Evolved…Engaging People, Enhancing Success

Leadership is in trouble.

One only has to look towards Washington, DC to see how the lack of leadership impacts us all. With a divided government over the past several years, there is a great deal of finger pointing from various sides, but no clear solutions. Laws are passed that don’t make sense to the American people. Congress fights across the aisles and spirited, honorable debate is missing. Accusations, name-calling and dirty tricks abound. Why? It seems politics have trumped statesmanship. Zero sum games, where I win and you lose seem everywhere. We seem divided rather than united.

The real losers in this game are the American people.

But it’s not just Washington that has leadership issues. Over a decade since the first published report on employee engagement surfaced, engagement remains stagnant. There has been no change in this important dynamic for many years. Somewhere along the way we have lost employee’s desire to contribute to their organization. This lack of willingness affects society in general and individuals in particular. For example, absenteeism is almost 40% worse for organizations with disengaged employees. Turnover in less than engaged organizations is 60% worse. These are manageable costs but we have accepted both too readily. And there are other costs, too. Greater employee theft, poor safety performance, reduced quality and overall profitability all factor into the equation.

We are now in a connected world which calls for a different brand of leadership. The evolved leader is required to have a set of competencies different from the past. A different model of leader helps achieve new skillsets and competencies. Employee engagement not only holds the key to success but our survival as a robust US economy, as well. To do so requires us to continuously evaluate things.

We must do something significantly different from what we have been doing. Studies and insights indicate we are facing an uninspired workforce. This cannot lead to positive outcomes. About 19 million people left their jobs in 2013, costing upwards of two trillion dollars in terms of employee churn. What makes an employee stay? There are very simple things leadership is able to do to make them feel appreciated, inclusive and...engaged. However, consider the following results which influence reasons people stay with their employer.  48% stay because they have a good manager  46% feel they are appreciated  39% stay for assumed job growth  35% for recognition of achievements  32% for the opportunity to develop new skills It’s time to evolve leadership.