The beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, norms and practices of people within an organization, particularly the leaders, determines the level of engagement. Highly engaged teams are energised, enthusiastic and passionate about engaging customers and exceeding expectations
Engagement is a powerful force that governs the organizations “way of life”
- It shapes the way the organization treats the customer
- It determines the organizational performance level
- It controls the organizations response to change
- It channels human energy and spirit into business activities
- It dictates the organizations evolution through stages of development
The traditional notion that a company is run by an individual – “the boss” or by a group – “top management” belies the power of engagement. Leaders who have engagement skills and EQ bring their team along the engagement path. They really care for their people and their people feel the care.
Even in a business where top management are not seen to be engaging, a team leader can still create an engaged team and their results are largely determined by the passion generated by this engaged workforce. Research has proven this – the number one driver of engagement is the direct relationship with one’s line leader. To engage one’s team without having an engaged top team can therefore be achieved but results across the company are transformed when engagement starts at the top and is inculcated throughout the entire organization.
In an extensive survey by Hewitt Associates, Double Digit Growth Companies (DDG) had significantly higher engagement results (60% plus) comparative to Single Digit Growth Companies (SDG) who generally had results of less than 40% engagement.
An engaged team is proud, passionate and high achieving. If their engaged leader is replaced by a disengaged leader the “tribe” will rule through group pressure that establishes group behavior norms. This leader will need to change fast or he/she will not last.
The more common scenario is a leader who does not know how to engage his or her team. In this situation the leader cannot connect, loses respect, and is not trusted even though in his or her mind it is the team’s fault that objectives are not being met.
Engagement is a universal force that connects people and drives the business.
The importance of engagement is that it governs the behavior that surrounds all business initiatives and actions. To reach optimum success in your organization you need to succeed in engaging your staff and customers.
“People will forget what you say, they will forget what you do, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
Carl Buechner
by Ken Wright
How engaged are the people in your organization? Would you like to find out? Take a look at my Engagement Audit or email me at ken@Engage4Results.com for an obligation free chat
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