Brought to you by Jeff Thoren, DVM  

The concept of employee engagement makes all the sense in the world, as it always has for businesses that value long-term success.  The commitment and involvement that employees feel toward their company has an influence on productivity. 

So, with all the emphasis on engagement, how are managers and leaders doing?  Unfortunately, not well.  In a business environment that calls for coaching, collaboration, and gaining commitment, leaders seem to be more likely to choose a “command and control” style.  In the process, they may be unwittingly cutting themselves off from engaging the talent, creativity, and energy of their greatest resource – their people.

Here’s this month’s feature ...

"Shut Up and Listen!"  A Bump on the Road to Employee Engagement by Joseph LaMantia and Victor R. Buzzotta, Ph.D.

From - Link & Learn, April 2007 - Linkage, Inc.

Highlights from the article:

• Eighty four executives participated in a carefully designed simulation to evaluate their interpersonal skills -- the very abilities that are most likely to engage employees and gain their commitment.  These managers, who were all talented and considered successful at their jobs, overwhelmingly chose to dominate and keep a tight rein on the simulated meeting.   For example …
    

  • Less than 25% acknowledged the other person’s feelings.

  • Less than 33% developed any give-and-take in the form of a discussion.

  • Only 17% even asked for the other’s input for developing a plan regarding that person’s future.

  • Participants did most of the talking and asked few questions. When they did ask questions, it was usually to control the conversation; they generally avoided asking open-ended questions.
      

• One possible explanation is that managers routinely place a high value on keeping a tight lid on encounters that may go in unpredictable directions.  In order to arrive at a predictable outcome envisioned by the executives, they were willing to sacrifice open communication and working together toward a goal – both ways to engage employees.
    

• Particularly striking is that, in a debriefing session, many participants expressed the view that they had performed well!  In reality, while they had obtained compliance, they did little to gain commitment to their plan.
    

• There are two key areas that are vitally important for developing effective working relationships with employees and resolving conflicts.  For both, the successful leader focuses on the other person, not on himself.  Leaders need to:

1. Be willing to motivate others through collaboration, showing that they are partners ready to invest time in developing people to accomplish work goals.  The best strategy for gaining someone’s commitment to a goal is to enlist the other person’s participation in formulating the goal.

2. Utilize open, two-way communication to involve others.  The best way to engage another person in a collaborative strategy is by finding out what he or she thinks, feels, and wants.

• The good news: effective interpersonal skills can be learned!  Involving employees in decisions made about their own futures allows leaders to tap into their vitality and enthusiasm.  There’s no down side when direct reports understand that their input really counts.

For the full text article, go to ...
http://www.linkageinc.com/company/news_events/
link_learn_enewsletter/archive/2007/04_07_Listen.aspx

Controlling vs. Engaging Behavior

Controlling behaviors commonly exhibited by executives during potentially difficult or challenging conversations with employees include:

• Stating the purpose of the meeting

• Keeping the meeting on track

• Stating the benefit of the employee making a commitment

• Communicating his/her rationale for the recommended action plan

Behaviors more likely to result in collaboration and engagement include:

• Checking for the other person’s readiness to proceed

• Getting details from the other person before presenting own views

• Acknowledging the other person’s feelings

• Allowing time for the other person to vent their emotions

• Soliciting the other person’s ideas

• Questioning the other person to understand them better

• Checking for understanding of differences in views

• Developing a constructive give-and-take

• Asking for the other person’s input first in formulating an action plan

Evaluate yourself.  Pay attention to the conversations you’re currently having with colleagues and employees.  How commonly do you exhibit the behaviors that support collaboration?

Next Month

You can develop your ability to lead and grow a team that can work efficiently and effectively without constant supervision.  You can do this with the staff you already have.  And the path to get there may be simpler than you imagined.

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