Employee Engagement Writers

Comment

Comment by Bay Jordan on November 3, 2008 at 3:30am

I am in the throes of completing a paper on what can ultimately only be described as the futility of redundancy. However, being a new member and having only now discovered this group, I was wondering:
a) Has anyone here already written anything around this?.
b) Is there any effort to provide a collective solution to this problem? i.e.. Do we all just continue to tackle the problem through our own efforts or is there a way we can collaborate to help one another?

On a slightly different tack, does anyone have any advice for me as to how and where to get articles published? Although I am a published author, I still struggle to get some of my thought-pieces published and consequently I am always behind the ball in my efforts to promote my business and my solutions.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Bay

Comment by Robert Morris on September 4, 2008 at 10:50am

I have just re-read David Magee’s How Toyota Became #1: Leadership Lessons from the World’s Greatest Car Company. At one point in his narrative, he cites an excellent example of achieving and then sustaining employee engagement by delegating authority as well as responsibility.

Gary Convis (at that time Toyota’s top manufacturing executive in the US) recalled being advised by his superior to avoid being a dictatorial boss and to manage as if he had no power. For example, he went to a superior to get sign-off for a large capital expenditure. He had researched the need and presented the findings to his boss.

The superior, ultimately responsible for the decision, told Convis to make the decision himself and come back to him not with a request for approval but with a recommendation. “It turned the worm for me,” says Convis. “It made me think, ‘I better check again.’ It teaches you not to reach an opinion, but to get the facts; all of the facts.”

Think about it: What if all supervisors – at all levels and in all areas -- managed as if they had no power?

Comment by Robert Morris on August 17, 2008 at 5:47am

In the current issue of BusinessWeek (August 25, 2008), in their "WelchWay" column, Jack & Suzy Welch share thoughts about empowerment that seem relevant to our network's on-going discussion of engagement.

They make and briefly discuss three points: "1) In 'normal companies,' empowerment isn't doled out equally, it's earned...2) People who are empowered to take risks and then fail once don't become pariahs, but they're often damaged goods...3) Empowerment is less likely to happen in bigger companies, which is the opposite of how it should be." I urge everyone to check out the full column.

Years ago, long before "empowermen"t began to buzz through books, articles, and conversations, I became convinced that ownership must accompany delegation. That is, if I assign a task to you, it's yours: you decide how to complete it and will be held accountable for (i.e. "own") the results. The Welch comments seem to imply, at least,that empowerment is based on past performance and granted only after having earned trust and respect. That is, it is distributed based on individual merit, not as a right for everyone.

Engagement is different in that it is the result of an individual's choice. It can be encouraged and supported but not (like a task) delegated or (like complianace) mandated.

If I choose to become engaged, have I empowered myself? If I choose not to become engaged, have I forfeited at least some power? If someone delegates a task to me, that person has engaged me but has that person empowered me? If I "own" the task and held accountable for the results, does that mean that only I will receive credit or blame for them?

What do others think?

Comment by Michael Kanazawa on June 18, 2008 at 1:27am

Based on David Zinger's suggestion, I'm posting the recent YouTube conversation between me and Todd Sattersten, VP 800CEORead (8CR), for thier "author blog" at www.800ceoread.com/authorblog. This is a specific blog for authors with resources on publicity, encouragements, and tips. 8CR is really out to help authors so you may want to get to know them if you've written a book or are promoting a book. Todd was asking me questions about the process of writing the book. There are two pieces to it.

Comment by Robert Morris on May 2, 2008 at 1:42pm

At the monthly meeting of a business book breakfast club here in Dallas earlier today, Randy Mayeux provided a brilliant briefing on Big Think Strategy, at one point quoting author Bernd Schmitt on building support for a strategy: “Buy-in is a manipulative command-and-control system and everyone sees right through it…[because it] occurs top down through the corporate hierarchy [and employees] do not see the benefit and thus cannot make the strategy their own. Because there is nothing in it for them, their buy-in will be forced. Lack of motivation will be the outcome.” This observation is not always accurate, I realize, but it does suggest the importance of employee engagement being voluntary, not the result of coercion. What do you think?

Comment by Robert Morris on March 27, 2008 at 5:12pm

Among all the books published in recent years, two are especially relevant to the on-going discussions of employee engagement between and among members of the EE Network: Fired Up or Burned Out and Terms of Engagement. Here are two brief excerpts from my Five Star reviews of them for Amazon and Borders:

“Many of those who get ‘fired up’ about a new job, a new assignment, a new promotion, etc. eventually become "burned out" by it. What we have in this volume, written by Michael L. Stallard with Carolyn Dewing-Hommes and Jason Pankau, is a remarkably thoughtful and sensitive examination of the causes and effects of this familiar workplace situation. Stallard observes that, ‘Although people generally enter their organizations fired up, over time most work environments reduce that inner fire from a flame to a flicker.’ Why? They lack ‘connection’ with others, especially with their supervisors and immediate associates. As a result, they have unmet needs; more specifically, to be respected, recognized, included and accepted.”

“Stallard goes on to suggest that ‘the lack of connection will gradually burn [employees] out. Organizational environments where connection is low or absent diminish [employees'] physical and mental health. They create a low level of toxicity that drains [their] energy, poisons [their] attitudes, and impacts [their ability and willingness] to be productive.’ It is difficult (if not impossible) to calculate the total cost of such a situation, including its impact on customer relationships and retention of valued employees. The potential damage and (yes) cost of a group's disconnection must be at least the number of people in a given group compounded by a factor of 3-5, if not greater.

* * * * *

“In his Foreword, Axelrod asserts that his ‘is the first book to challenge the widely accepted change management paradigm. It provides leaders at all levels of the organization -- all those who initiate, design,, and implement change -- with a set of principles for bringing about change in a turbulent world. It is not a methodology, nor is it a set of techniques; rather, it is a set of principles that everyone can fall back on when faced with new and different situations.’”

I highly recommend both books. Each is a brilliant achievement.

Comment by Michael Kanazawa on March 26, 2008 at 1:22am

I'm happy to join this goup of writiers. As a brief personal introduction, a coauthor and I just launched our book BIG Ideas to BIG Results with FT Press/Pearson Hall. It is about strategy execution and corproate transformation and has several chapters focused squarely on employee engagement - which all of us here know is a key to making the bigger strategic moves. If you have an interest, you can learn more at www.bigideastobigresults.com. Please let me know what other types of writing projects people are involved in within our group here.

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