Introduction: While developing my own content, targeted at helping leaders better lead and engage employees, I made the observation that there is a lot of really good material that already exists, and volumes on the topic are added every week. The goal of this weekly newsletter is to bring to the fore quality articles that discuss leadership, with a focus on employee engagement. Much of the content comes from those I follow on Twitter, and/or members of the Employee Engagement Network.
Time to Say Good Night to “Employee Engagement”? by Mike Klein, Dan Grey, Lindsay Uittenbogaard & Kevin Keohane
I am not sure there is any other field where I have seen the very basis of the discipline so often argued. Many attempts at defining what ‘Employee Engagement’ is have met with failure, and the debate continues. This article is a marked improvement on previous attempts to nail down this elusive topic, as it includes multiple perspectives in the article, as well as many insightful comments. Consider it a ‘primer’ on the debate for the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of employee engagement, by some of the biggest thinkers in the field. For me the biggest nugget came from the comments, where Mike Klein stated his desired approach to employee engagement: “adding value by matching what organizations and employees have to offer to maximise mutual benefit”. For a guy who is making a case for killing the term ‘employee engagement’, its ironic that he came up with the best definition I have seen so far!
Thoughts on Flash by Steve Jobs
“What does Mr. Jobs weighing in on a technology decision have to do with leadership and engagement?” you might ask. I have not recently seen a letter from a CEO more finely crafted to motivate the troops (and beyond). For the many Apple developers both inside the company and 3rd party, he is sending a very clear message on the priority of the user experience in Apple products, and sets the direction for the company both technically and philosophically. Some question if this would work for another CEO, but IMHO, it certainly sets a fine precedent for a technology CEO. If developers and designers are key members of your workforce, much is to be gained by a CEO willing to get their hands dirty and show your employees that you are still at the technology helm (in addition to all the other roles of a CEO), and illustrate how this impacts the customer experience. It must have been an interesting chat with legal getting that article out the door…
Managing Yourself: Bringing Out the Best in Your People by Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown (Note: This content is available for subsribers of the Harvard Business Review online or print version.)
What distinguishes ‘diminishers’ –those who “underutilize people and leave creativity and talent on the table”– and their opposite, the ‘multiplier’? According to Wiseman & McKeown, “diminisher’ view of intelligence is based on elitism, scarcity, and stasis” while the multiplier “bring[s] the right people together in an environment that unleashes their best thinking—and then stay out of the way”. Heard this before right? Yes, but what I found very useful are their suggestions on what signs there are that you might be a ‘diminisher’, and how to get out of that mode, namely:
- Talking too much in meetings? –> Dispense your thoughts in small but intense doses.
- Too dominant, don’t leave room for innovation? –> Feel comfortable not having all the answers, and ask more questions.
They also develop an interesting taxonomy for the types of diminishers (empire builder, tyrant, know-it-all, decision maker & mirco-manager) and their corresponding multipliers (talent magnet, liberator, challenger, debate maker, & the investor) which can be helpful in identifying good and bad behaviours.
Raising Engagement by Adrienne Fox
Another great primer in the area of managing employee engagement, this article delves into an overview of the business case for engagement (primarily Gallup-based), and some high-level stats on the state of engagement in America. It also discusses employee satisfaction vs. engagement (an important distinction), the potential pitfalls of engagement surveys, who is responsible for it (everyone), along with yet another debate on what engagement is: “a rational, emotional & motivational [employee-employer connection]“.
More value comes from a discussion on the discrepancy between manager’s perceptions (pay, recognition) and what actually motivates employees (perception of progress, a connection to business outcomes, and getting to do what you do best every day). For a relatively short summary of the key issues, the author does a very good job of capturing the key engagement levers.
Additionally, many examples on individual companies experiences with engagement make this a very worthwhile read.
Omissions? If you think I have missed a really good article in the area of Employee Engagement & Leadership, there is always next week! Drop me a line in the comments below.
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