I Don't Buy it That All Employees Are Engaged

I have heard a few people assert that employees are not disengaged, they might just not be engaged in what we want. Under this scenario, the job for managers is to redirect the employee's engagement. And I think this is true for some employees and managers need to learn how to tap into their employees' engagement.

AND I also think that some employees are not engaged - not engaged in what we want, not engaged in work, not engaged in their families, not engaged in their community, not engaged in their health, not engaged period. This is a tougher management challenge because the root cause likely has nothing to do with you.

A few years back, I might have been in the "everyone is engaged" camp, but I have seen and met several folks who are not engaged in any aspect of their lives, and honestly, I have suffered a few temporary bouts of disengagement myself. It feels quite aweful.

What is a manager to do? The folks I have known have benefited from help getting their lives refocused. A few, however, were so disinterested that they did not want to make the effort to try. Does your company have resources to allow folks coaching? Have a conversation with your employees and discover if there is any way you can support them.

Health, wealth, and success - or lack of these things - can take a toll on folks and might be the cause of disengagement. As a forty-something woman, I have had suffered the usual middle age biochemical changes (lower hormones, low thyroid, sleep disturbances, vitamin D deficiency, and several other imbalances). Apparently my body thinks it is done and ready to be put out to pasture..... I share all this information not to drum up sympathy (cash and gifts are always welcome) but to highlight a common health cause of disengagement for "mature" professionals. There are other reasons and causes. And think about the toll the economy has taken on some people. And then there is seasonal depression. And, and, and.

As you know if you have read Two Weeks to a Breakthrough, I am a big supporter of taking ownership and turning things around. And even though I wrote the book about generating breakthroughs, I have sometimes struggled to get engaged - in anything.

The point of this post is to encourage managers to build the close relationships they will need to learn how they can help their employees do their best work. If you have employees who seem unengaged in most aspects of their lives, do what you can to help them get the support they need. 

Building an engaged team is worth the effort and I think it is more complex than, "they are engaged, but just not in what you want." And for those of you who question whether disengagement caused by outside factors should be of interest to managers, here is my take. The primary job of the manager is manage and lead so that their employees can, and choose to, do their best work.

What do you think? Am I full of it? Do you think all employees are engaged in something?

Comments

[Jen Kuhn]

Excellent! You tackled a big "buzz phrase" (employee engagement) very well.
I agree that managers must go beyond the mundane, and reach out to their team as human beings. Yes, still hold people accountable for expectation and standards... At the same time, make the human connection so they know they are valued.
BTW... very difficult to post this to twitter... 2 attempts. Hope more people read this because it's fantastic.
Respectfully,
Jen

[Jodee Bock]

Lisa:

This is such a great perspective I haven't really thought about until now. When I only see the world through my point of view and expect that everyone does, it could become very difficult to understand what's going on for people who may have other things to deal with that cause them to be disengaged.

What if we really are each doing the best we can with the resources, information and awareness we currently have? As managers, instead of believing that everyone we manage has or should have an adequate set of coping skills, network, support system and resources in place to be engaged in all aspects of their lives, what if we worked on developing the mental muscle of perception, or point-of-view? And, as employees, what if we did the same thing regarding our managers?

Thank you, Lisa, for continuing to challenge my thinking. That's just one of the reasons I appreciate you so much!!

(BTW check out my new blog www.riskfulthinking.com. I'm going to write about this today!)

[lisa haneberg]

Jen: thanks for your thoughts and sorry about the Twitter issues. Human connection is the key word, here, and somethings the ways we were ablet o connect last week won't work this week (or from person to person).

[lisa haneberg]

Jody:

I hope you stay dry up there in watery Fargo, BTW. And I LOVE the look of your new blog, it is very interesting.

You put this very well and I think a focus on perception and point-of-view would be helpful. These are important elements of Emotional Intelligence, in all this, too.

Some people may have had the coping skills, but then find a new challenge to be uniquely daunting. And sometimes its the droning on of stressful or tiring work that causes disengagement. Being engaged takes energy, after all, and some people have depleted their reserves and are making it through the day by jacking themselves up with Diet Cokes and Red Bulls.

Everyone can be engaged, but some will need to take a vastly different path to restore their interest and passion.

And I don't want this post to let managers off the hook, because I think there are a lot of folks who are engaged, but just not on those things we need them to be engaged in.

[Jodee Bock]

Thanks, Lisa - the entire Fargo-Moorhead flood situation begs a whole new blog post, so I'll take that on in a future musing. Thank you for your thoughts! We are thriving in our hustle and bustle - all is well and we've got the situation under control!

Here's some reading material from today's local paper about our hardy North Dakota/Minnesota attitudes ... http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/272388/group/Opinion/

[Dave Moran]

Lisa,

Great post! I like to believe that employees are engaged, unfortunately they might not be engaged in the areas that you need them to be. And some people are not engaged at work in the least.

My take is that engagement comes from within; management can help foster greater engagement or negate it. In some cases people need a better match between their desired work and what they are doing now, but the desire and willingness -- actual engagement -- comes from the employee.

[Brian Landi]

Hi Lisa,
Great topic! I have also in my own career experiences suffered bouts of dispondency. Looking back it is hard to put my finger on exactly why that is but the fact is they happen to all of us.
There are a couple of things that have worked effectively for me to "get out of the rut".
1. When a colleague who I respect says "Hey Man, what's up with you? You haven't been yourself lately." So often we we are disengaged we are living within our own heads and unaware that other people notice. Having it pointed out to me always embarasses and irks me in a positive way usually to snap out of it.
2. Get out of the office and meet new people. I forget how fun it is to talk to people about what I do and learn about what they do. When I am put into a situation with new faces I have to play the part and doing that helps me get back in the groove.
3. Just take a deep breath and think about times before when I felt like this and how insignificant it seems to me now.

When I see others becoming disengaged I try to share some of these experiences with them. They ultimately have to take the initiative thought.

Also, I just launched my blog Bits of Business www.bitsofbusinessblog.com where I plan to share some of my business experiences and ask others, like you have, to join in the discussion.

Thanks!

[Tina Del Buono, PMAC]

Great article, I totally argree with where you are coming from. It takes a lot of work, effort and caring to develop a team that can bond together. Although there are times I feel more like the babysitter than team leader, it is all worth it when I see them supporting each other and investing in making the team stronger. It is the relationships that are the mortar that hold the team together. I have also just launched a blog for my www.gotoppm.com website. http://ppm4u.wordpress.com/
great info!

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