Andrés Tapia has a compelling vision. Tapia believes demographic changes and the complex set of problems facing humankind will force the integration of knowledge from the silos that much knowledge resides in today. As an example, Tapia points to the field of behavioral economics that integrates knowledge from the fields of psychology and economics. As part of this trend, Tapia argues that the physical and social separation of people based on their differences will also move toward integration. He describes this vision as Diversity 2.0.
Tag Archives: employee retention
New Linkage Program Based on Fired Up or Burned Out
Linkage, the global organizational development company, just released a new e-learning program entitled “Fired Up Leadership.” The program features Jason Pankau and me in a 90 minute video format that concludes a Q&A with Linkage Senior Vice President Rich Rosier.
A Test of Google’s Character
I hope Google is considering what I presented at it’s Mountain View, California headquarters last summer as it decides how to respond to the Chinese government’s apparent hacking of Google’s servers to access information on Chinese human rights protestors. If evidence becomes clear that the Chinese government is responsible for the attack, Google’s response will have an significant effect on the firm’s reputation, consumer brand, employer brand and employee engagement. This is a test of Google’s corporate character and whether or not it will live up to its aspiration “don’t be evil” and its belief in supporting a free marketplace of ideas. Human rights abuses and censorship in China are no secret. To be indifferent to China’s actions in this instance, however, is to provide silent assent. What company or leader would want such a legacy?
The Chinese Government-Google showdown reminds me of a line from Elie Wiesel’s profound speech entitled “The Perils of Indifference.” In it, Wiesel states:
“Why did some of America’s largest corporations continue to do business with Hitler’s Germany until 1942? It has been suggested, and it was documented, that the Wehrmacht could not have conducted its invasion of France without oil obtained from American sources. How is one to explain their indifference?”
It would be wise for Google’s leaders to read Wiesel’s speech and consider how history will eventually record their decision. Some decisions reflect inflection points for a firm and for history itself. As historian David McCullough reminds us in the preface to his book Brave Companions,
“…while there are indeed great, often unfathomable forces in history before which even the most exceptional of individuals seem insignificant, the wonder is how often events turn upon a single personality, or the quality we call character.”
This can be said for corporate character too.
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Note: Above is a video of a presentation I gave on leadership, employee engagement, productivity and innovation at Google’s corporate headquarters, the Googleplex, last summer. On this rare occasion, I presented alone. Normally I present with my colleague Jason Pankau because better together. As Jason says, “Mike’s the serious one, I’m the fun one.”
The Indifferent Workplace
Recent research from the Corporate Advisory Board shows that 90 percent of employees are not engaged or their behavior is not aligned with organizational goals. Certainly, the recession and layoffs have contributed to this state of malaise in the workplace. It’s not the only cause, however. Jealousies, personal rivalries, silo behavior, and incivility have also harmed the spirits of people at work. The primary culprit, I believe, is indifference.
The Indifferent Workplace is one where people are so busy attending to tasks that they largely ignore one another. The predominant attitude in the Indifferent Workplace is that work is work and my real life is outside of work. Never shall the two meet. To adopt this mindset is to compartmentalize one’s life. Humanity is relegated to life outside of work. Work is all task. The problem is that life goes on at work too. We spend much of our waking hours at work. Recent neuroscience research shows that the environment we live in affects us down to the gene transcription level. For good or ill, we pass these changes on to our progeny. If our work environment doesn’t have meaning and healthy social interaction where we get to know the people we work with as human beings, rather than always interacting with them as human doings, it has a negative effect on our physical and mental health as well as our performance.
This year, I want you to join me in pushing back the forces of indifference at work. When you pass people in a hallway or see them in an elevator, make eye contact and say hello. Purchase a notebook and write down the names of the people you most frequently come in contact with at work. Periodically ask each person to go to lunch or meet you for coffee. Learn where they were born and grew up, what their interests are outside of work, who they admire and what movies, music and television shows they like and why? Also learn how you can help them. Write what you learn about them in your notebook and it will help you remember. If they are facing a difficult time in life, reach out to help or encourage them in some way. Send them a note or do something to delight them. One of my favorites is a gift card to Starbucks or something fun like a package of Ben and Jerry’s ice creams ordered through www.icecreamsource.com (they arrive in a box with dry ice).
As human beings the busyness of life can make us drift toward indifference. For that reason, we must be intentional about valuing people and fighting the creeping forces of indifference. Left unopposed, indifference breeds dehumanization, incivility and violence. Finally, I encourage you to read or listen to Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel’s speech “The Perils of Indifference.” It provides insight about indifference from one who has witnessed it at its extreme, felt it’s sting and thoughtfully reflected on its nature and dangers.
Strengthen Employee Brand, Employee Engagement, Employee Retention and Strategic Alignment
When organizational cultures value people, they achieve higher rates of employee engagement and retention. They also benefit from stronger employer brand (as the word spreads that they value people) and tighter strategic alignment (when employees who feel valued want to advance the organization’s interests). I just wrote a post about this topic for the Human Capital Institute’s blog. In the post, I tell the story of how Admiral Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) for the U.S. Navy, increased the element of Human Value in the Navy’s culture and the effect it had on first term reenlistment rates. You can read more about it at this link or below.
NY, NJ & CT Last in Happiness, Why?
The New York Times reported that a recent research study rated the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) dead last of the 50 states when it came to the self-reported happiness of state residents. The survey points out there is a high correlation between self-reported happiness and objective measures of happiness such as congestion, time spent commuting, housing prices, air quality, etc. No doubt there is some truth to this. I have another theory, however.
The tri-state area is the achieve-aholic capital of America. Remember Frank Sinatra’s ode to New York: “if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” New York attracts the ambitious and often, ambition is about status. People with a burning desire for status come to New York to prove themselves as media stars, bankers and traders on Wall Street, performers on Broadway, etc., etc., etc. The problem is that chasing status is a never ending game. There’s always someone above you and the achieve-aholic can’t get enough. Personal wealth is the primary measure of status on Wall Street. Many Wall Streeters have a number — referred to as the “F— You number” — they want to reach so they can tell their firms “I’m outta here.” Research has shown that the FU number is always going up because they need more houses, more art in their collection, more money for philanthropy to build their legacy. Of course they don’t really need these things but a sense of continuous status anxiety makes them feel the never ending need to boost their status relative to others. Once again it comes back to status and having more than the next guy.
Psychology research has shown that extrinsic motivators — doing something to impress someone else such as status-chasing — fail to provide happiness. Only intrinsic motivators such as meaningful work that contributes to society and meaningful relationships (i.e. connection) produce happiness. With so many people in the tri-state area working such long hours and commuting to and from work, it’s no wonder that they’re not so happy. The wise perspective is one of balance. The good life includes meaningful work and meaningful relationships. At times there will be imbalance among the two needs. If imbalance becomes chronic, however, it’s a recipe for disaster. This applies to individuals and organizations.
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Michael Lee Stallard speaks, teaches and writes about leadership, employee engagement, productivity and innovation at leading organizations including Google, GE, NASA, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia. Most recently, Michael and his colleague Jason Pankau filmed a 90-minute program for Linkage’s Thought Leaders Series that will be released in January of 2010. Michael wrote the guest editorial for Talent Management magazine’s January 2010 edition and last month his article on how the force of connection boosts productivity and innovation was featured as the lead article in the UK’s Developing HR Strategy Journal. Click on these links to learn more about Michael and Jason in the media and their speaking engagements.
Creating a Culture that Attracts (and Retains) Talent
The first in a series of blog posts I wrote entitled, “Creating a Culture That Attracts (and Retains) Talent” was posted yesterday on the Human Capital Institute’s new blog at this link.
Upcoming Webcasts on Employee Engagement and Social Media
Tomorrow at 11 AM Eastern I will be presenting a 30 minute webcast on Connection Cultures and how they increase employee engagement. This is just one in a series of webcasts I’m hosting at the Leadership and Employee Engagement channel of BrightTALK. In the coming weeks a number of great guests will be sharing their insights about employee engagement including Kristina Patrick, Senior Project Manager for Outreach & Business Development at H&R Block, Larry Ackerman, CEO of The Identity Circle and one of the leading experts today on corporate and individual identity, Marc Effron , VP of Talent Management at Avon and head of The New Talent Management Network, and Paul Spiegalman, CEO of Beryl Companies and author of Why Is Everyone Smiling?. Although some of the webcasts are not yet scheduled, you can sign up for my webcast on Connection Cultures and the webcast with Kristina Patrick of H&R Block by clicking employee engagement.
Buzz: Marshall Goldsmith Endorsement, Second Printing, Now in Vietnamese, Speaking Engagements
Fired Up or Burned Out continues selling well even though we don’t have a radio, tv or periodical “platform,” as publishing industry people call it. The book has spread mostly by word of mouth. Good things keep happening. Here are a few. Next week the second English language printing arrives. The book was just published in Vietnamese. Best-selling author and executive coach Marshall Goldsmith recently wrote an endorsement of it.
I’m also receiving a growing number of invitations to speak, write and do interviews. In the coming months I will speak at several companies as well as at the American Management Association, the Wharton Alumni Club, the University of Pennsylvania Club, the Marketing Executives Networking Group, the Advanced Learning Institute, AthenaOnline and the Society for Human Resource Management. Articles I authored or about our work were recently published in Chief Learning Officer magazine, The Economic Times, Moving Ahead, and Live Mint. Upcoming articles about our work will be published in M World: The Journal of the American Management Association and Rotman.
What does it all mean? In addition to the growing word of mouth buzz about Fired Up or Burned Out, the interest in employee engagement is rapidly increasing as companies find it difficult to recruit and retain people in certain areas such as technology, healthcare, retail and oil and gas. Companies have also told me they find it difficult to recruit and retain Generation Y workers. Interest in increasing employee engagement is just beginning. Increasing labor shortages and the competitive effects of globalization make this inevitable.
Amazing Things Are Happening Here!
Last year Leader to Leader published a article Jason Pankau and I wrote entitled “Strengthening Human Value in Organizational Cultures.” Previously, the article was only available to Leader to Leader’s subscribers or those who paid for a download from the internet. Leader to Leader has given us permission to post the paper on our blog so here it is. The article begins with a remarkable story about New York-Presbyterian Hospital System and its CEO Dr. Herbert Pardes. New York-Presbyterian presently uses the tag line “amazing things are happening here” in its advertising and other written communications. Read the article and I think you’ll agree.