Get Engaged. Now!
Last year the Gallup Organization issued its revised State of the American Workforce Report. Shockingly, it revealed that more than 70% of today’s workforce was disengaged. 70 percent! That means that seven out of 10 employees in your workplace are going through the motions, acting without purpose or – worse yet – merely tolerating you or the company.
Wow.
Less than 3 in 10 are your champions, advocates, or cheerleaders. Less than 3 in 10 are committed to using their discretionary effort to advance the corporate vision and goals.
Wow.
What can you do? Here are 5 steps to break the cycle of active disengagement:
- Treat them like entrepreneurs – what can they own, what can they have influence over, how do they attach their own personal visions and dreams to your business’ outcomes?
- Work on purpose – yes, YOU! Make sure you know why you do what you do. If you’re doing it because that’s the way we do it around here, ask “why?” until the purposeful way emerges. I bet you change some things.
- Do what you say you will. “Every breath you take, Every move you make, Every bond you break, Every step you take, I’ll be watching you” (thank you, Sting). They are. Watching you, that is.
- If you find you can’t do it, treat it like a broken agreement and come clean with people. Then find a way to get back into agreement – swiftly.
- For heaven’s sake, hurry up! We (and information) move at lightning speed. Nobody wants to wait weeks (or months) for what you promised.
You may want to start where you are. Take stock of things you do or say that are out of alignment with how you want to be received. Then…put yourself in one of your employee’s shoes and shine the spotlight on what you see. Guaranteed you will see a few things you can shift immediately.
Small shifts over time will yield engagement results.
Have You Ever Wondered About Your Level of Emotional Intelligence?
One of the aspects of transformation is self awareness. At the base of transformation is self awareness intertwined with emotional intelligence. If you are curious about your Emotional Intelligence skills, I’ve created a quiz for you. A few short questions and you will receive your results and a little extra coaching by email to help elevate from where you are now.
