Going Beyond Engagement

As CLOs have long been aware, employee engagement can make or break an organization. And engagement is rooted in leadership development and delegation. People are most engaged when they can trust in their organization’s future, and they feel most engaged when they are empowered to provide extraordinary service during an ordinary day. It is this give and take on the part of both the employer and the employee that creates the most powerful workplaces.

“Employee engagement is the art and science of engaging people in authentic and recognized connections to strategy, roles, performance, organization, community, relationships, customers, development, energy and happiness to leverage, sustain and transform work into results,” said David Zinger, a consultant specializing in employee engagement.

The message is clear: Employee engagement produces results. The Gallup Organization echoes this, indicating that engaged employees are more productive. According to Gallup, “They are more profitable, more customer-focused, safer and more likely to withstand temptations to leave.”

This suggests a euphoric work environment, one where work itself is exciting and fulfilling. But a key catalyst to employee engagement is providing staff with a great deal in the way of resources, which can be prohibitively expensive. No modern organization’s leader would ignore his or her fiscal responsibilities in favor of engagement. So then how can organizations fully engage their employees without breaking the bank?

The answer is stewardship. In an organizational context, stewardship refers to management’s responsibility to properly utilize and develop its resources, including its people, property and financial assets. Leaders within organizations need to walk the talk, showing a united front that makes it clear that everyone’s oars are in the water, rowing in the same direction and on course.

Transparency is a key element of organizational stewardship. To be true stewards of the organization, leaders need to communicate with employees. When leaders of an organization avoid communicating bad news, the grapevine will buzz constantly, and the gossip will be significantly more negative than the truth. Communication allows for employees and employers to be curious and discover what is truly possible for the greatest success. This curiosity allows everyone to question and explore perceptions that open the view of the system that makes the organization function.