It’s been over 10 years since the dismal results of the Gallup employee engagement study were first reported by Marcus Buckingham. Since then, the term “employee engagement” has become common place. With such a strong focus on its importance and over a decade to address the issues, it would be reasonable to expect improvement.
But the news is not good. The results of The 2012 Towers Watson Global Workforce Study indicate that 43% of the global workforce is either detached or actively disengaged.
If you are a manager, these numbers should alarm you. Perhaps you’ve had discussions about it or even tried to do something.
But before you focus further on your employees, it’s a good idea to take a step back and shine the light on yourself. What about you as a leader? How engaged are you?
If you would like to take responsibility to engage yourself and experience more satisfaction in your work, here are some things you can do right now:
1. Do you have a balanced life?
If you’re a workaholic, you’re not necessarily engaged. Engagement is about discretionary time, not about all of your time. Don’t let your life revolve totally around work. Find other interests you enjoy. Learn to relax without having to fill every moment.
This same advice holds for couch potatoes. Too much time watching TV or on the Internet is not a lot different from being a workaholic.
The more engaged you are with life, the more engaged you will be with your work.
2. Do you see how your work is worthwhile and makes a difference?
Uncover the purpose of your work. Consider the difference in engagement between the construction worker who saw his job as laying bricks and the worker who saw his job as building a cathedral. It’s nice when others see your job as worthwhile, but regardless, you can determine this for yourself. How could you see yourself as building a cathedral?
How does your work contribute to the overall goals of the company? How do your co-workers and customers benefit from your actions? If you’re not sure, ask your boss or coworkers to help you find the line of sight between your work and the value it provides.
3. Is your job mentally stimulating? Are you challenged or bored?
All jobs include activities that are not interesting but still need to be done. As discussed above, it is possible to get satisfaction from even these tasks when we see how they serve a larger purpose.
You can also make work more interesting by expanding the scope of what you do. Volunteer for a special project, participate on a committee or help to host a conference or charity event. Not only will it make work more interesting, but it is also a great opportunity to network as you will meet people who wouldn’t normally notice you.
4. Do you see opportunities for growth and career advancement?
There might be opportunities you’re not aware of. Let your boss and people in other departments know about your interests and skills. If there are no opportunities for advancement, look for opportunities to increase skills that will help you with your next job. Don’t shy away from challenging assignments.
5. Do you like your co-workers?
You don’t need to like everyone, but it makes a big difference to have at least a few people you enjoy and who you feel comfortable and relaxed with. If you have isolated yourself, pick someone who you think might be interesting and reach out. Ask them questions about what they are interested in. You might be surprised to find commonalities you hadn’t anticipated. Avoid participating in “complaining sessions” as they perpetuate an unpleasant atmosphere for everyone.
6. Do you value your relationship with your boss?
Develop a positive relationship with your boss. If you forge ties with your boss based on mutual respect and understanding, both of you will be more effective. John Gabarro and John Kotter give good advice in their Harvard Business Review article Managing Your Boss.
7. Are you proud to work for your company?
Do you feel a personal connection with your company’s vision and values? If you are not sure, focus on your own sphere of influence. According to Michael Beer of Harvard Business School, “Managers don’t have to wait for senior management to start a process of organizational revitalization.” “When Leaders Don’t Lead” provides guidelines for holding a discussion with your own team to identify and unleash the power of a shared vision.
A version of this post originally appeared in the Switch and Shift Engagement Series
Jesse,
An excellent call to all leaders, especially in today’s workplace.
As a firm believer – that leadership development begins first at “home” before there is a positive influence with others – I appreciate your emphasis: “But before you focus further on your employees, it’s a good idea to take a step back and shine the light on yourself. What about you as a leader? How engaged are you?”
Seven powerful questions for reflection.
Thanks for another great post!
Steve
Thanks, Steve. I hope that when people read through the questions, they also find that my suggestions for what to do – how to engage yourself – are helpful. Taking responsibility to manage yourself is so important. I enjoyed your post in this months Leadership Development Carnival on The Self-Managed Employee.
You hit this one right on the nail!
Positive leadership needs to contagious. Leaders need to take a step back and evaluate their current state. I like your point of learning to relax without having to fill every moment. This allows you to clear your head of thoughts and face opportunities with an open creative mind
Great explanation of why it’s important to have “down time.” Thanks for adding to the conversation, Julie.
I agree with Steve, this is an excellent list and it can even apply to self-employed people and their interaction with customers or clients. I have come to recognize that engagement can’t be dictated but it must be demonstrated. Aye, there is the difficulty because it must start with us.
Thanks for a great post.,
Ron
Well said: “engagement can’t be dictated but must be demonstrated.” I appreciate your implied groan in the acknowledgment that it must start with us. It’s why real leadership is hard work. Thanks also, Ron, for pointing out the applicability to those who are self-employed.
43% is such a crazy number; that’s a lot of unfulfilled team members and too many mislead leaders. There is so much room for improvement! The funny thing is that I run into companies quite often that don’t even consider this a factor in their bottom line. I guess that’s why I do what I do!
Thanks for sharing this study Jesse!
You’re right, Bob, there is huge room for improvement – it’s even more daunting because according to the study, only 35% are “highly engaged.” Imagine the power of organization that was 90% “highly engaged.”
Again you shine the light on critical issues that others pass over. Your blog is such a gift to those interested in leadership and organizations.
Thank you so much, Fay.
Indeed, quite a provocative set of questions that should spur any conscientious heart to a journey that would certainly lead to quite a responsive personality.
The positive response to all that is happening around us only makes us live ‘comfortably’ with ever changing comfort zone.
The beauty of the article lies not only in the questions posed, but also in the answers provided! The answers do show a direction, but very prudently has left enough space for our own understanding of the solution.
Thank you, Ashok, for your lovely thought-provoking comments. It was indeed my intention to push one’s thinking and open up some possibilities for action. I appreciate your pointing that out.
You caught my attention by making the point that balance is to be found in what you do with your discretionary time. You are also quite right to draw out the similarity between the workaholic and the couch potato. I heard an interview recently on NPR with Sherry Turkel, author of the Second Self, and other books on the social impact of the Internet. She was saying that social media has changed the interaction between people. It used to be more about exploration of different aspects of one’s personality… Now it is becoming an obligation, and a lot of extra work. So, getting away from the computer, getting away from work is becoming more difficult. That makes it a lot more important, too! You have to make more of an effort to use your time differently if you are going to avoid burn out and remained engaged with your people and projects over the long term. This requires a willingness to break from what is expected of you, and that can be difficult to do too without some encouragement and reinforcement of your own agenda coming from somewhere.
Thanks for emphasizing this point, Catherine. I agree it is difficult to take a break because the expectation that we will be always available is not only self-imposed, but others expect it of us as well. I think it began with cell phones – until then the only people who were expected to be “on call” were doctors and emergency personnel who used pagers. But once cell phones became widely used, you could talk anytime, anywhere. It has intensified with the increasing wide spread use of email accessible mobile devices. And now, as you say, there is also the pressure to respond through social media via the Internet. It’s not healthy to be “always on.” But for many people, it takes a concerted effort and conscious intention to disconnect. Tony Schwartz offers some good suggestion on how to do this in his Harvard Business Review article Battling Your Online Addiction.
Yes, expectations are increasingly strong that we will be always on, always available, and doing a gazillion things at once, even though growing evidence suggests that this is not helping! I definitely am barking up the less popular tree as a long time mobile software developer who does NOT encourage people to multi-task. Technology doesn’t have to be a bad guy in the story, but it can become a villain if we don’t value the rest of our experiences in life at least as much as the online ones! I have always thought that more mobile software ought to be about things that are real and meaningful. I admit that sometimes it seems like the trends are stacked against my point of view. Thanks for the link to HBR, too! 🙂
Hope you keep barking up that tree. The promise of technology has always been that it will make our lives easier. But it won’t happen unless we make choices to use it that way.
Yes so true. Thanks, so much. I hope you will also keep asking the big questions. Your article encourages deeper thinking about how to approach these complex issues of honoring the value and purpose of work within the larger contexts of our lives as a whole — whether it is our own work, or the work of those who work for us and with us.
Agreed. Engagement doesn’t just happen. It needs a catalyst. It needs leadership that engages by setting a positive example. Engaging leadership requires a degree of self awareness and self management that profoundly impacts followers for the good of the organization. Engagement at any level (from the trenches to the C-level suite) starts with leadership by example and, like a good hearty laugh, is contagious. It feeds the spirits of all who catch its wave. Sadly, the reverse is also true. Most people start off engaged in their work, but their positive energies are sapped by the negative examples that abound when there is a lack of leadership. That’s why conventional wisdom recognizes, and research suggests, that most people don’t quit their jobs as much as they quit their bosses. Servant leaders, perhaps, work at doing the kinds of things that foster their own engagement and the engagement of others. How leaders show up, how they are perceived in the workplace, starts with self awareness and a commitment to learn and grow as a leader. Coaches, mentors and other developers of leaders know this and help their charges become self coaching. For any leader, employee engagement starts with engaging one’s self.
Thanks, John, for further illuminating what it means for leaders to “show up,” why it is important, and how, as you say, “Good leadership is contagious.”
Very useful list. Not only to get engage, but to think about where we are going professionally; Wether we are in the right place to develope ourselves and accomplish our objectives; or what can we do to improve our workplace and use our time wisely.
Glad you found this useful, Carla. I always believe that the place to start is with yourself. But as you point out, it may be that you might discover you are not in the right place (especially if you discover in answer to question #7 that your values are in conflict with the organization’s).
Hi Jesse,
An excellent post with very powerful questions that DO make a difference when one takes time to reflect on what you have presented. I especially like #1 and #2, probably because I focus much of my life’s work helping people deal with career-life balance and discovering purpose or Calling(s). So much of what your probing questions are sourced in, is Self Awareness, something we all need to nurture because it’s this one factor that is the prelude to wisdom and fulfillment. Thanks Jesse, EdC
“Self-awareness.. is the one factor that is the prelude to wisdom and fulfillment.” – well said, Ed. Thanks for your kind comments and for sharing your own insights.