In spite of the continued wave of trendy
training, “employee engagement” is not a program.
Yep, you heard
it here first. No matter what outside consultants are telling your
executives, HR department, and training people, employee engagement is
just not a corporate wide, culturally driven initiative.
Or at least, it shouldn’t be.
Then what is it?
It is what good
managers do.
Individual
managers, named Harry, Sylvia, Tish, Bob, Jeremy, and Jennifer. These are
the people who’ve been promoted to a position where they are now “the
boss” and good bosses recognize that they can’t do it alone. They need
staff who are dedicated, excited, and passionate about their work and
believe in the team’s goals—and skillful, too.
And how do managers get people to that level? How do they create
“engaged” people?
Good old-fashioned people management.
Sadly, that’s tough for some supervisors, since somebody chose to elevate
them but
didn’t help them elevate their skills.
As we've written before,
happens all the time. Organizations take an effective "individual
contributor," make them a manager—and
do nothing more!!!
I recently conducted a full day workshop for a venerable home appliance
company. A brand name you’d know. At one point I asked the management
team in the room, “How many of you have received quality management
skills training designed to give you the ability to manage people?”
Even though I’ve been in the training industry since 1986, I was stunned
to see fifteen folks stare back at me, each quietly shaking their heads. Not
one of them had been trained to take on the mantle of management.
And yet, this is where employee engagement begins … with the manager.
In our research, here is what “engaged employees” tell us their manager
does—regularly:
- My
boss communicates what I should do.
- He
talks to me—and listens.
- When
I get it right, she praises me.
- He
tells me when I am off track.
- I
am trained and coached.
- She
spends time with me.
- He
shows me respect.
Guess what? Every item listed above is a
people management
skill. A learnable, trainable skill. Not a “program.” These
are the things effective managers do, day in and day out, with and for
their people.
Are you a
manager? If so, congrats! But instead of waiting for the organization to
bring in yet another trendy training program, practice personal accountability—invest
in yourself—and go get some training. We certainly wouldn't want to ask a
victim thinking kind of question like,
"Why didn't they train me?" but rather The Question Behind the Question (QBQ):
"What can I
do to develop myself?"
Believe me, your dedicated, excited, passionate, and skilled people will
thank you for it.
Discussion
questions:
What was the best
people management training you’ve ever received?
What are the skills
needed to be an outstanding manager?
Comment here, we’d
love to hear from you!
John G. Miller
Author/Speaker
Denver, Colorado
John@QBQ.com
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