Engaging The Enemy

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Comment by Robert Morris on August 23, 2009 at 3:47am

Here is a brfief excerpt from In the August (2009) issue of Chief Learning Officer:

Disengaged Employees Less Concerned About Job Security in Recession
Agatha Gilmore

"It seems that an employee’s level of engagement has more implications than learning leaders might expect, according to new research.

"Four years ago, 41 percent of actively disengaged employees surveyed by HR Solutions said they were worried about job security. Today, this percentage has dropped by nearly half to 21 percent. Meanwhile, actively engaged employees appear to be doubly concerned about job security than before, jumping from 6 percent of respondents to 14 percent.

'What we have found is that engaged people truly understand what’s going on in the economy and what’s going on with the outside influences [on the] organization because they’re entrenched, and they really are interested in seeing how the organization itself is attacking and addressing the economic challenges that are out there,' explained Chris Dustin, executive vice president of sales and consulting for HR Solutions. 'The actively disengaged folks are really kind of burying their heads in the sand. They’re really not taking a proactive approach or looking at what’s truly happening and what the impact is to them as an employee.'

"Because of this, actively disengaged employees can be narrow-minded when it comes to understanding workplace decisions."

To read the complete article and sign up for a free subscriptionto CLO, please visit:

http://www.clomedia.com/executive-briefings/2009/August/2713/index.php

Comment by Diane Desjardins on April 8, 2009 at 12:54pm

I just read the story related by Ben Simonton on April 4, 2009 at 9:24am and April 4, 2009 at 3:58pm on the forum "Click five to survive" on EE. Great story with long term results to illustrate that his approach did work. I invite you to read it. Lots of wisdom in it.
Diane

Comment by Mike Healy on April 6, 2009 at 11:56am

Great insight Diane. Thank you for sharing

MIke

Comment by Diane Desjardins on March 20, 2009 at 11:37am

Oups, the title of the film was The peaceful warrior

Comment by Diane Desjardins on March 12, 2009 at 3:59pm

I have met the challenge in working in difficult organisations, meaning that there was so much tension between employés, that you felt it as you visited the place. I was acting as general director per interim.

I choose to manage my own emotion, to give them energy, in the form of attention, appreciation of what was working, and who was making it work. I started by building a new "this is who we are" by being what I hope to find in them.

Each time they would ask me what to do, I would bring them to the purpose of what we do. I would ask them what they thought would be the good choice or action. And I would agree or explain whay I did not, maintaining the participation open. They learned either way.

I had to leave my ego at the door, and restreint my own fear to creep in. Keeping my head clear, I could help them go through the necessary change of attitude without using authority. Without falling into emotional trap.

I apply myself to loving them, no matter what they did. They felt it. It change them. Paradoxically, as I was not reacting to their challenge according to what they expected, I gained their trust.

I often remind myself this saying from Dan Millman's book: The pacific warrior "The ones who are the most difficult to love are usually the ones who need it the most". I apply it and it help a lot.

This is not the business and organisational discourse we normally hear, but it is essential that we get this. We are, first, human beings, playing a collective game we call work. It is not only to make a living, it is to live in it.

Why not make it more emotionnaly rewarding. We will be more engage because we would get more that mere money and status, we would lake to go play at it. Joy bring energy to the job.

Note: those employees maintained contact with me, because they asked for it. Maybe they liked how I make them feel ....

Diane

Comment by Mike Healy on May 30, 2008 at 2:48pm

HI Carol

Nice poster. Not sure if you are trying to tell me something?

Feel free to expound

Mike

Comment by Carol Wain on May 28, 2008 at 11:34pm

eek... I hope this works... my nephew sent this to me and I thought it was quite cute for this topic.
Carol

Comment by Mike Healy on May 3, 2008 at 3:50am

Thanks David.

I have often found that when I am asked to lead some change programme, the first person who usually has to change is me.


Most barriers to progress in social situations usually come from within a human being. Most breakthroughs also usually come from a human being

Maybe we need a forum on here entitled Engage Yourself First ( before trying to engage others)

Comment by David Zinger on April 16, 2008 at 10:29pm

I like the edge to the name for this group and it insantly made me think of the Pogo quotation and book: We have met the enemy and he is us!

I like working with disengaged employees who have some engagement to their disengagement, in other words...some fiesty energy. As long as there is energy there is hope for tranformation of that energy to engagement as long as the person sees it as meaningful to themselves and the organization and the customers or clients..

I sometimes think that disengagement is the enemy of self. That lines up a bit with the Pogo quotation. When we disengage at work, we may disengage in many areas of our life. What an enemy of our life it is to see our leadership or organizations as the enemy.

Okay, I've got some strong feelings about this and I look forward to reading from others and I know I will contribute more.