Connecting the
dots between true-self and the organisation This
article is about the importance of
focusing employees on the things that are
most valuable and most valued in a given organisational context.
It's also about the
need to align employees' talent and
passion with current organisational needs.
Both issues are critical, especially in
the current climate.
There has
seldom been a greater need to unlock the passion
and talent within employees and to enable
them to develop (or re-develop) a sense of
being able to make a difference. One
particular psychological driver which
provides a lever to influence employee
engagement is meaningfulness (Kahn
1990). This seems particularly relevant at this
time when passion and energy are
especially needed. Let's have
look at how this plays out:
Meaningful
and valuable contribution which is valued
Engagement levels will benefit when employees believe that what they are investing themselves in doing is valuable and worthwhile.
Therefore to help maintain engagement levels, leaders must define organisational direction and focus, clarify why it is important, communicate this far and wide, translate this into required action at team level, and show that employee effort directed to these activities is in fact valued. This is needed immediately, irrespective of
a leader's ability to predict or plan the future.
Connecting
the dots - how an employee makes a difference that
counts
Engagement will benefit when employees feel that they can personally make a difference, especially when they are making a difference to something that is seen as valuable and worthwhile.
For this to occur, each employee needs to
understand how they can, and
/ or how they are contributing to the achievement of the current organisational goals. A manager could attempt to do this for each
employee, but for true ownership and connection it's
probably more effective if each employee
is encouraged to show how they believe they are best able to support the organisation's current focus or goals. If an employee has any belief that what the organisation is focusing on is going to make a difference, then this approach will connect them personally to the heart of what the organisation is trying to achieve.
Alignment
of true-self and the organisation's valued activities
The meaningfulness that employees derive from what is being focused on as well as the meaningfulness derived from them being highly connected to these goals or focus areas is important. However a strong sense of meaningfulness is not just about completing a task or achieving an objective which you believe in and know you are capable of influencing.
Meaningfulness, and subsequently engagement will benefit when employees believe what they are being asked to focus on is a good use of their
ability, emotional energy and physical energy.
Does each employee believe that immersing themselves in pursuit of the defined organisation goals or areas of focus is the best use of their unique strengths and their emotional energy?
Asking them is a good way to find out. What to do with this snapshot view and how to create better alignment is another topic in itself, but knowing what team members are thinking about their own potential to contribute is a good initial step toward ensuring that employees’ contributions are perceived by them to be highly meaningful and therefore
a positive influence on engagement.
The
Po!nt: This article
is not about performance management or management by
objectives even though it did talk about
goal clarification and alignment. Like all the other articles in this series it
is in fact about unleashing what is within employees and connecting
this with the organisation. This
can't simply be driven through
management by objectives. What
managers can do is to ensure employee
focus, passion and effort is meaningful
to the organisation in it's current context.
They can also ensure that each employee sees
how their unique contribution is making a difference and that
this contribution is both valuable to the
organisation and valued by it.
Managers can also further unleash each employee's
true and fully engaged self by striving to
achieve the best fit between current organisational needs
and the way in which each employee
most passionately believes they can
contribute.
|
