Even though the autumn equinox was back on September 22nd, I´ve just started to feel Fall in the San Francisco Bay Area. The leaves are changing, the daylight has a different cast to it and I´m craving homemade soup and pumpkin pie.
I love the Fall. For me, it is a time of great reflection, of journeying inward for a look at how the year has progressed and where I sit relative to my heart´s desires.
As I look at all of the topics I have explored and covered this year in my role as Leadership Analyst, the one I seem to come back to, time and time again, is that of ´engagement´. It seems to me that this single word summarizes all that we say we are seeking in the organizations of today. A motivated workforce, a highly productive and innovative workforce, a place where people contribute their best effort and choose to stay because they want to, despite their many other options.
Over the last months I´ve talked to several experts on the subject of engagement. Marcus Buckingham talked of the importance of leveraging each individual´s natural talents and strengths through a personalized job design. He also talked of the need for leaders to communicate with absolute clarity and confidence a future that their employees can envision and commit to. Jim Collins, speaking at our annual conference, talked of the need for organizations and individuals to get clear on their "hedgehog concepts" - where their passion, innate talents, and economic viability intersect. He spoke of the need for leaders to be above all - Clear. Dan Pink talked of society´s move to an age where people are seeking much greater sense of contribution and meaning from their work than in previous generations. Dr. John Campbell of The Center for Creative Leadership talked with me about the need for employers to acknowledge their employees´ work in the context of their larger lives and have an appreciation for all of the stresses they experience - in life and at work. I spoke with Bruce Tulgan about his recommendations for managing the performance of others. He explained the need for managers and employees to meet on a regular (weekly) basis to discuss performance objectives, progress and obstacles. He suggested that managers create a personalized plan for each employee that includes objectives and incentives unique to that person.
So, what´s the pattern here? They all require healthy relationships between managers and their employees, relationships in which managers are in touch with the unique talents, desires and challenges of the individuals with whom they work. And, where individuals are using those natural talents successfully and contributing in a way that feels meaningful to them. What is also consistent is the need for a compelling message around what the organization stands for and how it chooses to be of service. We need to see how the work we do each day fits into the larger picture. The organizational story - its purpose and objectives - need to be compelling. They need to engage both our hearts and our minds.
It seems to me that in our efforts to standardize and proceduralize, to systematize and optimize, we´ve lost the ´heart´ part of the equation. If Dan Pink is on target, we are about to see elements like empathy and meaning and even play take a larger role in our worklife in the future. I can hardly wait!
