Outlook Business magazine in India and HiringSmart.com in Toronto published articles on connection, employee engagement and alignment. The articles are entitled, respectively, “Connect With Them” and “The Case for Connection at Work.”
Category Archives: Employee Engagement
Employee Engagement on Triple Bottom Line Radio
StrategyDriven Employee Engagement Podcast
This week I did an interview with Nathan Ives of StrategyDriven about leadership, employee engagement, productivity and innovation. You can hear it at this link.
David Zinger’s “Zengage”
Congratulations and happy birthday to my friend David Zinger, founder of the Employee Engagement Network. David’s book entitled Zengage is off to a great start and he’s already donating profits of $2,160 to flood relief and a women’s shelter. Here’s what I wrote earlier about the book:
The Pride Paradox
Michael Lee Stallard and Jason Pankau
In a recent post, I (Michael) wrote about a leader who imparted his values to the people he was responsible for leading at work and to his children. In this post, we’ll address the “pride paradox” that relates to values.
Imparting one’s values to others and judging them based on their values has the potential to create a culture of self-righteousness and legalism. Mark Twain alluded to this when he described some people as “good in the worst sense of the word.”
Don’t get us wrong, great leaders impart their values to others and judge others by their values. Herein lies the paradox. Some leaders who do this fail to develop what is arguably the most important character value: humility.
Leadership, Employee Engagement and Innovation at BIF-6 Summit
Last week I attended the 2010 Business Innovation Factory Collaborative Innovation Summit in Providence, Rhode Island (referred to as BIF-6). There were so many thoughtful presentations that I hesitate to merely highlight a few. After taking a couple days to mull it over I’ve decided to select a few presentations that will be most relevant to the themes I typically write and speak about i.e. leadership, connection, employee engagement, productivity and innovation. Below are brief descriptions of several presentations from the conference. For those who want to hear these or other presentations, you can access them at this link.
People, Planet, Profit – Triple Bottom Line Radio
On September 29 at 7:00 PM Eastern I’ll be joining hosts Angelo Fernando and Derrick Mains on their Triple Bottom Line radio program that addresses issues related to people, planet and profit. Check out their website at this link. You can listen to the program in the Phoenix area on KFNX 1100 AM, listen to it streaming live, and even participate by calling in at (866)536-1100 or tweeting @your3bl.
Best Posts on Leadership from Top Bloggers
Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership hosted this month’s leadership carnival that features best blog posts of top bloggers on leadership. Here’s what Dan wrote about it:
Welcome to the September 5th, 2010 Leadership Development Carnival Back to Football edition! Yes, Fall is in the air, and the NFL kicks off it’s season this Thursday with a rematch of last year’s NFC championship game – the Saints and the Vikings.
To get in the spirit of the season, this month’s Carnival is set up as if you’re watching the big game, from tailgating to post game highlights. So grab your favorite snack and beverage and get ready for some championship caliber leadership development advice and opinions from some of the best bloggers in the league.
Best Government Places to Work: Congrats to Our Clients!
Congratulations to our U.S. federal government clients the GAO, GSA and NASA for placing in the top 10 best government places to work according to research conducted annually by Partnership for Public Service.
To Impart Your Values
How do you impart values to the people you are responsible for leading, including your children? Recently I had the opportunity to watch a leader who does this well. I’d like to share three critical actions that I believe are necessary to impart your values and I think you will be inspired by and learn from his example.
1. Communicate Your Values, Upfront and Often
Leaders need to lead courageously by telling people what they believe. Ted (not his real name) has developed a small, pocket-sized, laminated card that describes his values and has given the card to all of the employees of his company. The contents on the card define what behavior Ted expects of himself and of the people he is responsible for leading. Each morning a one-page sheet entitled “Connect” is circulated throughout Ted’s company that includes a story about employees living out one of the values. Work groups meet briefly each morning to review the Connect sheet.
One morning I attended a session that Ted holds each week with his leadership team and a select number of potential leaders. There were about 30 people in attendance. Ted stood upfront where he spoke and facilitated the session. During the time the group discussed one chapter in a leadership book they were reading together. About one-third of the 60-90 minutes session is set aside for small group deliberations. The material they covered the day of my visit was on the value that is most important to Ted: caring about people. Studying great books is an ideal way to learn and grow, and to bring the team together. This shared practice also helps maintain awareness of and reinforce the importance of Ted’s values.
2. Live Your Values Daily
It is said that values are caught not taught. I don’t agree. Values are taught and caught. Both are critical.