our lives doing the safe thing.

   
There are those who remember Steve Jobs as a detail obsessed lunatic who was uncompromising in his vision to build a better thinking process. Mr. Jobs lead with his heart. His frustration has been documented because he did not guard it. It's hard to lead with your heart. When you care about something more than your brain can comprehend, your heart creates what the less-evolved are unable to engage.

:( Anyone can memorize a formula and pass a test. 
:( Anyone can plug into a system and mandate its navigation.
:( Anyone can pretend the creation of others are their own.

The engagement of human beings starts in the heart of a single person. Leadership has become a lost term...as has employee engagement.

If you don't care... they will know. If you are unable to create... they will not follow.

To look back and realize those who you lead were working around you is only less-depressing than to be unable to do anything about it.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave  

9 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. Employee engagement is a workplace approach designed to ensure that employees are committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success, and are able at the same time to enhance their own sense of well-being.

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  3. Value your employee like how you value your business, engage with them so that you can gain their trust and they will feel they are important. Employee engagement should start with Workforce management and the rest will follow.

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  4. Thanks for your feedback & for sharing this post, everyone !

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  5. We must do our work perfectly....and we need to love and enjoy the work to do....

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  6. I agree with your conversation about an employe......Great post by you..

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  7. Thanks for sharing! Want to Engage your work from home employees with virtual activities? We have a list of 11 Virtual employee engagement activities to engage and retain your work from home employees at work.

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  8. Employee Engagement for remote team employees is essential to keep them motivated and productive. Check out our Online Games For Employee Engagement, for your next online office party.

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