Engagement starts with honoring the choice of the individual.
If we want to improve engagement in our organization, we must start from the perspective that the individuals who work for us are doing so by choice. And the work they do, the quality of that work, and the quantity, are all a result of their choices. We can try to put parameters around that choice. We can give them guidelines and constraints, but it’s still their choice. The more we can understand, appreciate and operate from that perspective, the better we can be at fostering engagement.
Manage processes, lead people
One maxim that I like is this: Work to make sure your processes are compliant and your people are engaged. People are not compliant. Their actions, the process they follow or the work they do, may be compliant but the people are not. People are engaged or they're not. And the more engaged they are, the more likely they are to do the work needed to keep your processes and products compliant. That brings us to another maxim: You manage processes, you lead people. Management focuses on doing things correctly; following the process; ensuring the quality of the end product.
Management alone is not sufficient
No matter how well you set up your processes, no matter how tightly you manage the work, if you don’t do the leadership work, you’ll find yourself and your organization in trouble. You will spend valuable resources fighting an endless battle against apathy, sloppiness, and poor customer service.
So, honoring the choice of the individual clearly impacts engagement. But what does honoring the choice of the individual look like in practice?
It focuses on outcomes that are directly related to organizational purpose and shared vision
It’s based on agreements instead of expectations
It’s facilitated by direct, adult to adult communication
It is customized to the individual
In the next few posts, we will look at each one of those aspects individually. Your challenge, for now, is to make some time for self-reflection and ask yourself these questions:
How well do I know the individuals on my team? What motivates them? What do they value?
How do I see the individuals on my team? As children who need controlling or as adults who have their own viewpoints, skills, and motivations?
What biases do I have that cause me to generalize and judge others?
Commentaires