talentengagement

Talent Engagement 1

Contents

Introduction

BeingValued

Being Involved

BeingDeveloped

Being Inspired

People - Centred Leadership

Addendum

2

10

16

22

28

34

39

2 Talent Engagement

TThe recent government-sponsored report, Engaging for Success, by David MacLeod

and Nita Clarke, presents compellingevidence that “employee engagementis the key to better productivity”. This is sound advice for any businessstruggling to maintain or improve its position in a tough market.

For all of its focus on strategy and targets,MacLeod and Clarke devote less space to tellingus the nuts and bolts of how a company canmove from being one of the 75 per cent of UKbusinesses that currently fail to engage theirtalent to becoming a leader in creativity andinnovation. This is more important given thepresent climate of job cuts and reductions intraining and development.

Talent Engagement, a toolkit aid is MaynardLeigh’s response to Engaging for Success. Weaim to take the debate forward and contribute toraising awareness of the importance of employeeengagement nationwide.

With twenty years of experience in the field,Maynard Leigh has helped shape employeedevelopment at some of the UK’s leadingcompanies. Many of the ideas here are based onthe experience of working with these clients. Thispaper follows on from Maynard Leigh’s recentTalent Management at the Crossroads report(April 2009) and builds on Engaging for Success.

IntroductionHow to Unlock PotentialThe message to leaders, managers and other stakeholders could not be clearer. If you want to improve organisational performance, then raise your people’slevel of engagement.

Talent Engagement

Talent Engagement 3

Introduction

“No one ever got a pigfat by weighing it”

Notes:

we have left somespace for you tomake some notesthroughout...

4 Talent Engagement

AAt one level, of course, this istrue. It is the obvious place to start. Engage people in

assessing how engaged they feel.And surveys are clearly the firststep. Awareness is the prequel ofaction. Yet, awareness alone is notenough. Quoted in the EngagingSuccess report is AndrewTempleman of the Cabinet OfficeCapability Building Programmewho sums up the issue with hispithy comment – “No one ever gota pig fat by weighing it”.

Having pioneered the use of theatretechniques in managementdevelopment for the last twentyyears, Maynard Leigh is well placedto explore human interaction in theworkplace.

It is clear that the aim of any stageproduction is to enthral and inspire.So what are the crucial elementsinvolved in providing such anexperience for customers (theaudience), and those involved inmaking and performing thespectacle, (the employees)? Andwhat is it that entices suchcommitment from the cast and crewthat they are willing to go that extramile and exert every effort to makethe production an outstandingsuccess?

Beyond MeasurementWhilst there is much discussion about the best way of measuring employee engagement, there is sometimes less emphasis placed on what to do about it. It is as if management believes that simply by asking people to take part in a survey, they are engaging their employees.

“Where passion andability meet”

Talent Engagement 5

These themes run through the rest of this paper and influence the recommendations for action. Itshows how these practical ideas can be applied in the workplace, making talent engagement areality.

Theatre of Engagement

BRINGING THE SCRIPT ALIVEThe cast and crew of a production turn words on pieces of paper into a potentially thrilling experience in the theatre. Engaging for Success is the equivalent of a script that needs enacting and turning into a real-life drama.

TEAMWORKTheatre depends on people working creatively together in order to deliversomething special. They build these teams fast in order to get the show onthe road.

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCENo theatre ensemble ever sat around committing to a merely competentproduction. They are always striving for something exceptional andinspirational.

HEIGHTENED AWARENESSPerformers on stage develop a heightened ability to focus their attention sothat they are totally aware of what’s going on with their fellow performersand the audience.

STORYAs you’ll see later in this paper, stories engage because they speak to thehuman condition. Bringing a compelling narrative to fruition is awholeheartedly engaging process.

AUTHENTIC PERFORMANCEAudiences are moved by events in a drama when the actors are notpretending, but delivering honest and truthful performances. It is the truththat touches us, and leaders in organisations need to communicate at thesame level of honesty.

CENTRE STAGEIt is important that everybody involved in a drama feels that they have animportant role to play and are not simply a bit-part player in someone else’sproduction.

TALENTTheatre focuses on bringing out the best performances from all of its talent.Stage directors use their coaching skills to achieve this.WILL & SKILL: Actors are often totally engaged in the theatrical endeavourbecause it’s a place where passion and ability meet.

WWe find it incongruous thatsome otherwise astuteorganisations choose to

run an elitist system, in which theytreat only their high potentials as“the talent” - the stars of the show.

Companies will be more successful if theybecome more inclusive and see themselves akinto theatrical ensembles. An inclusive strategy ofemployee engagement provides a powerful forcefor growing everyone’s talent, therefore buildingthe organisation.

[See Addendum 2 comparing an inclusive approach

to talent versus an exclusive one.]

Treating everyone as having talent, however,requires a tailor-made approach to learning andcareer development, which may require separatedefinitions of talent such as leadership talent,expertise talent, and entrepreneurial talent.

Organic Organisations

For too long, organisations have been widelyviewed as mechanisms, where pulling this leverresults in this happening, and that lever triggerssomething else. This view of organisationsinevitably results in people being regarded asmere cogs in the system. The underlying andmistaken assumption is that leaders such as thechairman and CEO are in control of the company. Increasingly, we are realising that organisationsare not mechanistic, and that people play a farmore central role than mere cogs in the machine.Organisations are organic and complex, theresult of many thousands of small actions andinteractions. It is impossible to predict what willhappen when we cannot really know how thingswill change. Leaders in the 21st century wanting to fullyengage their talent need a different metaphor forthe organisation. As the influential business guruGary Hamel suggests, organisations need to seethemselves as more human in their make-up.They need to be creative, flexible, alive andinspired.

Aspects of Engagement

To understand the process of employeeengagement beyond mere research figures, it isworth recalling some basic facts about humannature. This is where Abraham Maslow startednearly eighty years ago with four basic humanneeds of safety and security, love and belonging,esteem and, at the highest level, what he calledself-actualisation. Whatever the labels, hisframework helped people understand theelements involved in motivation.

Yet, it falls short in fully explaining engagement.In the late sixties and early seventies, JohnHumble and others outlined some fundamentalneeds for every employee. This included, at thehighest level, seeking to help others reach theirpotential.

Since then, we have moved to the presentposition where there is less talk of employeesatisfaction and motivation and more about thefundamentals of engagement. The new thinkingbuilds on this research and updates it.

Thus, Talent Engagement can be seen asMaslow for the 21st Century.

Leaders can now understand what talentengagement requires of them on a day-to-daybasis. They can help generate the conditions inwhich employees can start to feel valued anddeveloped. Further, they can involve people andinspire them to new heights. This is when peopleproduce outstanding performances. Individualpotential is unlocked and, with that, theorganisation’s potential.

6 Talent Engagement

Phoney war for talent

Talent Engagement 7

“Thus, TalentManagement can beseen as Maslow forthe 21st Century”

WarningThe document currently in yourhands (or on your computer screen)is not for people who aren’t alreadyconvinced that unlocking people’spotential is a good thing. If you arestill harbouring doubts about the linkbetween an engaged workforce andyour bottom line, then perhaps youshould read one of the reports abovebefore proceeding. If the idea ofunleashing your organisation’s talentremains in the ‘nice to have’ ratherthan the ‘must have’ category, thenyou are not ready to read on.

VIDI

The required behaviour of such leaders can besummed up by VIDI, an easy to recall acronymfor our message and the chapters in this manual.

The essential components of employeeengagement rest on the foundation of people-centred leadership (see above) and fouressential “pillars” in which employees feel valued,involved, developed and inspired.

To support each of these “pillars” requires arange of behaviours and actions by leaders andmanagers that we describe throughout the rest ofthis “how to” guide, and which we sum up in thefinal chapter as people-centred leadership.

8 Talent Engagement

VIDIfrom the Latinvidere: to see

Talent Engagement 9

VALUED

INDIVIDUALITYDiversityMotivationWell-being

RELATIONSHIPAttentionTrustBelonging

FAIRNESSRespectAppreciationRemuneration

INVOLVED

COMMUNICATIONMonologueDuologueDialogue

IMPACTDifferenceConnectionPartnership

PLAYAttitudesMeetingsVolunteers

DEVELOPED

POTENTIALDevelopmentCoachingFeedback

REVIEWSGoals Action PlansManagement -development

OPPORTUNITYExperimentExperience Responsibility

INSPIRED

SUBSTANCEIntegrityValuesPassion

IMAGINATIONCreativity StoriesEnergy

MEANINGDirectionLegacyVision

These also provide a simple route map for the reader as we tackle each area in turn:

[Addendum 1 provides a fuller elaboration of each of these essentials of talent engagement and thenecessary behaviour of people-centred leaders.]

10 Talent Engagement

OOne of the deepest hungers of the human heart is to be seen and to be understood

- in simple terms, to feel valued. This is particularly true in an era when so many people feel alienatedand disassociated from the world around them.

In our work on culture andengagement in organisations, weobserve that to feel valued, peoplemust feel that their individualitycounts, actually experience thebenefits of positive relationships, andperceive that they are treated fairly.

INDIVIDUALITY

Engaging for Success observes that treatingpeople as individuals is a key to employeeengagement. It sees “employees as an integralpart of developing and delivering the overallbusiness strategy.”

Toyota’s “individuals that make the difference”approach reflects a profound respect for itsmembers on the assumption that the mostvaluable asset the company has is its people.The resulting high level of engagement is one ofthe drivers of continuous product and productivityimprovement from the shop floor to theboardroom. Toyota’s engaged people are theircompetitive advantage.

In practical terms, though, how do you showsomeone that you see them as an individual?There are three important drivers influencingwhether someone feels that their individualitymatters. Understanding these forces is not rocketscience, and leaders or managers can do manythings to leverage them

Diversity

Firstly, it means embracing the diversity of thepeople. Just as the biological diversity of anecosystem increases its stability and productivity,

cultural diversity brings together the resourcesand talents of many people for the shared benefitof all. The leader sets a good example when they:

• Treat others with respect; • Avoid using stereotypes; • Make it clear that prejudice is wrong; • Don't allow bigoted comments by others to go unchallenged.

Motivation

Secondly, it means leaving behind the misguidednotion that motivation is something you do tosomeone. Each person has unique motivations thataffect what they think, feel and do. High levels of talentengagement are achieved by tapping into theseinternal motivations. Managers can uncover these byenquiry and conversation. Dispense with the “Mr.Motivator” image of getting people going as if injectingthem with a special kind of life-enhancing substance.

Then, managers can tailor their leadership style toeach individual’s needs. This requires a range ofstyles from directive to delegating, and from autocraticto collaborative. Putting it another way, leadership isnot merely situational; it is people-centred.

Well-being

Valuing someone’s unique individuality requirespaying attention to their work-life balance. In anera of 24/7 communication, some might arguethis is no longer possible: rather than a work-lifebalance, we can now only expect a perpetualdigital hum governing our existence.

BEINGVALUED VALUED IndividualityRelationshipFairness

Such a view is abandoning any responsibility forpeople’s well-being or the need to establish ahumane environment in which people canflourish. Paying attention to how employees livetheir working lives and helping to improve them isa sound investment in talent engagement.

RELATIONSHIP

While some artists, poets and writers achievehigh levels of engagement in their work withoutmuch human interaction, most high performersin organisations seldom do so entirely alone.They need to engage in productiverelationships with a wide range of people - inone-to-one situations, in groups, in teams, andin formal settings such as company meetingsand so on.

Much of a modern manager or leader’s work isconcerned with building healthy relationshipswith each of their team members. It means

understanding and helping to promoterelationships as a way of enabling individualsand teams perform their best.

What does this mean in practical terms on adaily basis?

Attention

Leaders and managers need to pay closeattention to what is going on around them,staying in close touch with what people need inorder to succeed. Giving undivided attention toan individual, being fully present with them,creates the feeling of being valued. Not chattingwhile reading emails, but giving full attention andattuning to the other. If you have a tricky person,spend a whole half-hour just paying attention tothem, listening deeply. Seek first to understandand then seek to be understood.

Talent Engagement 11

BEINGVALUED

IDEAS FOR ACTIONIndividuality: Try making every member of your team feel special today

and see how they can each excel in their own way.Diversity: Research what it’s like to be a minority in your organisation.

Discuss your diversity policy with a person from a minority group and

explore their experience in the company.Difference: Ask around until you can identify the mavericks in the

organisation and spend some time with them. Ask them how they

see its future.Motivation: Have conversations with each member of your team and

explore what motivates them.Well-being (1): Check if your team are taking all their holidays and regular

break entitlements. Have a conversation about what’s happening in their

life outside of work.Well-being (2): Institute well-being days – occasional days people can take

(on top of their holiday allowance) for their health and well-being.

Health: Support people in gym membership, fitness pursuits or healthy

team activities. Introduce a healthy eating policy in the workplace.SSuuppppoorrtteerrss:: Hold a party for people’s partners and families to thank

them for supporting the employees.CCaarree:: This is not a nice-to-have, but a fundamental approach. What can

you do individually and as an organisation to demonstrate care for people?

After all, they won’t care for your customers unless you care for them.

Trust

The ability to build healthy and productiverelationships depends on gaining people’s trust.This is easier said than done since evidence nowconfirms that lack of trust permeates organisationsacross the globe. We are in a trust recession as

much as an economic one. It is a useful practice todo an inventory of all promises and agreements thatthe leader or the company has made and to ensurethat they have been delivered.

We were running a workshop recently for the ITdivision of a global company where theparticipants spoke of how agreements werecontinually broken in the organisation. No soonerhad senior management announced theywouldn’t close a site than, a month later, theyclosed it. The prevalent story was of brokenpromises and a consequent lack of trust.

If you want to convince people that theorganisation does indeed value them, you mustbe able to show by your actions and behaviour adegree of humanity and consistency.

Belonging

It has long been a practice of team leaders to runaway-days or team-bonding activities. This isuseful up to a point. But relationship and theconsequent sense of belonging is anotherimportant aspect that leaders and managers needto master in their search to raise levels of

engagement. From working on company culturesand engagement, we know that it is perfectlypossible to do practical everyday things thatcontribute to people’s sense of belonging.

For example, a large amount of money and effort isinvested in social activities in Google as a way offostering connection, building a team culture andcreating a psychological contract between employerand employee; not just a transactional one.

FAIRNESS

The third factor affecting whether people feelvalued is the extent to which they feel they aretreated fairly. The perception of fairness mayneed to include:

• showing genuine respect for the individual,

• levels of appreciation that recognise

• contribution and

• ensuring there exists a balance of remuneration.


IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::

Choose someone in your tea

m with whom you would like

an

improved relationship. Answ

er the following questions b

ased

on your current knowledge.

Guess if you don’t know.

How long have they worked

at the company?

What are they proud of?

Where do they live?

What kind of house?

What is important to them?

How do they like to be led?

How do they like to be ackn

owledged?

What do they fear?

What has been a highlight in

their career?

If they were given £100, wha

t would they spend it on?

What behaviours do they have

that mirror your own

behaviours?

Now go and find out how ma

ny you got right by

speaking to the person.

Respect

“Their prowess at mergers comes from humansensibilities about treating people with respect, notfrom a magic formula,” reveals Rosabeth Moss Kanterin her latest study of Vanguard Companies. Respectis not a reward, but a right, and ultimately contributesto making people feel valued.

Engagement is about establishing mutual respect inthe workplace and, as MacLleod and Clarke point out,this can be a “triple win: for the individual at work, theenterprise or service, and the country as a whole.”

Like motivation, respect is not something you do topeople; it is what you give. And how you do it can be asimportant as what you say. This is why emotionalintelligence and insight play such a vital role in raisingawareness of what the individual needs in order to feelrespected.

Appreciation

Few leaders or managers would deny the importanceof acknowledging people’s contribution in some form.The trouble is that the research suggests too few ofthem actually put this knowledge to good use. In arecent study quoted by Hewlett Packard, managerswere asked: Do you recognize employees for theirperformance? Employees, in turn, were asked: Areyou recognized by your manager for yourperformance? The results — managers said theyprovided recognition almost twice as much as theemployees reported receiving it; a big gap betweenmanager intention and employee perception.

Often our work in companies includes creative ways toshow the benefits of active acknowledgement. “Catchthem doing something right” is as old as managementitself, yet it remains a sound basis foracknowledgement in the 21st century.

Acknowledgement may take the form of money,promotion, public praise, training, days off, and so on.Appreciation also involves actively encouragingpeople in what they are doing – giving them thecourage to experiment and voice their idea.


Notes:

IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::TTrruusstt:: Make an inventory of any promises oragreements you have made recently and ensure you have

kept them.BBeelloonnggiinngg:: Find someone in your team and show why they

are an important part of what you want to achieve and

how they fit into the scheme of things.HHuummaanniittyy:: Surprise your staff today with a random act

of kindnessRelationships: Find out about people who are important

in your employee’s lives. Ask if the company can support

them in any way. CCuullttuurree:: How do people connect with the company? How

do they view the current culture? Ask people to choose

three words that describe the current culture? Do they

describe an organisation they’re proud to belong to? If

not, which words would they change?CClliimmaattee CChhaannggee:: There isn’t just a crisis in globalwarming. Closer to home, many organisations haveunhealthy or even toxic environments for their workforce.

Take a temperature check and see if your ‘human’climate needs improving.


Remuneration

A truly effective reward as far as an individual isconcerned may have several facets to it, which iswhy increasing engagement seldom comes downto “just pay them more.”

The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and KatePickett (Penguin Books 2009) claims to showwhy more equal societies almost always dobetter. Likewise, serious inequality is a factorinfluencing individual and company performance.

The Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 70 percent-owned by the taxpayer, recently approved a£9.6 million pay package for new chief executive

Stephen Hester. While the overall pay deal waslinked to targets, the size of the amount may haveleft many entirely competent people in thecompany feeling distinctly unhappy.

An employee at RBS even on £30,000 a yearwould need to work 320 years to receive thesame remuneration as Hester. Don’t even botherto work out what the multiple would be forsomeone on the minimum wage!

IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN

::

BBuuiilldd oonn ((11)):: During y

our present working

day, be especially al

ert of any use of the

dreaded “Yes but” p

hrase. Instead, focu

s on using “Yes and.

..” in all your

communications. If y

ou hear others using

the “Yes but” engage

ment killer, be sure

to call them on it.

BBuuiilldd oonn ((22)):: In your n

ext team meeting, ins

ist that no one can s

peak after

someone else without

first acknowledging

what the previous pe

rson has just said;

they must actively b

uild on the earlier co

ntribution before ma

king their own.

AApppprreecciiaattiioonn ((11)):: Inc

lude an item in your

in-house magazine fe

aturing people in

the company who ha

ve helped make a di

fference.

AApppprreecciiaattiioonn ((22)):: Ha

ve a regular item on t

eam agendas when p

eople can share

successes and appr

eciate team membe

rs’ contribution.

AApppprreecciiaattiioonn ((33)):: Ha

ve an ‘above and bey

ond’ box full of little

presents. These can

be awarded by anyon

e in the team to rew

ard someone who ha

s contributed extra

effort.

EEnnccoouurraaggeemmeenntt:: The

high performer will a

lways try to do their

best on their own

accord, but they will

try even harder if en

couraged. Engaged

people thrive on

regular encouragem

ent. Find someone wh

o is facing a tough ti

me and needs a

little bolstering. See

if you can provide s

ome courage.


VALUEDINDIVIDUALITYDiversityMotivationWell-being

RELATIONSHIPAttentionTrustBelonging

FAIRNESSRespectAppreciationRemuneration

Summary

EEngagement is often theresult of being activelyinvolved in what’s going

on, and there is considerable focus on this throughout Engagingfor Success. Examples abound of organisations recognising thevalue of involving employees. The 02 company employs a “headof employee involvement”, while at M&S, the retailer’s businessinvolvement group (BIG) givesemployees an opportunity to voice their views and ideas. TheJohn Lewis partnership has long seen involvement as a keyresource for achieving talentengagement.

In the quest for involvement, there is often anexcessive reliance on employee surveys as away of promoting it. Our view is that if you need toconduct a survey to discover what your peopleare thinking, you are not close enough to them inthe first place. Employee surveys onengagement have recently encountered heavycriticism. See, for example, What Are Your StaffTrying To Tell You? by Peter Hutton (BrandenergyResearch 2009).

In our experience, clients often ask us to tailordevelopment to the issue of involvement and howto achieve it. We remain continuously surprisedat how often even experienced leaders andmanagers seem unsure about practical ways,other than surveys, of achieving a genuine senseof involvement.

Three elements can contribute to a sense ofinvolvement:

• an effective, hands-on communication approach,

• ensuring people make an impact and • adopting what we call “serious play”.

COMMUNICATION

If there is an important differentiator that explainswhy some companies are good at winninginvolvement and generating engagement and whyothers are less so, it is almost certainly their abilityto communicate.

According to Towers Perrin, only 31 per cent ofemployees feel that their senior managerscommunicate openly and honestly. Moreover, only 41per cent agree that their senior managers try to bevisible and accessible. One of the biggest problemsidentified by MacLeod and Clarke is a “lack of fluidity incommunications and knowledge sharing due to rigidcommunication channels or cultural norms.”

Communication strategies need to go beyond theobvious idea of keeping people informed. Oftensenior leaders in organisations are convincedthere is adequate communication when they sendout memos, updates, newsletters and the like.

Borrowing from theatre, however, it is clear thateffective communication needs a combination of:

• Monologues• Duologues• Dialogues


BEING INVOLVED

INVOLVED

Communication

Impact

Play

Monologues

Involving people means they need to know what’sgoing on. Presentations, news bulletins, podcasts,DVD recordings, town hall meetings, or evenTweets are essentially monologues that informpeople about what is going on in the company.The method will be determined by the content andaudience accessibility and might cover such areasas conveying vision, offering simple explanations,talking interestingly and convincingly aboutvalues, goals and what matters to theorganisation.

The ability to communicate directly in ways thatinvolve people often comes down to a personalability to talk authentically, using simple language.The authentic monologue, for instance, showssomeone how their role fits into the bigger picture.In our experience, many managers and leadersneed developmental help in this area.

Duologues

The next level of engaging communication is a two-way conversation. It will involve explanation,questioning and listening. Whether it is coffeemeetings, road shows, canteen gatherings orany other form of briefing situations, thepresenters need to engage their audience ina conversation. There are ways of usingquestions and listening that are empathic,that create more of a relationship and leadto a better understanding of the otherperson so they will feel increasinglyconnected with the organisation and towhat is going on.

Much of our in-company work has beenwith managers and leaders whoselistening skills can benefit from someTLC. Many have forgotten what it

really means to listen and what showing attentioneven looks like. Correctly, in our view, MacLeodand Clarke argue that “We believe the earlybenefits of adopting a listening and engagingapproach will lead to some quick wins.”

Dialogues

Ultimately for people to feel fully engaged, theyneed to be part of an ongoing, 360-degree, openprocess of communication. Being involved inthese dialogues means that people feel they reallyare helping to forge the future of the organisation.They are part of it. They are involved in thecreation of it.

T-Mobile has pioneered an approach toconversation, which has extended throughout theorganisation and led to initiatives to change themanagement style from command and control to amore coaching approach. Interactive dialogue isthe way forward for companies who want toengage their people. For instance, a large engineering firm wanted toinvolve their Customer Service Managers inpursuing sales opportunities whilst servicing maintenance contracts, but were concerned that

BEING INVOLVED

IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::MMoonnoolloogguuee:: At the end of this week, ask your management team to produce a

two-minute podcast or vodcast. It might have updates about projects, a

summary of current issues, and an acknowledgement of the work of individuals.

Email the result to a wide selection of people and ask for comments, ideas and

feedback.LLiisstteenniinngg:: At your next meeting, notice where your attention is as you listen.

What are you listening out for? Are you looking for opportunities to make your

point or to mock the other person who is speaking? Are you listening in search

of agreement or to remember the facts and figures? The more you can listen

with a positive purpose, the more likely you are to be effective in your

communication.DDiiaalloogguuee:: Use these three involvement-type questions of your team: “What do

you think?” “What’s your opinion?” “How would you go about this?” Use these

to spark important conversations.

sales training might meet resistance. They broughtus in to help the management develop a strategyto involve their people in the change. We facilitatedsessions that prompted dialogue within differentdepartments between all parties. It helpedeveryone explore and understand the reasons forthe change and their own experience of change.Initial scepticism about the company's plans waseffectively transformed into much more open andreceptive attitudes to change, and the subsequentsales training was highly successful.

IMPACT

If you want people to feel involved, they mustbelieve that what they do matters, that somehow itwill make an impact. The bigger the organisation,the harder it becomes to achieve this sense ofmaking an impact, until in some places the point isreached where there is a complete disconnectbetween the individual and any tangible impact.

Difference

As MacLeod and Clarke put it in Engaging forSuccess, “...in a world where most factors ofproduction are increasingly standardised, where aproduction line or the goods on a supermarketshelf are much the same the world over, employeeengagement is the difference that makes thedifference.”

Leaders and managers face the daily challenge ofconverting business goals into ones that theindividual can identify with and recognise that theircontribution will be in some way important. A classicexample of this occurred in a major logisticscompany that had the revelation that its mostimportant employees were really its truck drivers.They were the ones who had the most contact withcustomers and could therefore make or break howthe company was seen by its customers.

For the average leader, we might therefore pose

the question: “How easily do you find it to explainto someone on the front line what difference theymake to the business?” Knowing that one makesa difference is an essential ingredient ofbecoming involved.

Connection

It is all too easy to leave people with a narrowview of the organisation, familiar only with theirown department, while the rest of the company isa foreign land, rarely visited, with languages andcustoms that are not understood. To create anengaging culture, the connections between allparts of the organisation need to be overt andeasily identified. It is important to know the wholeecosystem and how every bit interacts with every other bit.


“partnership is animportant way ofpromotinginvolvement”

Notes:


Partnership

Partnership is an important way of promotinginvolvement since it often requires new ways ofworking, based on the principles of building trustand mutual respect, honesty and transparency. Awillingness to learn together and from each otherwill help establish closer working relationshipsenabling emerging issues to be discussed in atimely fashion.

Treating each individual employee as a partnerprevents them being seen as a homogeneousgroup. The rich diversity represented byindividuals offers the most opportunity for freshthinking, new ideas and creative contribution.

The award-winning climate change film The Ageof Stupidwas funded by a legion of smallinvestors. The producers of the movie thennurtured this community by including them inregular updates throughout the filming. They alsoasked for help on everything from providingresources, extras, locations, promotion, casting,ideas and feedback. They were invited toscreenings of sections of the film and became anactive and engaged community, with every email

addressed to them as “Dear Insiders...”

PLAY

Maynard Leigh once presented to a globalcomputer company an approach to developmentthat included the participants having fun andlearning new things. Back came the tersecomment that “This company is a seriousorganisation, we do not do fun.” Suitablychastened, we only had to wait a year, however,before watching this dinosaur keel over and facenear extinction.

In contrast, Trayport, a hugely successfulsoftware company, has a very engagedworkforce and a fun working climate in theoffices. The final piece of the jigsaw was toconnect the workforce to the clients. They wantedto maintain their characteristically creative andplayful working environment whilst helpingpeople understand the bigger picture andintroducing higher levels of professionalism, sothat employees bring all their energy and playfulspirit into everything they do.

IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::IImmppaacctt:: Talk to three frontline people and explain why and how what they do

makes a difference to the business. Without becoming a critic, show them why not

turning up has an impact.CCoonnnneeccttiioonn:: Create the chance for cross-functional sharing so people understand

how different functions operate, what they need, where they fit.Understanding: Promote job shadowing, information sharing. Help individuals see

the whole map so that they can learn to navigate through the organisation.

TTeeaamm:: Look for opportunities for interdependent working. This opens the

possibility of people becoming more than the sum of their parts and add value to

the organisation.LLiinnkkss:: Highlight overlapping responsibilities - where one person’s function

impacts on others. Bring the parties together to understand their connection.

Stakeholders: Devise a strategy for stakeholder engagement. Include customers,

suppliers, families, shareholders, local community as well as employees.

CCuussttoommeerrss:: Invite a client or customer in to talk about how they see your

organisation.

Attitude

That play and fun can help to promote involvementseems entirely obvious, but it is important to addressthe unconscious prejudices many of those inauthority might harbour about play. Play is not idle,wasteful or frivolous. It is not David Brent in TheOffice doing a wacky impression of Kermit. It is notinfantile, nor immature.

It is this misunderstanding about serious play thatprompts supervisors or managers, for example, totake a tough stance. “We’re not here to have fun; myjob is to get things done.” Or, “we’re here to makemoney, not play about.”

This is a pity, since people are far more productiveand involved when encouraged to enjoy theattributes of serious play - which is essentially aboutactive and energetic individuals existing in a dynamicrelationship with others.

An interesting experiment was recently conducted,for example, in which two teams of adultsconstructed an IKEA desk from a kit. The team thattook the pieces out of the box and played with themcompleted the task quicker than the one that read theinstructions.

Watch children at play and it’s clear that for all theoutward levity, it’s a busy learning experience. Actorsplay, though seldom thoughtlessly or withoutattention. All actors seek to produce outstandingperformance. They and their directors know thatwhat business leaders need to learn is that seriousplay is a form of alchemy, transforming ordinarysituations into outstanding moments.

Meetings

In the spirit of play, a team at Hewlett Packarddecided to hold its next meeting on the London Eye.They booked a pod, turned up and completed theagenda by the time the eye completed its cycle.What made the difference between that experienceand the more usual one where employees sitgrudgingly around a table watching the second hand

slowly complete another cycle? It was that themeeting was a piece of serious play - an unusuallocation and a challenge, stimulating the participantsto stay on task while also making it enjoyable.

Traditionally, organisations use meetings to promoteinvolvement, and yet these continue to attract muchcriticism. Our experience is that too few leaders andmanagers know the basics of how to run inspiringmeetings that generate involvement and a sense ofengagement. In particular, team meetings arefrequently operational rituals in which poor chairingand procedures bore people to tears, and lengthyagenda items turn the gathering into an energy-draining event.

Yet, meetings can be an effective way to promoteinvolvement, and there are plenty of creativeapproaches that can turn them into enjoyable humaninteractions.

Volunteers

How is it that some organisations seem to prosperbecause employees are willing to “go that extra mile”,to commit their discretionary effort to the cause? Jean-Paul Sartre said “play is when we are at our mostvoluntary,” and in the search for more involvement,there is another unmistakeable trend emerging thatemployees need to be treated as volunteers.

This change reflects the fact that leaders often nolonger have the power to compel people to do asthey say and instead must rely on influence,personality and persuasion to get things done.

In organisations where talent engagement is takenseriously, there is a readiness to accept that if youwant people’s wholehearted involvement, you needto allow them sufficient freedom to take control of theexperiment.

Knowledge working, virtual teams, expectations ofinstant communication, specialist know-how, andother factors are all forcing organisations to acceptthat they need to treat their people more likevolunteers and less like wage slaves.



INVOLVEDCOMMUNICATIONMonologueDuologueDialogue

IMPACTDifferenceConnectionPartnership

PLAYAttitudeMeetingsVolunteers

Summary

IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::PPllaayy:: You can’t enforce fun! Yet, you can find ways to produce a playful

environment in which your people can thrive and create - where laughter and

fun are naturally part of producing outstanding performance. Bring a playful

spirit in with you and generate some creative energy.EEnnlliivveenn:: Decorate your reception area in a way that makes visitors smile as

they enter your workplace.SSppiirriitt:: Don’t reserve fun activity simply for Comic Relief, Children in Need or

other fund-raising exercises. Ask people how to generate the same spirit at

other times. DDrreessss:: If you already have a dress-down day, why not have a dress-up day

as well?MMeeeettiinnggss:: At the next team meeting, give everyone a special role; for

example, chief time keeper, action minute taker, energy monitor, chief

boredom fighter, listening champion, and so on. And rotate the chairperson

role.

TTuunnee--IInn:: Start the next team meeting with a few minutes to ensure everyone

is focused and present. Perhaps each share a sentence about current work

focus or feelings about what’s happening in the organisation right now.

VVeennuuee:: Hold the next team meeting in an unusual location.VVoolluunntteeeerrss:: When you interact with team members, try speaking to them as if

they had volunteered to come into work and could just as easily decide to go

home! Notice whether this view of them helps you alter how you speak to

them. If they were partners in the business or volunteers, what would you say

to them that you would not normally say?

AAs children, we can’t help butdevelop. And there’s no reasonwhy this should stop the

moment we hit adulthood. Growingand developing is a natural humandrive. To learn, to mature, to extendoneself is evolutionary. And a focuson development is a powerful way ofengaging people.

And here we make a distinction between trainingand development. Of course, many roles needtraining. It has its short-term focus on skillacquisition and equips people to perform theirjobs efficiently. Development, however, is aboutinvesting in someone’s long-term growth

Consequently, companies searching for highlevels of engagement need to invest indeveloping their people.

POTENTIAL

Today, many companies recognise the importanceof unlocking their people’s potential, even during adownturn. But a Kingston University study, forexample, found that around a third of employees inthe companies it surveyed said that managersseldom if ever discussed their training anddevelopment needs with them, while a similarproportion rarely received feedback on theirperformance.

Development

One-third or more of employees do not feel theyare being developed. This represents aconsiderable amount of wasted human potentialstill to be unlocked. Development prepares aperson to perform better, and it supports theorganisation’s future needs. It also helps build avital emotional bond between the individual andthe organisation. The importance of such a bondin generating a sense of engagement can beconsiderable.

For instance, in their report, MacLeod and Clarkequote the Corporate Leadership Council asconcluding that “emotional commitment is fourtimes as valuable as rational commitment inproducing discretionary effort. Indeed, the searchfor a high-performance workforce is synonymouswith the search for emotional commitment.”

That’s one of the reasons we always advocatefocusing on three complementary areas fordevelopment: people’s cognitive, emotional andbehavioural talents. When each of these isdeveloped, an organisation is more likely toproduce outstanding performance.

These are often referred to as the ‘soft skills.’Engaging Success confirms that it is these so-called soft skills that make the difference. And yet,soft skills are often harder to learn and develop.

BEING DEVELOPEDDEVELOPED PotentialReviewsOpportunity

IIDDEEAA FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::

PPootteennttiiaall:: If people are not using theirfull potential at work, then their talentand skills are being wasted. Unlockingpotential is a way of reducing waste inyour organisation.

Ask your people “what talents do youhave (that would add value to us) thatyou’re not currently utilising at work?”Then, discuss how they could bedeveloped.



Development Programmes

Development takes many forms, of course, andthose organisations that have an establishedlearning culture will normally provide staff with awide range of opportunities. Many of our ownclients will boast an array of focused interventionsrelevant to the future growth of the company.Bertelsmann Arvato, for instance, is committed tounlocking the potential of all of their employees.They offer junior staff, at the start of theirdevelopment, courses in personal impact and howto build productive relationships right through tointense learning experiences such as our DramaticShift workshop, which takes place in a theatre andexplores people’s ability to inspire others.

What is clear is the need to avoid catch-all, sheep-dip type programmes that are offered without anyconnection to people’s personal development plansor the needs of the organisation. Well-targeted,relevant learning and development events play acentral role to engaging talent. Whether it is Ernst &Young’s Accelerated Learning Programme, DHL’sCustomer Experience Programme, Barclaycard’sLeadership 2010, Aon’s Managers Workshops, orAudit Commission’s Connecting with Clients, theyare all examples of development courses that addvalue to the organisation and help engage people.

Coaching

There is no need to constantly direct or monitorengaged people. They just require active supportand encouragement in their attempts to perform attheir best. As part of the process of development,all successful leaders and managers need tomaster coaching skills. Again drawing on our in-company work, we note how often even quitesenior participants struggle with the subtleties ofcoaching individuals for high performance.

Whilst a lot of business coaching techniques are derived from improving sporting performanceon the one hand and counselling skills on theother, we advocate a different approach. Our

preferred method is based on the techniques used by theatre directors to unlock outstandingperformance from actors and is called experientialperformance coaching.

This approach helps people experiment andrehearse new behaviours and approaches. Onekey aspect of it, which underpins the processthroughout, is the provision of detailed, accurateand insightful feedback.

Feedback

The absence of feedback creates a vacuum inwhich people will feel taken for granted, ignoredand under-valued. For many managers, thetechnique of giving feedback is something of adark art and requires careful practice in a safelearning environment. Yet, it can be learnt andmastered and contributes enormously to theengagement agenda.

BEING DEVELOPED

IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::DDeevveellooppmmeenntt:: Each person in your team needs a properdevelopment plan that they have helped to create. Is it time to

create these?CCooaacchhiinngg:: Consider each of your people and their potential. Make a

commitment to provide some time to coach them – to support them

in attaining a new level of performance. FFeeeeddbbaacckk:: Find someone on your team who clearly would welcome

some feedback. In giving it, make a deliberate effort to be specific

with detailed observations and examples.CCuullttuurree:: Create a learning culture. (a) People returning from

development courses should pass on their learning to colleagues; (b)

distribute a daily learning point or focus; (c) share ideas and

learning about the organisation with fellow team members; (d) get

everyone to teach a colleague a skill they have, e.g. a golf swing,

counting to 10 in Japanese or how to use Photoshop. (e) At a team

meeting, ask people, “What have you learnt since our last meeting?”

(f) State publicly that people attending development courses are

adding value to the organisation

REVIEWS

Reviews are akin to a long-running joke in thebattlefield of engagement. Everyone knows theyare important, but nearly everyone hates doingthem. Yet, the annual assessment experienceadopted by so many large organisationalbureaucracies is mainly a red herring. What reallymatters is that every day, week and month,people have the chance to learn “how am Idoing?”

Goals

Fully engaged people typically respond to goalsthey understand and believe in and have helpedto create. Really effective and inspiring goalspromote learning and development, as well aschallenge the person to use his full potential. Thisis why we often encourage our clients to adoptthe use of SMART goals, with a variation of theusual headings: Stretching, Measurable,Accepted, Recorded and Time-Limited.

Stretch goals tap into people’s natural creativity,generate excitement and help promote a senseof engagement. One of the best known stretchgoals is the UK 10:10 campaign for individualsand whole government departments to achieve a10-per-cent reduction in their CO2 emissions by2010.

Action Plans

Being able to answer the question, “how am Idoing?” not only often but honestly is animportant part of helping people develop.Something that every leader and manager can doin a hands-on manner immediately is to ensurethat every direct report has a credible personaldevelopment action plan that goes beyond a setof paper commitments and involves newopportunities for learning.

Leadership and Management DevelopmentLeaders who believe that development is a soundidea for everyone else, but not for themselves,are as much a problem as those who seedevelopment as a cost rather than an investment.Such leaders are likely to be defensive orreactionary in the area of developing their people.

The UK spends less per manager than any otherEuropean country on management development.Our view is that as a general principle, everyleader, regardless of level in the organisation,should have a formal development plan andspend time out from work on personaldevelopment issues. They need to become rolemodels for growth, learning and continualimprovement.


IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::GGooaallss:: At the next team meeting, ask each individual to say what for themwould be a stretch goal over the next six months. Ask the team to give you astretch goal too.EEvvaalluuaattee:: Monitor progress on personal development goals so that peoplecan assess how they are doing. Don’t just leave it till the annual review.MMeeeettiinngg:: At team meetings, have a regular agenda item about collectiveperformance. “How are we doing? What could we do to raise our game?”AAccttiioonn PPllaannss:: Ask to see the development action plan for each member of theteam, and talk to each person to find out what they think about it.DDeevveellooppmmeenntt PPllaannss:: Show your personal development plan to a trustedcolleague and ask, “What do you think of this plan? How could it beimproved?”


“sense of responsibility(ability to respond) helpsthem take control oftheir lives.”

Notes:

OPPORTUNITY

A further factor supporting a person’sdevelopment is the provision of opportunities forlearning. These may take the form of experience,experimentation, or taking on new kinds ofresponsibilities.

Experiments

When people are really switched on andperforming at their best, they must be able toexperiment and get things wrong. Therefore, theyneed a punishment-free environment – a cultureor ethos where mistakes are viewed asopportunities to lean and improve. Obviously, ifpeople continue to make the same mistake andfail to improve and learn, then it is a performancemanagement issue. However, people’s creativejuices start flowing when given sufficient space todiscover for themselves how best to do their work.

Experience

The fastest way people learn, grow and ultimatelyperform better is through real-life experiences.Normally, this is on-the-job. However,experiential learning workshops provideopportunities for people to take risks in a safeenvironment. Participants can experiment andrehearse when nothing is at stake so that theyleave better prepared for tackling the realsituation in the workplace.

Responsibility

People’s prevailing mindset is crucial. Thosewho see themselves as helpless pawns onthe organisational board will be less likelyto feel engaged than those who feel moreable to take advantage of opportunities or evencreate new ones.

Leaders and managers can play an importantrole in helping people move away from feelinglike a victim to what’s going on around them andrealise that they have choice. Developing theirsense of responsibility (ability to respond) helpsthem take control of their lives. The moreresponsibility they take, the more effective theytend to be. Supporting people in this journeytowards being more proactive is a worthwhileinvestment. Those with responsibility not onlydevelop quicker and add value to the enterprise,but they are also more engaged in theorganisation’s endeavours.

Successful talent engagement stems from givingpeople sufficient responsibility so they feelexcited and accountable, valued and trusted.



POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENTCoachingFeedbackReviewsGoals

ACTION PLANSManagement Development

ConnectionPartnership

PLAYAttitudeMeetingsVolunteers

DEVELOPED

Summary

IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::EExxppeerr iimmeennttaattiioonn :: Encourage a culture of creativity and innovation. Invite new

ideas and give people the opportunities to try things out.Permission: Provide enough time and room for people to experiment and learn,

without constantly monitoring them. How much permission do your people have to

try things out? Ask them!MMiissttaakkeess :: If anyone’s made a mistake recently, ask yourself and them, “What

have we learnt from this? How can we create value from it?”RReessppoonnss iibb ii ll iitt yy:: Talk one-to-one to members of the team and identify what would

get them excited and willing to take on something new.EExxppeerriieennccee:: Provide opportunities for people to learn from powerful experiences

– either on the job or in workshops. Seek exchanges with other departments so

that people get a chance to experience what it’s like to work elsewhere.

AAleading Dutch telecomscompany recently invitedMaynard Leigh to assist them

in preparing eighteen of its seniormanagers for boardroom roles.The brief was to develop in theseindividuals the integrity, passionand values to help them take thecompany into new markets andfocus on a sustainable future.

The client wanted transformational leaders ableand willing to think outside the box. Cees deWeerd, consultant to the Dutch firm, puts itanother way. “Leadership shouldn’t be dictatedsolely by budgets and deadlines. It can andshould be a joy. It should inspire.”

The workshop they attended involvedparticipants sharing a piece of writing or musicthat they found inspiring by presenting it on stageto the group. Maynard Leigh’s managing directorStuart Mackenzie explains: “One personpresented President Obama’s inaugurationspeech; another played us the U2 hit BeautifulDay. We had people recite passages ofShakespeare: one man wrote and performed apoem. The material was used as a vehicle toexplore their authentic inspirational self. Theythen practised the lessons they had learnt inorder to take them back into the workplace sothat they could inspire their colleagues.”

Inspiration is literally to breathe in and to act withspirit, and is an area in which we have immersedourselves as a company for two decades. Wehave seen for ourselves how vital it is for leadersto master this role and observed in manyorganisations its impressive power to generatehigh levels of enthusiasm and engagement. Aspart of our development work, we regularly assistorganisational leaders in the discovery of what itmeans to inhabit their inspirational leadership.

It is easy to dismiss inspiration as fancifulbecause it is hard to measure and even harder tomanage. In practice, there are many actions thatleaders and managers can do daily that steadilyfeed people’s need for inspiration, which helpstrigger high levels of engagement.

Sir Ken Robinson, internationally renownededucationalist, argues that you should helppeople discover what they are passionate aboutand encourage them to reconnect with theirnatural authentic talent. Then, they are “in theirelement”. Thus, while the focus is often onleadership to provide inspiration in order toengage people, there may be many othersources to fuel this feeling. Talented employeescan find inspiration in many aspects of theenterprise they work for. It could be the work theylove doing, or the cause they are part of, or theproduct or service they supply or people theywork with.

Inspiring leaders do not necessarily switch oninspiration like turning on a light bulb. Instead,they steadily nurture and tailor it, allowing it togrow within them and spread and radiate fromthere. Three vital components contributing to thisinspirational state of being are:

• Substance,

• Imagination

• Meaning.

SUBSTANCE

Leaders and managers who routinely inspire theirpeople are nearly always people of substance, orwhat is sometimes called character. This doesnot mean that only exceptional and charismaticindividuals can lead people to feel inspired.Showing substance is both learnable and withinthe grasp of every human being.


BEING INSPIREDINSPIRED SubstanceImaginationMeeting


Integrity

It starts by acting with integrity. Integrity can alsobe described as doing the right things, rather thanthe more managerial activity of doing things well.Often translated as behaving with consistency,integrity is all about showing who you are andwhat matters to you. This in turn requires using allthree elements that underpin people-centredleadership, namely emotional intelligence, insightand authenticity. (See final section.)

Demonstrating personal integrity is thereforeabout showing as a leader that you are true toyourself; for example, that you say what youmean and mean what you say.

Values

In practice, when people “get” your integrity, it isseldom a one-off event. Instead, it is usually anaccumulation of events such as when you shareyour values with people and explain why theymatter to you, or when you speak from the heartabout an issue of importance, or when you reactin a way that demonstrates your humanity.

Once people understand a leader’s personalvalues, they may start by respecting them andperhaps only gradually begin to find theminspiring. An important realisation that leadersoften gain in their personal development istrusting that through their integrity, they arefeeding people’s need to feel inspired.

Passion

The ability to inspire people is a willingness to talkwith passion or vigour about what matters.

So-called scientific management has created themyth that running organisations is best done byemotionless, highly objective human beingswhose decision-making relies on a relentlessapplication of logic and metrics.

The reality, of course, is entirely different. Yet,there remains a strand within manyorganisational cultures that it is somehow wrongfor leaders and managers to show their passion -that it is a sign of weakness.

Passion itself is a highly emotive word that formany people proves an instant turn-off. Forthose who find it so, we would merely argueinstead that leaders and managers need to beable to find and talk with conviction often abouttheir whole-hearted commitment or enthusiasmfor what they want to achieve.

BEING INSPIRED

IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::IInnssppiirraattiioonn:: You can’t inspire others without first beinginspired. Connect with your own sources of inspiration. Startmaking a list of all the things that uplift or excite you. People,poems, songs, art, landscapes, events, films, stories,achievements, books.Is there a theme to these examples? How can you bring moreinspiration into your own life – both at home and at work? SShhaarree:: Find ways of sharing inspiration with others. Forinstance, add a powerful weekly quote at the bottom of emails,invite people to the showing of a film, post a monthly poem onthe bulletin board, fill the walls with pictures, draw up a list ofinspiring people you’d like to meet and invite one of them to ateam meeting.

IInntteeggrriittyy:: Explain to those whose engagement you want whatintegrity means to you and to your organisation. Explain toyour team why something you are doing is morally right.Communicate what you stand for and where you take a stand.TTeesstt:: Challenge yourself with what if? scenarios that help youtest your principles.Values: Identify one personal value that really matters to you,for example honesty, humour, trust, respect, justice, and talkabout it with each of your team. Ask them to do the same.What do they really value? And cite examples of that valuebeing exercised in practice.PPaassssiioonn:: When recruiting, ask people what they arepassionate about.

IMAGINATION

Imagination plays an important role in the pursuitof talent engagement. By using natural curiosityand a sense of wonder, you stimulate anapproach that seeks possibility rather than whatalready exists. Imagination triggers leaders’ andmanagers’ ability to use creativity to inspirepeople; use stories to gain people’s attention;and apply energy and vitality to transform howpeople feel.

Creativity

A problem is a wake-up call for creativity. Thebest organisations evolve through constantexperiments and that means promoting a cultureof entrepreneurism, invention and permissiveencouragement. (The latter occurs once there isa high tolerance for failure or for mistakes, asmentioned before in the section on BeingDeveloped.)

Managers normally try and solve problems usinglogic or left-hemisphere functions. Our traditionaleducation system promotes this. By usingcreativity and imagination (serious play), we areable to access the right brain and use it to solvethe trickiest of problems and to improve ourcommunication.

In a culture that fosters inventiveness orcreativity, you will nearly always find inspiredpeople, often on a quest to transform someaspect of the world around them. These peopleare both inspired and fully engaged.Much has been made of Google’s famous

directive that its engineers should spend 25 percent of their work time on anything they think willbenefit the company, work that is not part of their“day job”. In fact, many other companies havesimilar, if less dramatic, arrangements in placeand recognise too how a culture that fosterscreativity also inspires and generatesengagement.

Story

Iconic stories are another useful way of seeding afeeling of inspiration in organisations.

Effective leaders use story-telling a great deal.They develop convincing narratives to createsomething memorable. And the stories oftenencapsulate what’s important or exciting abouttheir organisation’s activities and help bring theirvalues alive. These may include ones thatdescribe the company’s distinctive identity; showhow the organisation has made decisionsaccording to its principles; acknowledge somesupreme effort or achievement; express thecompany’s social purpose; celebrate anindividual’s heroic commitment. Eachorganisation will have its legends. The good onesare those that engage and inspire people.

IBM India’s response to earthquakes andtsunamis, for instance, shows their values inaction, and its managers across the entire globalenterprise unquestionably regularly retell these aspart of inspiring employees. People rememberstories better than they recall facts and figures,and if you want to inspire, learn to tell stories.


IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::

CCrreeaattiivviittyy:: Bring lots of different peo

ple together (from all the stakeholde

r

groups) to brainstorm ideas for incr

easing engagement. Use right-brain

techniques (e.g. drawing, acting, visu

alising) to help think differently.

IImmaaggiinnaattiioonn:: Encourage people to im

agine what their working life will look

like in five years. Start planning for t

he transition right now.

FFrreesshh tthhiinnkkiinngg:: Invite a 15-year-old t

o come to your next team meeting a

nd

talk about future technology.

SSttoorryy eexxaammpplleess:: Find a preferably tr

ue story about some aspect of the

goals of your team that inspires you.

Share this story with your team.

CCoolllleecctt SSttoorriieess:: Collect stories that a

re examples of the organisation at i

ts

best - and start telling them.

CCoommmmuunniiccaattee SSttoorriieess:: Find ways to sp

read good stories – newsletters,

emails, YouTube, story-telling sessio

ns, bulletin boards, podcasts, etc.


“Imagination triggersleaders’ and managers’ability to use creativityto inspire people”

Notes:

MEANING

It is essential for all our lives to have purpose andmeaning. As George Bernard Shaw said, “The truejoy in life is being used for a purpose recognised byyourself as a mighty one.” The amount of time andenergy we dedicate to our working lives deservesto be used for something important.

At Maynard Leigh, we believe that meaningful workstems from promoting values. In our case, it is tobring our core values of vitality, openness, integrity,creativity and care to the workplace. We feel this willcreate a humane and enjoyable working cultureand provide meaning. We happily share thesecommitments with our clients, and in return they willoften share how they see the deeper meaning ofthe activities being established in their workplaces.

Direction

Meaning is often the result of clear purpose anddirection. By providing a clear, compelling narrative,leaders give a sense of direction so that people knowwhere they are heading and what their part in it will be.Using multiple channels of communications, leadersand managers can put people’s work in a widerperspective, showing why it has meaning anddemonstrating ownership and direction from the top.

Legacy

Inviting people to explore the legacy they wouldlike to leave behind them is a powerful way toconcentrate minds around meaning at work. Itmatters less how grandiose or pedestrian thesepictures of the future might be than the fact thatpeople are asked by those in authority to sharetheir aspirations.

In many cases, people may never have eventhought about such a prospect, and the nature ofthe question itself can prove an inspiringexperience for them.

Vision

In their report, MacLeod and Clarke talk about theimportance of the organisational vision beingclear and people being able to see their part in it.But from our work in companies, we note howthose in charge often find articulating aconvincing vision a challenge. That is partlybecause they have difficulty finding the rightwords, but more often it can be the problem ofdemonstrating sufficient passion andcommitment to the vision.

Defining an organisation through its short-termgoals can obscure its larger purposes andprevent people connecting with somethingbeyond themselves. That’s why everyorganisation needs a vision — an image of thefuture they seek to create. And often, where youfind people fully engaged in the organisation’sactivities, you nearly always encounter a clearsense of its vision. People feel they are involvedin something special. They may even have asense of destiny.

There is a debate about how best to create avision. Some leaders argue that for vision to play itsrole in inspiring people, it is essential that peoplehave a chance to help define the vision. Otherstake a more top-down approach. Both can work solong as the vision connects at a visceral level, notmerely a cerebral one, and has the potential totransform people’s thinking and attitudes.

When leaders talk about it from the heart, in otherwords when they are being truly authentic, visionhas the power to inspire and transform talentengagement. People-centred leaders do this aswe shall see in the final section of this paper.



SUBSTANCEIntegrityValuesPassion

IMAGINATIONCreativityStoriesEnergy

MEANINGDirectionLegacyVision

INSPIRED

Summary

IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::NNaarrrraattiivvee:: Decide on the narrative you will use to explain your people’s partin the bigger picture, and discuss it with your team. Invite them to help yourefine it.

LLeeggaaccyy:: Invite each team member to share with the rest of the group whatlegacy they would like the team to leave behind it one day. What will peopleremember of their current activities?MMiissssiioonn:: Get your team to write a campaigning mission statement about thedifference they want to make in the world.VViissiioonn:: Clarify your vision – your imagined view of an improved future. Thinkabout how you can convey it. Find someone today with whom you can shareyour vision. Paint a picture of the desired future. Explain to them why itmatters so much.

PPeople-centred leadership isexercised by managers whoplace people and humanistic

values at the core of theirapproach. With such leaders, youcan expect to find a strong urge forflatter structures, fewerhierarchies, a preference for matrixworking and an understanding thatorganisations are complex andconstantly adapting.

Such leaders see engagement as central to theiraims, not as a mere add-on. As Sainsbury’s CEOJustin King has put it, “In a business of our scale,you don’t even get started without engagement.”While a people-centred approach comesnaturally to some, others struggle and may needhelp in developing the necessary skills andunderstanding. For example, according to CIPDresearch, 80 per cent of all UK managers havebeen asked to do things at work for which theyfeel ill-equipped, with managing people at the topof the list.

When the senior leadership at DHL Supply Chainresearched world-class organisations, they setabout introducing a culture change into a morepeople-centred style of management. Supportedby Maynard Leigh, hundreds of their seniorpeople have attended Active Leadershipworkshops helping them develop their coachingskills, emotional and social intelligence,succession planning and cross-cultural working.Whilst the process is ongoing, there aresignificant signs of change and improvements inemployee engagement feedback.

HUMANISTIC VALUES

The distressingly low levels of employeeengagement reported by the CIPD and othersconfirm that many workplaces are anti-people,where human beings cannot readily flourish.

We mentioned earlier that people-centredleaders bring humanity to the workplace. There isnothing fluffy or do-gooding about this. VanguardCompanies like IBM, Procter and Gamble,Publicis Groupe or Google, for example, aresuccessfully leading the way in new approachesto performance, creativity and opening up vital,new business opportunities. To do so, they rely onpeople-centred leaders who recognise that talentengagement is about assuming people choose towork rather than feeling compelled to do so.

Such leaders want their people at all levels to feelmotivated, not controlled. Because of theirexpectation of a highly talented work force, theseexecutives seek to boost the voluntarycomponent of paid work by entrusting employeeswith choices, including where, when and withwhom they work. In short, they care.

Humanistic values are therefore not so much aluxury as a necessity for an increasing number ofleading companies if they are to fully unlock theirpeople’s potential. They know that this is whatproduces creative and innovative breakthroughs,and it allows them to find new markets, adapt torapidly changing circumstances and handleambiguity.

Essentials of people - centredleadership

Three meta abilities explain and help definePeople-Centred Leadership:

InsightEmotional Intelligence Authenticity

These affect all four of the earlier VIDI behavioursand are areas in which Maynard Leigh hasworked intensively for over 20 years.


PEOPLE-CENTRED LEADERSHIP

InsightInsight is the leader’s ability to see accurately andbeyond the obvious, past assumptions and toultimately make meaning out of what they see.Such ability is often mistakenly seen as a magicaltalent belonging to only gifted and perceptivepeople who have amazing intuition. This is notthe case. Such insight can be learnt, but it takesdiscipline and practice.

The essence of it resides in being able to noticewhat blurs our ability to see accurately. We oftenmiss what’s really happening because we seethrough a fog of beliefs, interpretations, prejudicesand assumptions. Many of us don’t even realisewhat’s happening and so believe what we thinkwe see only to find subsequently that it is adistorted view. So, on workshops, we help peopledistinguish between factual, observableinformation and personal interpretation.

The third level is where the astute leader is ableto build on the information and interpretation, byallowing their curiosity and wonder to begin toenlighten them. This is a very subtle and highlevel of seeing and is often seen as intuition. Asthe creative leader lets their imagination andcuriosity drive their insight, they get to seebeyond the obvious.

At each step, however, people need to keepchecking out whether they are accurate or not.This is where it’s helpful to have others around uswho can offer different perspectives. And, ideally,if your insight is about a human being, you cancheck it out with them personally.

Emotional Intelligence

Leaders ignore the emotional element to workinglife at their peril. People’s feelings have amassive impact on performance. Yet, manymanagers are uncomfortable with this area ofwork and ignore it in the hope that it will sort itselfout. Daniel Goleman’s research is nowconclusive in proving the link between feelingsand performance.

The way each person expresses their emotionsheavily influences those on the receiving end. Tocreate involvement, for example, leaders need tobe able to create rapport with people and a senseof partnership. They must be sensitive to otherpeople’s feelings.

Any manager who has responsibility for peopleneeds to focus on helping people arrive at andremain in the emotional state where they canwork at their best. It requires social awareness,and one of the ways leaders constantly achievethis, whether they know it or not, is through usingemotional intelligence.

Authenticity

People-centred leaders come across asauthentic, both in what they say and what theydo. Paradoxically, while being totally truthful tothemselves, such leaders are also aware of theimpact that they are having around them. Inconsequence, employees feel more ready to dotheir best for someone who is manifestlybehaving in an authentic way.

How do such leaders achieve this result?Essentially, it is through simply being themselvesin allowing others to see who they really are.Business tends to have a hand-me-down cultureof people working with an adapted mask. Theattitude is, ‘I’m at work, so I don’t show this part ofme.’ In contrast, leaders need to make a personalcontract: To be myself, my whole self and nothingbut myself.


IIDDEEAASS FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::Practise developing insight. Take it a step at a time.SStteepp oonnee:: INFORMATION. What do you see in front of you – factually? Collect pure data, without any interpretation.SStteepp ttwwoo:: INTERPRETATION. How do you interpret what you see? What would Sherlock Homes make of the evidence? Notice your feelings?·SStteepp tthhrreeee:: IMAGINATION. What do you imagine about the person? Use your curiosity and intuition to provoke questions about them.

Talent EngagementStrategyThe earlier sections of this guideoffer a wide range of down-to-earthtips and advice for talentengagement that people canimplement right away. They have astrongly operational bias, anemphasis on action. They answer thatperennial, challenging question: “Yes,but what can I do on Mondaymorning?”

Meanwhile, it is also important to ensurethat companies adopt a coherent talentengagement strategy that steersmanagers and leaders towards how theywill need to behave. Most competent HRpractitioners can map out a route for theorganisation to follow in this respect, andthere is plenty of external advice availabletoo, including ours.

Implementing an engagement strategy,though, requires more than merely namingthe various steps that include:

Working through these various stages caneasily become an excuse to avoid morestraightforward daily practices such as those wedescribe earlier. For example, unless leadersmodel talent engagement in their daily actions,then others will view any formal strategy ofengagement as an abstraction.

For many organisations, choosing to adopt atalent engagement strategy constitutes a culturalshift, that is, a “new way of doing things aroundhere.” Sustaining a culture shift is less easy thanmerely mapping out the strategy for one. Ouraward-winning paper on Sustaining CultureChange identifies some of the key drivers thatmake any culture change stick. We refer you tothis paper rather than reproducing it here.


IIDDEEAA FFOORR AACCTTIIOONN::

There is some persona

l work leaders can do

to clarify their authent

icity.

It is a sort of persona

l inventory, a means of

developing a high-leve

l

self-awareness, self-k

nowledge. The aim is to

help develop integrity,

presence and a leader

ship signature.

Explore each of these

questions first with y

ourself,

and then with a truste

d colleague:

How did I create myse

lf to be the leader I am

?

What leaders do I admir

e?

What are the qualities th

at I bring to the workp

lace?

What do my reports say

about my leadership

style?

What are my values and

do I manifest them?


Notes:

And Finally....

There is a crucial final piece in the jigsaw ofimproving talent engagement in an organisation.It is as much about how you do it as what you do.

By including the elements in the diagram above,and by following the steps outlined in ourSustaining Culture Change paper, you have apractical route map for what needs to happen.You could appoint a head of engagement or anengagement task force to steer the changeprocess. You will need a strategic plan, hard-edged practices, rigorous systems to support thechange and soft skills development.

But it is vital that, with a people-centredapproach, you engage people in the engagementprocess. Tautological? Perhaps. However, it isworth highlighting the broken companiescluttered with the litter of misleading employeeengagement surveys and failed grand strategieswho have forgotten this simple principle.


diagram

“You engage peoplein the engagement process”


Addendum 1 -

THE ESSENTIALS OF TALENT

ENGAGEMENT

VALUEDINVOLVEDDEVELOPEDINSPIREDIndividualityCommunicationPotentialSubstanceDiversityMotivationWell-beingMonologueDuologueDialogueDevelopmentCoachingFeedbackIntegrityValuesPassionRelationshipImpactReviewsImaginationAttentionTrustBelongingDifferenceConnectionPartnership

Goals Action PlansManagementDevelopmentCreativity StoriesEnergyFairnessPlayOpportunityMeaningRespectAppreciationRemunerationAttitudesMeetingsVolunteersExperimentExperience ResponsibilityDirectionLegacyVision

Addendum 2:

Exclusive approach to talent versus inclusive oneHOW THE TWO APPROACHES DIFFERINCLUSIVEEXCLUSIVETalent is abundantTalent is scarceDistribute development widelyRestrict development to a fewSee everyone as potentially creativeSee only a few as creativeHigh level of trust for everyoneRestrict high levels of trust to a fewWidespread experimentationFocus experimentation narrowlyDemand high engagement levels everywhereDemand high engagement levels from the fewEveryone has an equal chance of progressA few are fast-tracked through the organisationPeople viewed as volunteers People viewed as assets Mainly promote from withinRegularly import talent Employee is responsible for their own careerEmployer will look after your careerTell everyone you see them as talentedTell only a few that you see them as talentedTeamworking is more than the sum of the partsTeams don’t really add valueBelieve people can be developedBelieve people have limited scope for improvementOrganisation grows by engaging everyoneOrganisation grows through efforts of an elite core

See Supecorp, by Rosbeth Moss Kanter 2009

Notes:

Documents

talentengagement