I’ve talked at some length about the importance of recognition, specifically non-monetary recognition, when it comes to engaging and motivating your workforce. I feel as if we’ve just started to scratch the surface when it comes to using praise and recognition in effective ways.

A new book by Mark Royal and Tom Agnew has me thinking about the other side of the recognition story. The Enemy of Engagement: Put an End to Workplace Frustration – and Get the Most from Your Employees looks at the obstacles that organizations put between employees and successful outcomes, often unconsciously.

Royal and Agnew make the point that managers need to start thinking in terms of Enablement - the clearing aside of organizational roadblocks - if they want their Engagement programs to succeed. The example they give is a financial institution where call center employees are frustrated because the organization doesn’t “get it” when it comes to providing tools and solutions for customer satisfaction.

The way I see it, Engagement is a consequence of “seeing” what employees are up to and giving recognition for strong efforts. Enablement is what happens when an organization listens to employees and acts on their suggestions.