The Big 4 rules of engagement, why more managers don't follow them and what you can do
by Miki Saxon
Engagement is a hot topic, especially now, but it isn’t a new one—think buy-in, ownership, commitment, involvement, etc.
The term may change, but the behavior has been consistently on management’s radar for decades.
Whereas the way to achieve it is as old as humanity.
Disengagement is costly, “Gallup estimates it costs the US economy about $300bn a year and that 17 per cent of employees are “actively” disengaged. These employees each cost their employers $13,000 a year in lost productivity.”
But, as any successful manager knows, engagement is as simple as 1, 2, 3—4.
The Big 4 are
- respect;
- encouragement;
- support; and
- rewards.
It’s not as if this is secret management knowledge. There are thousands of books, hundreds of classes, dozens of blogs and forums all teaching variations on this theme. I most recently read it again here. (Be sure to read the comments.)
So is it’s that simple, why isn’t it put into practice more often?
MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) is the reason. MAP shapes a person’s actions
If you don’t really believe in the value or numbers 1 or 2, you can talk all day and your people will hear what you say as hollow, i.e., no authenticity.
Number 3, support, includes skills training and career development, but how do you provide these when money is tight or, even in good times, when your company doesn’t believe in it?
Ingenuity. Not just yours, but your group’s. Your people aren’t dumb, they know when the company can’t/won’t fund training, but there are tons of ways work around that, such as sharing their own expertise with each other during organized brown bag lunch sessions.
Number 4 also usually involves money, as it should. But when there’s an authentic, provable lack of funds to provide significant rewards, every company can find enough, monetary and otherwise, to prove that they value their people’s contributions.
Again, people aren’t dumb. If the CEO, execs or their boss receives a bonus after telling people that the company can’t afford raises or rewards, it shouldn’t be a surprise when they disengage and eventually leave.
That’s it; not rocket science, but it must be done consistently, sincerely and with great enthusiasm.
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