Responsibility, empowerment, accountability, alignment, ownership,… key factors people use to describe their success at work and the same factors frustrated folks use to communicate their aggravation.
What brings out the best in people professionally?
People perform at their best when they are engaged, attentive to a goal or motivation, and taking concentrated and focused action. When this occurs in athletics, some call it being “in the zone”, rowers call it “swing”, others call it “flow.” In Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life, Mihali Csikszentmihalyi describes “flow” as being completely focused on your current activity, unaware of time, feeling in control, and being exceptionally productive.
In an ongoing study of workplace performance, the Gallup Organization characterizes three types of worker engagement:
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Engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the organization forward.” - “Not engaged employees are essentially ‘checked out.’ They’re sleepwalking through their workday, putting time—but not energy or passion—into their work.”
- “Actively disengaged employees aren’t just unhappy at work, they’re busy acting out their unhappiness. Every day these workers undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.”
Based on their research, the Gallup Organization found only 27% of workers are engaged, while 59% are not engaged, and 14% are actively disengaged. Ouch!
How can I help unengaged workers become engaged workers? Do I just recruit and hire the one-in-four who are engaged? [Read more...]
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