A summarized extract from a series of internet articles by Peter Grazier

Most managers find it not so hard to get proficient in technical aspects of their work, in operations and in processes. But they often struggle with people related matters such as interpersonal communication, handling conflict, motivation, resistance to change etc because this has never been part of the curriculum in most universities other than in superficial ways.

Insights about such matters can be acquired in good training programs but of course on-the-job experience is the most valuable. For those who can’t wait, here’s some key things to remember about employee engagement in organizations, departmental groups and teams:

Everyone has something to contribute…and will if the environment is right.

Try not to place limitations on others, rather see them as reservoirs of knowledge and wisdom different from yours. Sometimes the most unlikely people can come up with brilliantly simple solutions to complex problems. Sometimes, it is a process of discovery of what switches a person or team member on; in some cases, some job sculpting may be necessary. The point is that most people have a great deal more to offer than we generally realize. If we can just create an environment that is reassuring and encourages contribution, more of their at talent will be directed toward the organization.

The human element is usually more important to address than the technical element.

All managers are aware of the words Motivation, Creativity, Maximum Potential, Recognition, Empowerment, Involvement, Self-Esteem, and Trust. If you ask for a show of hands on who’s familiar with Abraham Maslow’s concepts of motivation, most people will raise their hands. Then if you ask “How many of you practice these concepts in your day-to-day work?” the response is markedly different. Soon it becomes obvious that in many organizations, even though motivational principles have been taught to nearly every manager, seldom has there been an expectation that they would use these principles! Yet most organizations and their leadership would agree that whenever performance in a work group or organization soared or slumped, it could almost always be traced back to issues that impacted motivation…not technical issues.

Most decisions can be significantly improved through collaboration.

This is the underlying principle behind participative management and team-based problem solving. Even though the principle is simple to appreciate, it is more difficult to actualize. Why? This is because almost all of our training from childhood on has reinforced individual thinking and decision-making. Another form of conditioning came from our role models of “strong leadership”, or “gutsy and macho” managers making hard decisions independently. People who could make such hard, unilateral decisions got promoted faster. But we know now that the role of leadership is not about providing ready answers, it is more about leading a conversation about what questions to ask and tapping into the collective wisdom of groups and teams.

People Need Leaders to Engage

Yes, we have all heard about the concept of “the leaderless work group,” and yes there are postulations from some quarters that leadership is not needed or “there is no such thing as leadership”. But what we all know is that that work is more than just some tasks we perform each day. It is an activity that can provide dignity and meaning to our lives. Our workplace is a “second world” not too unlike the famous “Second Life” community of avatars. Such a community looks for guidance and approval that are best provided by a leader. Leaders typically have more expertise and the ability to point the direction. However, real leadership is in the eye of the follower. Followers want a leader who can inspire, who can make them significant, and who can provide them a sense of purpose and mission. Just being a nice guy doesn’t cut it any more.

Employee Engagement is NOT a one-off Program

Employee engagement stems from an internal belief about people and their ability and desire to contribute. This belief translates into leadership behaviors that involve the organization’s people more naturally in the thinking and decision-making processes. In other words, involvement and engagement becomes a natural way of operating rather than contrived programs. Participative management and employee engagement initiatives without convictions about the gifts people bring to the organization is a contradiction in terms

Continuous Improvement

Focusing on continuous improvement raises our consciousness of the thousands of tiny improvement opportunities that surround us each day, most in our own workspace. It also promotes the notion that one thousand improvements each contributing a 1% gain in performance is the same or even more valuable in some cases than one improvement contributing a 1000% gain. This is because they give more people a chance to feel ownership which then results in other benefits usually not counted in the analysis of benefits. Good leaders, therefore, become enthusiastic cheerleaders for continuous improvement concepts, encouraging people to look around their workspaces with a new set of eyes—seeing opportunities that have previously eluded us.

Return to Simplicity

Most humans tend to underestimate their capabilities. Somewhere in our early programming most of us failed to develop high levels of confidence in our ability to excel. As children, we were imaginative and creative in our play. But as we aged and moved through “the system,” we were generally encouraged to think and act more logically and less imaginatively. We tended to become more cautious when expressing ourselves, not wanting to expose ourselves to criticism, ridicule, or embarrassment. This environmental conditioning is a powerful driver of behavior that holds us back from reaching our full potential. Since our business culture has tended to reward “the big idea,” most employees feel incapable of contributing to the organization’s improvement process. How many of us have a “big idea” every few days that would save the organizations tens of thousands of dollars? This is where the simplicity of continuous improvement adds value. By changing the focus to small, daily improvements, confidence in one’s ability to contribute is raised.