I was so inspired last week by a group of managers attending a workshop Jake Brewer and I did on the topic of employee engagement. Jake brought the content expertise; I brought the linkages between employee engagement and great corporate cultures.
What was most satisfying was seeing this group realize its own power. They came to an awareness that they don’t have to wait for their executive leadership team to model or lead the way on this first. We watched them shift from a mindset of wait-and-see to one of self-empowerment: a stance of ‘we can influence the overall culture by creating our desired cultures right now from where we already are.’
Jake is an expert on activating groups of people, moving them from passive awareness to committed action. He teaches a whole continuum of engagement that helped the group and me understand what is needed. Here are a few highlights:
- Employee engagement:
- combines story, meaningful action, and builds community
- is an intentional choice leaders must make or it won’t happen
- invites employees to be co-creators in processes that affect them
- is fueled by real-time transparency, i.e., the sharing of information about what’s happening as it’s happening
- requires some loss of control
- engages the whole person: logically, emotionally, ethically
One of the best practical take-aways for each person was a chance to develop and rehearse their own compelling story. They all told a story of their life’s circumstances that had brought them to this organization and shaped their leadership. These were some of the most heartfelt, moving stories I’ve heard in a business context. This one, simple act generated an important shift of connection within the team. They all agreed that the culture they most want to create, collectively, is one of a caring family. This is especially perfect for them since they’re in the healthcare business; they deal with life and death issues every day. The question they asked themselves was, “If one of my family members was sick, would I bring them to one of our facilities?”
The biggest lesson for them all was voiced by one of their team members: “We don’t need to wait for permission from the executive team to create the culture we want. We can begin making this happen now. Let them be inspired by us.”
Amen.
Do all that you can now, right where you are. Don’t wait for a change in title or position. Or executive permission. Create the conditions now. Be the team that other teams notice and are attracted to. And then watch how inspiration trickles up. Especially if your senior leadership team members are the ones most needing to learn.
My thanks goes out to this group of healthcare leaders for sharing so authentically. What a great and memorable workshop.
And if you’re reading this, please, I’d love it if you shared a time when you were fully engaged as an employee, or volunteer, or human being. Or a time when you engaged others fully, and how you did it. It’d be great to learn together!