Engaging your people is a priority these days, but to do it you must foster an environment of trust, where the messenger is never killed and people feel safe saying what they really think. It also helps if you have the kind of ego that doesn’t stand on its dignity.

Here is one approach.

Start with how many times you have said or heard people say ’should have’, as in “We should have…” or “My boss should have…?”

What if you could harness the creativity behind those thoughts to improve performance in an organization (whether team, executives or somewhere in-between)—the company’s; the group’s; the individual’s; your own?

The idea is to take that “should have’ attitude and make it a constructive function to foster corporate/personal growth and motivation, since the more comprehensive the view of their job and company the more creative people will become.

Drawing in all your people, no matter their level, encourages them to see a larger picture, juices creativity, surfaces ideas from unlikely sources and enhances their sense of ownership, i.e., engagement.

Improvement happens because how they think is the basis for how they perform.

If your MAP makes you the type of manager to whom this appeals then encourage your people to ask

• “Why did she do that?”
• “What can I learn from his decision?”
• “What would I have done differently?”
• Later ask, “Would it have worked?”

Discuss the responses and implement the insights.

For more great stuff on engagement, click over to Becky Robinson’s LeaderTalk for a roundup of articles on engagement from some terrific bloggers.

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Do you know the 7 most important words a manager at any level should know?

The 7 words that make the difference between engaged, turned on, motivated people and those that spend their time polishing their resumes?

The 7 words that make you a hero to your team?

The 7 words that enhance your reputation and improve your paycheck.

The 7 words that are equally applicable in your personal life?

Did you know that interchanging just 2 of the 7 words can turn you into the boss/parent/friend from hell?

Have you figured out the 7 words?

Hint: the 7 words describe two critical actions that we all do every day in one way or another.

Still don’t know? The 7 words are

PRAISE IN PUBLIC AND CRITICIZE IN PRIVATE

Practice these 7 words faithfully and watch the the positive changes happen!

(My apologies for the lateness of this post, but technology doesn’t always work!)

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Here are 7 words that describe 2 management actions.

Embrace the words; let them guide your actions and watch your team’s productivity skyrocket and turnover plummet.

The actions are painless and they work.

PRAISE IN PUBLIC AND CRITICIZE IN PRIVATE

Isn’t that simple?

Now DO IT!

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Company culture is a hot topic in the business press; CEOs are working to foster “cultures of innovation;” and culture is being lauded or blamed for a variety of happenings.

The bird’s eye view of what’s important in culture is as varied as the executives, academics, pundits, media and other experts who expound on the subject.

But what about the worm’s eye view—what do plain vanilla employees think and want? It’s important, since without them there is no company.

It used to be when I talked with people that it was easier for them to articulate the attitudes and behaviors they didn’t want to encounter in the workplace.

Even today, with a far more savvy and sophisticated workforce, people still tend to focus first on what they don’t want:

• Too much politics: personal, group, or in senior management.
• Unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Poor management practices such as erratic management; intimidation; micro-management; belittling or contemptuous treatment; poor scheduling; no loyalty; the attitude that “we don’t have enough time to do it right but we have enough time to do it over;” workaholism; etc.
• Any form of harassment, whether overt or covert
• A generally negative attitude, i.e., the glass is half empty
• Arrogance or an elitist attitude.
• An unwillingness (at whatever level) to seek and implement the compromises necessary to meet most of the organization’s needs within the required timeframe.

But when you get them to focus on the positives, the sophisticated and savvier mindset of today’s workforce is even more obvious when discussing the factors they desire.

Here are some of the high points that people say they want for themselves and from their managers and company:

• The opportunity to truly “make a difference.”
• To be treated fairly.
• To trust the management and be trusted by them.
• To embrace the idea that work can and should be fun.
• Accurate prioritizing of company, team, and individual goals while keeping them synergistic.
• A positive “can-do” attitude (aggressive, but realistic—the glass is half-full).
• Continuing development and quality improvement in people, products and services, and processes.
• Committing to employees, customers, and investors—and meeting those commitments.
• An open, accurate, company-wide flow of information starting from the top.
• An environment that encourages people to reach their full potential, professionally and personally.
• A conscious effort to stamp out “not invented here” syndrome (in all its varied forms) so as to not waste time reinventing the wheel.

There’s great value in this worm’s eye view. By eliminating what employees don’t like, and giving them what they want, you create a foundation on which to build the kind of innovative, profitable culture—the kind craved by investors, customers, and the rest of the outside world.

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Yesterday I described how managers can use ALUC (Ask / Listen / Use / Credit) to engage their teams, whether or not the approach is supported by the overall company culture.

But think how much better it would be to have ALUC embedded in your culture as a part of its infrastructure.

ALUC isn’t something that can be mandated, even by the CEO.

All the proclamations, recommendations and demands aren’t going to force managers to do it if they don’t see the value or their MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) isn’t synergistic with ALUC.

What you can do is instill its value in those managers who report to you; they, in turn, pass the belief to their direct reports and so on down the ladder.

But how do you embed ALUC up your culture?

As Nike says, ‘just do it’—don’t talk about it—and it will spread by osmosis.

ALUC is a major productivity and retention booster, the results will speak for themselves, the how-to will be questioned, copied and implemented.

ALUC should also be a ‘make or break’ for all new hires in management roles, confirmed not only during the interview, but also through reference checking of previous direct reports, not bosses.

Not rocket science; most of the best cultural practices are simple, ignored, but simple.

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Every manager loves the folks who come to work champing at the bit, raring to go and bust their butt all day long. They love to talk about the high level of engagement their team has and brag about their productivity and innovative ideas.

If you want a group like this then make no mistake, It’s your responsibility to engender that attitude, i.e., engage them.

It’s not going to happen by accident and you can’t order your people be engaged.

Engagement happens because you, and hopefully your company are engaging.

This isn’t doubletalk or smoke, think about it. Think about what engages you.

• The guideline is the same thread that has run through every major philosophy and religion for thousands of years—treat your people s you want to be treated—whether your boss treats you that way or not.

• Authenticity is the current buzz word, but it translates simply to be honest, open and do what you say; never fudge, let alone lie, intentionally or otherwise.

• There are absolutely no circumstances that warrant or excuse the messenger being killed. None. Because if you do, there’s no going back—ever.

• If your company doesn’t have an engaging culture then you must be an umbrella for your people, because you can create one below you, even if you can’t change it above.

While managers may not be able to control overall corporate culture there are many things they can do within their own group’s culture to foster engagement.

The number one approach is to show your appreciation of your people. Study after study confirms employees’ desire to feel valued; to make a difference and be credited for it. But how, with budgets cut below bone level?

Here are four simple actions that you can implement at no financial cost and that don’t require approval from anyone.

• Ask everyone for input, ideas, suggestions and opinions—not just your so-called stars.

• Listen and really hear what is said, discuss it, think about it.

• Use what you get as often as possible, whether in whole or in part, or as the springboard that leads to something totally different.

• Credit the source(s), both up and down, publicly and privately, thank them, compliment them, congratulate them.

If you’re sincere, you can’t lay it on too thick; if you’re faking it, they’ll know.

And if you’re stupid enough to steal the credit for yourself in the mistaken name of job security you’ll have the fun of explaining to your boss the plummeting productivity and soaring turnover that accompanies the thefts.

Think ALUC; pin a note on your wall that says ALUC.

Ask!

Listen!

Use!

Credit!

ALUC will make you a winner.

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Terms come and terms go, but their meaning stays fairly constant.

Managers used to strive for employee buy-in, ownership, commitment, involvement; today it’s engagement.

Management has worked to develop that behavior 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.” That was last year and I’d bet that 2009 will be worse.

Managers of organizations with a high level of engagement know that achieving that is as simple as 1, 2, 3—4.

The 4 acts of engagement are

1. respect;
2. encouragement;
3. support; and
4. rewards.

This isn’t exactly secret management knowledge. There are thousands of books, hundreds of classes, dozens of blogs and forums all teaching variations on this theme.

So if 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 to work around that, such as building up a broad departmental learning library and 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 fly first class or receive 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 you must do it consistently, sincerely and with great enthusiasm—no matter what else is going on.

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Most managers know that lousy customer service is one of the fastest ways to reduce the bottom line.

But what most managers forget in the daily press of doing way too much with drastically reduced resources is that their employees are also their customers.

As I’ve said in the past, one of the hats every manager wears is employee service manager (ESM) and reviews are a critical part of that.

Done right, reviews are a positive experience for both manager and employee; in some cases even a time to bond.

If the goals in January were done well, which means that they had a deliverable date and were quantified and measurable, then evaluating how someone is doing is simple.

An article in Business Week discusses the added weight being given to mid-year reviews as a result of business turmoil in the current economy.

In fact, the only goals that are fair to employees and managers alike always include those three points.

As a manager you should never forget…

As an employee you should always request…

• Due date
• Quantified action
• Measurable results

And while a good review means that you’re honest and authentic with your people, that doesn’t translate to abusive or destructive.

Offering

• recognition of what the person does well; and being
• candid about areas that need improvement

are two hallmarks of a good review.

The third is no surprises, which means that you’ve been giving candid feedback throughout the year.

Skipping any of these is setting you and your people up for review hell.

For more specific assistance, read how to give performance reviews and how to give a disciplinary review.

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David Zinger writes about employee engagement; Phil Gerbyshak at Slacker Manager today posted a link to a new ebook that David facilitated from the Employee Engagement Network. All good stuff.

According to Wikipedia, “An engaged employee is a person who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, his or her work.”

What I have for you today is employee engagement on steroids, in action at a place called Nucor Steel.

Way back in May 2006, Business Week wrote, “In an industry as Rust Belt as they come, Nucor has nurtured one of the most dynamic and engaged workforces around.”

I’ve written more about Nucor and its culture several times, but it’s come to the fore again.

On January 2, 2009, the Charlotte Business Journal named Nucor CEO Dan DiMicco Business Person of the Year for 2008.

First, a bit of history,

“Ken Iverson, Nucor’s pioneer and guiding spirit, stepped down as chief executive in 1996… Earnings remained flat through 1998, when board dissidents forced Iverson out of the chairman position and off the board. Nine months later, they ousted John Correnti, Iverson’s handpicked successor as CEO.

The board made DiMicco CEO in September 2000. Nucor’s four other executive vice presidents and CFO Terry Lisenby, were candidates for the top job that went to DiMicco. But all stayed, sharing his basic vision for a bigger Nucor built on reinvestment in mills, exploring new technology and market niches, strategic acquisitions and international growth through joint ventures.”

And a pay system that many (most?) companies should adopt, “…it’s not only the workers who get paid mostly on performance. Managers all the way up to the top executives have a relatively low base pay supplemented by specific performance goals.” But they won’t, because most management, as well as the rank and file, believe they should be protected from the results of their actions—unless, of course, they’re positive.

The team took over in 2000 just as the dot com bomb blew up the economy and now, just eight years later Nucor is the largest steel maker in the US.

It’s another economic meltdown; Nucor has $2 billion in cash, so I expect it will emerge even stronger.

All of this is still more impressive when you consider that Nucor actually makes something—as opposed to pushing money around—and their product contains neither chips nor software.

If you want to know more about what truly engaged employees do, how real leadagers act and what a culture should be. Take the time to read the articles—then tweak as much as possible to use in your company.

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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

1. respect;
2. encouragement;
3. support; and
4. 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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