3 mercurial vapors 3. That which engages; engrossing occupation; employment of the attention; obligation by pledge, promise, or contract an enterprise embarked in.
I believe we can gain some ideas about engaging our teams by taking a lead from each of the three definitions - namely, "external contest", "pledge to take on" and "engrossing" mercurial vapors 3.What happens in practise Do organisations engage their people by "defining the contest", "getting them to pledge their commitment" and "providing engrossing challenges"In their studies of some 300 organisations who were actively working on engagement strategies, the Corporate Leadership Council summarised the strategies of the more successful organisations.
Can you see the three elements of engagement in their strategiesThe successful strategies were:* Diagnosing the urgency of the engagement challenge* Determining the organizational strategy that engages managers and employees* Creating engagement opportunities to enable employee contribution* Framing an engaging structure that builds organizational credibility with employees* Benchmarking engagement over time for continuous improvementHere are some tips for building engagement within your team that I have used successfully mercurial vapors 3.1. Define the external contestPeople often work best together and pull together as a team, when they are faced with some kind of external threat that is common to everyone in the team.
You may have experienced this yourself at some stage mercurial vapors 3. For instance, this often happens in cases of takeovers and mergers where people who might previously have been a loose working group (sometimes with not a lot in common) are suddenly faced with an external threat that they can't quite understand or manage.
Often in these situations, they focus on the things they can manage and the things they do have in common. The external "they" or "them" becomes the common enemy that they can all relate to - they rally around one another to fight this common enemy. Something out there in the environment has come to be seen as a common threat and so, they bond successfully together as a team to fight the common enemy.But people can also pull together and become very effective as a team when they have a common positive external pressure, such as winning a contest, or being seen as the "best" team. As a team leader, the secret is to identify what in the external environment might be the threats and opportunities the team can bond around.2. Get team members to pledge their commitmentDoes this mean getting them to sign a formal document, or have them all stand and sing the company song Hardly (although I have heard of organisations doing just that). What it does mean is getting your team members on board by being attuned to their values and motives and aligning these with your team direction. How do you do this At the end of this article, I will outline how you can run a workshop that embodies commitment.3. Provide engrossing challengesIt will be extremely difficult to get team member engagement if the work that your team members do is dull and boring. All the studies of motivation over the last 50 years include at least the following to build motivation:* Achievement - people need to see results for what they do. Make sure that their work is able to be measured, preferably by each team member themselves.* Recognition for achievement - praise and recognise team members for the work that they do well. Encourage team members to praise one another. Set the example and build a culture of recognition by finding at least one of your team members doing something well every day and praise them for it.* Responsibility - encourage people to take responsibility for their actions. Allow them to make decisions (without the need to refer to you) within their area of responsibility.* Meaningful, interesting work - ensure the work is meaningful to each individual. Assign people to work that they find satisfying. Look for ways to make the work more interesting - get your team members involved by asking for their ideas on how to make their jobs more interesting.* Growth and advancement - provide team members with the opportunity to develop themselves both personally and professionally. Your aim is to have the most marketable team members in the organisation. You will know when you are successful at this, when your fellow managers keep wanting your people to join their team. When you develop this type of team culture, you'll have people lining up at your door
 |
Create A Free Website With WebStarts.com
|
