Many organisations have seen a slump in their employee engagement scores in recent times. In some cases, this will be the inevitable impacts of world events such as COVID, working from home, political and human crises, and so on. No matter how much we like to think we can compartmentalise our lives (work, home, personal, etc) we are all finding to one degree or another that we have had to become much more resilient in managing the interdependence between all parts of who we are, how we respond and what we do.
So, to think that high levels of engagement and connection with work lives can continue without some adjustment by the leaders to how they lead is to misunderstand the whole premise of engagement.
Building and maintaining engagement amongst colleagues within the business demands a fundamental understanding of humanness and all its frailties and strengths.
In times of extreme challenge, personal and global work can become a steady, safe, stabilising place, but only if attention is being paid to maintaining connection, openness, a good level of empathy and compassion, and community.
Workplaces for many are places of community. Whether it’s my immediate friendship group or colleagues, whether it’s the wider belief in the product or service, and the joy of providing that, or whether it’s the sense of being part of something that matters. Investing in dialogue that helps to maintain that sense of connection and community is so important and a role for all leaders in organisations, be they in positions of authority or informal leaders.
The fruits of this level of commitment can then be so evident to see…having travelled a lot this week by train I saw examples of grumpiness, jobs-worth attitudes and unhelpfulness but I also saw it shine through in the behaviours of many of the onboard crew members and station staff who were clearly taking great pride in their work and in being part of something they valued. The radiance of their mindset and commitment was infectious and a great service to others in the ‘pay it forward’ sense. So as leaders we must think not only of how building engagement supports our people and our organisations but the radiatory effect of that far and wide. This is how we, step by step, build a better world for all.
Leaders must be the first to embrace the philosophy of taking care of their own needs before extending it to others: a banal example (but significant, I think!), that of the manager who treated himself like a war machine, shows how the lack of authenticity on a personal level can negatively influence the entire work environment, fueling aggression and tension.
Even more so, recognizing and respecting the fundamental emotional needs of your collaborators is the key to building a healthy and engaging work environment.
Only in this way can we hope to create organizations in which involvement is authentic, productivity is high, and the corporate culture reflects deep respect for the human condition.
Yes Aldo, we must be authentic in that saying one thing and doing another we will not help build the trust in the community and its values, that supports engagement.
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