Solving the Engagement Crisis

The Gallup organization conducted the mother of all employee engagement surveys – 17 million surveys over a 30 year period. The data confirms what most managers fear – employee engagement is down, way down.

The Gallup data on engagement in the workplace confirms what most managers feared: employee engagement is down, way down. Click To Tweet

Consider the following analogy: 10 employees on a multi-seat bicycle. There are 3 peddling together, trying to make progress. There are 5 not peddling at all, just coasting. The last 2 are dragging their feet or putting sticks in the spokes of the wheels, actively trying to stop or even crash the bicycle. That is the average workplace.

If the Gallup data is true then for every ten employees - 3 are peddling together trying to make progress; 5 aren’t peddling at all, just coasting; and 2 are dragging their feet or putting sticks in the spokes of the wheels. Click To Tweet

According to Gallup, only 30% of employees are engaged at work. 50% are passively disengaged, which means they are on payroll but they aren’t productive or committed. The remaining 20% are actively disengaged. Not only are they unproductive, they have a negative impact on culture and frustrating co-workers.

It is estimated that disengagement costs $450 billion each year in lost productivity. Regardless of how you measure it, disengagement is a BIG problem.

Some organizations have invested a lot of money attempting to overcome the engagement crisis but the needle isn’t moving. Why?

The words of Henry David Thoreau ring true, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one striking at the root.” Disengagement is a symptom of a much bigger problem.

Disengagement is a symptom of a much bigger problem. It rises and falls on leadership. Click To Tweet

Engagement Rises and Falls on Leadership.  The biggest factor influencing employee disengagement is poor leadership from supervisors. Victor Lipman, a contributor to www.forbes.com suggested that engagement hinges on, “the employee’s relationship with his or her own leader.” Could it be that simple? Yes, confirmed by 30 years of research.

The real problem is a lack of leadership in most managers. Yes, most. Gallup CEO, Jim Clifton, said, “Here’s something they’ll never teach you in business school: the most important decision you make in your job is naming your leaders.”

How can one lead better to increase staff engagement?

Understanding Engagement. True engagement is a function of discretionary effort. Every employee makes a personal choice to be engaged or not. People are not machines. Their highest outputs come if (and only if!) they decide to engage. Disengagement is the gap is between the level of discretionary effort required to produce results and the level of discretionary effort actually expended. A truly engaged employee will meet or exceed the effort required every day, all day.  Real engagement happens by choice.

People are not machines. Every employee in every organization makes a personal choice to be engaged or not. Real engagement happens by choice. Click To Tweet

What does it mean to lead for engagement?

Leading for engagement requires connecting with people in four dimensions: their heart, soul, mind and strength. Those of you who read the bible will recognize these four categories, yes, Jesus was the Master of leading for engagement.

Connect with the Heart: People don’t care how much a leader knows (or can do, or can accomplish), until they know how much a leader cares. The best leaders can’t help but make it personal. They are genuinely interested in the personal lives of their staff – their families, their interests, their hobbies and their health. They ask about personal things not in inappropriate ways, but in a ways that say, “I care about you and the total person that you are.”

The best leaders can’t help but make it personal. They are genuinely interested in the personal lives of their staff. Their authentic inquiry says, “I care about you and the total person that you are.” Click To Tweet

Connect with the Mind: Staff engagement will not happen unless your people are convinced you know what you are talking about. Leadership thought leader Noel Tichy says, “Leaders need to have a teachable point of view.” The best leaders don’t just have opinions or ideas, they translate those ideas and opinions into a teachable framework that is rooted in evidence, facts and logic. Leading for engagement means developing, honing and perfecting a teachable point of view.

Leading for engagement means developing, honing and perfecting a teachable point of view. a compelling framework rooted in evidence, facts and logic. Click To Tweet

Connect with the Soul: Every human being is endowed with a desire to find meaning and purpose. God placed this hunger within all of us.  Leading for engagement means starting with (and staying with) why. Human beings are not robots or machines. Each person on your staff, especially the leaders, want to know why you do what you do. Leading for engagement requires crystal clear alignment to your why at all times.

Every human being is endowed with a desire to find meaning and purpose. God placed this hunger within all of us. Leading for engagement means starting with (and staying with) why. Click To Tweet

Connect with their Strength: Not only are your staff hard-wired to find meaning and purpose, they are hard-wired to leave a legacy. They want to make a difference. They want to make a personal contribution that lasts. Leading for engagement means finding work that is uniquely tailored to align with the passions and gifts of your people. Managing others is a lot easier when you align the work that needs to be done with the talents and skills of your staff. Quite often because they are so motivated and excited about the work, they manage themselves.

Managing others is a lot easier when you align the work that needs to be done with the talents and skills of your staff. Click To Tweet

At some point in everyone’s life, their inner fire goes out. All of us can lose our passion and become disengaged. Often it takes an encounter with another person to see that inner fire burst into flames again.

We should be thankful for the people that have ignited our passions and strive to be the kind of leader that ignites the hearts of others.

Leading for engagement means having power with people, not over people. It means connecting on all four dimensions of their being – their heart, soul, mind and strength.