What books are you currently reading that discuss employee engagement?

[David Zinger]

I am very interested in books on employee engagement or related topics. What are you reading? Do you want to start a discussion on a specific book? Do you have a recommendation?

[Terrence Seamon]

Some on my reading pile...

The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly

One Foot out the Door by Judith Bardwick

The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave by Leigh Branham

The Passionate Organization by James Lucas

Creating Commitment by Micahel O'Malley

[David Zinger]

Terrence,
As you read one you might want to put it up as a separate discussion and see other responses. I think this group might really take off in a few weeks as we have so many readers on the site.
I am reading:
Human Sigma
Influencer
Connected Leaders and a few others.
David

[Robert Morris]

Of all the business books I have read and reviewed within the past 12-18 months, these five are (in my opinion) the most thoughtful and informative re employee engagement:

Big Ideas to Big Results (check out Chapter 7)
Informal Learning
Return on Learning
StrengthsFinder 2.0
Why is Everyone Smiling?

With regard to less recently published "classics," I think these five continue to be the most valuable:

Authentic Leadership
The Executive's Compass
The Highest Goal
The Human Side of Enterprise
Practice What You Preach

Thank you for creating this opportunity to share opinions.

[Randy Mayeux]

I am brand new to this whole idea (at least, to the vocabulary). But, here are two books that might be worth considering:
In Quint Studer's book Results that Last, he discusses why people do not stay with companies. His summary:
• employee turnover and the ripple effect…
• if an employee leaves within the first 30 days, the company most likely has selection issues.
• if an employee leaves after the first month but before the first 90 days, the company most likely has orientation problems, either with the job or with co-workers..
• if an employee leaves after the first year but within the first five years, they believe that they have maxed out on their skill set and see no additional opportunity for career and personal growth.

The other book I would recommend is the classic Encouraging the Heart: A Leaders Guide to Rewarding and Encouraging Others by Kouzes and Pozner. Here is a key quote:
"This story is a constant reminder to us of the power of a very simple principle of human performance: people like to be recognized for doing their best.
Encouragement increases the chance that people will actually achieve higher levels of performance."

[Ian Buckingham]

I've created a list on Amazon which may ring a bell or two with our fellow networkers as it features what I consider to some of the cornerstone works in this field from Bill George through to Bill Quirke, from the inspirational all the way along the pragmatic road to the instructional and "how to" end of the scale:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brand-Champions/lm/R28MZBCEQKG95C/ref=cm_lm...

Of course, I highly recommend anyone interested in Engagement to take a look at Brand Engagement, available on Amazon as well. It's a challenging and provocative read which gets under the skin of the topic - but then you would expect me to recommend it after all!
http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=281268

[Andrew Rondeau]

Hi all,

I've just finished reading 2 books.

The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly. I came across The Dream Manager by chance. I was actually approached by the publisher to review the book and in summary, author Matthew Kelly has written a book which is 'a must read’ for anyone who desires to help and improve their engagement with others. It is as simple as that. You can see my review here.

On Leadership by Allan Leighton. I totally believe if you want to improve a certain skill then you should model yourself on someone who already has had success in that skill. And this books have many successful individuals views On Leadership. Again my review is here.

[Mike King]

I'm glad to see so many people recommend Dream Manager, its sitting on my book shelf just waiting to be read. I just finished reading "The Future of Management" by Gary Hamel and it is really largely about employee engagement. It covers many areas about how employees are inspired and even "allowed" to drive innovation int he workplace and how management has such a significant impact on this. Definitely one I think people would enjoy here. You can read my review of it if you are interested in knowing more about it.

Other ones I've really enjoyed lately are Influencer, 1st Break all the Rules, and The Goal. All fantastic books with tons of lessons about employee engagement.

[Ian Buckingham]

I was thinking about the notion of books that discuss employee engagement and then really considered the most "engaging" "management" books - the books which have really hit the spot for the greatest percentage of the population. Upon reflection, they aren't really the same thing, interestingly enough.

I pulled together this list on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Than-Management-Tomes-Stories/lm/R8Z48...

Any others to add?

[James Brain]

Two 'mega-books' on Engagement that have given me some great insights:

1) The Chief Engagement Officer by John Smythe

2) The End of Management: and the rise of organisational democracy by Cloke and Goldsmith

I consider these both 'must reads'

[Adam Hibbert]

Ah, cripes, you've got me. I know (1) is the business, so I'm going to have to go out and buy (2) now on the strength of this comparison.

At the moment I'm flicking between Smythe's book, which is definitely a keeper, and Naked Conversations, which is relatively old, but helps clarify some things, with some persuasive examples.

[Adam Hibbert]

Oh, and Roger D'Aprix's The Credible Company: communicating with today's skeptical workforce just amazonned onto my desk. This one looks promising.

[Raven]

I just finished Managing The Gray Areas by new EEN member Jerry Manas. What a great book and I was surpised to find the common theme of engagement throughout. It is now on my list of must-read books for new (and used!) managers. I am hoping Jerry will write about his book here at EEN and expand on the included thoughts on employee engagement, as I think he has a lot of great insights to share.

I did a post recently that includes links to a recent webinar of Jerry's Managing the Gray Areas–Leading with Humanity, an article titled How to address the “Gray Areas” ! Tough Questions for Leaders (PDF) and other useful info on his book and main focus - the human side of project management.

You can find out more here: http://ravenyoung.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!17376F4C11A91E0E!4458.entry