1. Perhaps Employee Engagement is at the heart of accomplishing organizational goals more than ever. Two questions must be considered if there’s room for improvement in this area. How will you go about gaining greater engagement? Do leaders know all they need to know in order to fully support employee engagement? If not, don’t count on upticks in continuous improvement, increased communication between layers in the org or between sites, morale, or productivity. If these two issues are not addressed properly, resources are likely to be directed toward covering for missed work, employee retention, missed communication opportunities, and spinning the story. Instead of spending resources on the clean-up, consider preparing everyone to increase engagement.

2. As pressure for increased performance continues to climb, set a direction for the organization regarding healthy ways to accomplish the goals. Some organizations have tapped their people for as much time and effort as humanly possible. This approach may be as involved as a culture shift or as simple as a productivity plan. It’s time to go beyond making expectations clear and measuring results. It’s time to re-think the possible and the plans to reach it.

3. Communication continues to be of supreme importance as we seek to do more … possibly with less. It must be tackled from a top down perspective, with particular emphasis on ensuring that middle management communicate clearly, concisely, and in a manner well-received by their employees (direct and in-direct). Supervisors must be kept informed of plans and changes and must be able to get the message to the operator level in a way that represents well the intentions of the owners. Additionally the culture must encourage (by word and deed), even expect, operator-level employees to communicate upwards. And not only when their manager is not listening. Remember this: Don’t plan all of your time each day. Otherwise you will miss what others are saying to you and you are not likely to communicate all you need to.

4. Preparing Successors with leadership skills is just as important as ensuring they have the necessary technical knowledge. Otherwise the culture of the organization hangs in the balance.

For more information on any of these important issues for 2012, contact Jo Umberger, President and CEO, Umberger Development Partners Inc., at JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com.

Copyright Umberger Development Partners Inc., 2012. All rights reserved. Do not reprint without permission.

1. What percentage of your employees (especially the hourly ones) take a high degree of ownership over their work and their results?

2. What percentage of this group comes to work every day looking for ways to continually improve quality, productivity, sales, processes, engagement, and/or safety?

Consider what would happen to customer service and bottom line results if most were fully engaged, based on these two criteria!

How helpful would it be for you to know what your employees really think about matters related to engagement? Ask about a free trial of our on-line survey for 10 of your employees (anonymous, of course!) so you can know.

Drop me a note at JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com to request your free trial.

1. Consider long-term consequences of potential solutions to what may appear at first glance to be short-term problems.

2. When you’ve checked the facts and the stakes of a decision are extremely high, check them again using different sources.

3. Define terms to manage expectations.

4. Continually question whether your decisions are based on realities.

5. Involve others in the organization in creating the corporate values. Take these values into account when creating priorities. Communicate clearly to everyone which shared values you are upholding when decisions are announced.

6. Build credibility on the influence that comes from character rather than on positional power.

7. Seek advice from many counselors, not exclusively from those whose jobs are dependent upon your retaining them.

8. Don’t let your celebrity status (leadership position) lead you to believe you are above the standards that others are expected to follow. In fact, if you have celebrity status, realize that others expect you to live by a higher standard.

How many people can you say these magic words to today?

When we are not held personally responsible for the results of the financial decisions of the entire organization, it’s easier to look out for our special interests. In fact, we may not even realize that they are considered “special interests” by those whose job it is to have the bigger perspective. If we are doing things the way we’ve always done them and this serves the needs of those we are responsible to serve, we probably don’t even realize the implications on others of our decisions.

Here are a few points to consider when we are in this predicament.

1. Someone else is bearing the brunt of the financial risks of the organization. This includes hiring me.

2. The only way employees will have the opportunity to work for this organization is if it is profitable. That means that the owners/shareholders meet their earnings quotas.

3. Therefore, part of my job is to do whatever I can to help the organization make/save money, including using my influence to encourage others to do the same.

What is one way you can save the organization $10,000? How about $100,000? If you think this is impossible, request the Financial Savings Calculator at JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com.

How do you break through that battle of the mind to gain their attention so you can communicate your message?

1. Know your audience or prospective audience. Know their key frustrations/problems/challenges and how your message will help relieve one or more of these.

2. Craft a concise, compelling, head-turning question or statement.

3. Choose more than one delivery mode if necessary. Email, telephone, LinkedIn message, US Mail, small package containing a book, greeting card . . . you may have to test several if you don’t know their preference.

4. Your message must contain a call to action. What do you want them to do?

5. When you have their attention, keep it. Don’t be a messenger of doom and gloom; however, agree with them that their situation is bad.

6. Give evidence THAT you can help but don’t actually help them until the time is right. For example, until the deal is signed.

NOW you have their attention. You have broken through the clutter. NOW you can deliver your message. Now do it well.

Whose attention do you need?

What’s on the line if you don’t get your message across?

How proficient are you at getting their attention and communicating in a concise and compelling fashion?

These are some of the communication goals we have helped many of our clients achieve. Contact me at JoUmberger@TrainSpeakCoach.com to get your message to the right audience.

People need a reason to propel them to things differently . . . but they need more than any reason. They need reason enough. They need a reason so compelling that,  after examining it themselves to determine if they buy into the reason, they take ownership and begin considering their options.

Of course taking ownership isn’t so easy in every organization. Sometimes authority figures won’t give people the power to own their course of action, even within boundaries. At that point, people feel stifled. Their ideas don’t count. Their attention was at the point where they were ready to take action.  But if they can’t own part of the solution, their attention is likely to be diverted. “Let someone else put out the fire.” They get bored with acting like a robot. They lose focus. They lose morale.

Leaders who empower their workforce set the rules of empowerment, give people a chance to experience the freedom and fun that come with taking ownership (engaging), wean employees from having to be told what/how/when, remain patient when mistakes are made and refrain from pointing fingers, and celebrate wins with recognition and rewards.

But the change begins with a really compelling reason. Perhaps market conditions. Perhaps a new law that negatively affects the business. Or perhaps the leaders simply communicate realities unknown to the workforce in a compelling fashion, inspiring them to sit up and take notice. To buy-in. To engage mind and heart.

But take heed, when people believe their platform is burning, they are more likely to want to help put out the fire!

(1) As the leader, you set the ground rules. Clearly state the scope of authority you are delegating and check for understanding. (2) Engage their minds by seeking their  input (at various levels as they prove their ability) and engage their hearts by helping them connect the desired outcome to their personal values. (3)Ensure they have the skills, judgment, and other tools necessary to accomplish the work. (4) Delegate authority in steps, gradually allowing more room for the person to excel. (5) Embrace the learning that comes from mistakes, rather than punish employees for taking calculated risks. (6) Gradually reduce the amount and depth of reporting to you as they become more adept at initiating and implementing the necessary work.

Of course there are no guarantees that everything will work out just as you would have it . . . but inherent in empowerment is that a leader is gradually mentoring others to own their work and their results.

There are several techniques for helping to build the confidence needed for leaders and employees alike to move forward with empowerment. We’ll deal first with learning to deal with mistakes, as it can be one of the biggest roadblocks to empowerment.

In a Command & Control environment, everyone is focused on identifying WHO made the mistake. (Blame often follows.) In an empowered environment, everyone is focused on WHAT can be learned when a mistake is made and the learning is documented.

In a Command & Control environment, most (or all) mistakes are labelled as BAD. In an empowered environment, mistakes are CELEBRATED because the team is one step closer to improving the process.

In an empowered environment, people clearly understand the rules of the game. They know the boundaries. They are expected to play the game to the best of their ability. They are encouraged to take calculated risks in order to improve their processes.

Next: Taking the Scary out of Empowerment–Who’s in Control Here?