The sad state of employee engagement – what’s a leader to do?

Posted on by

Gallup polls hundreds of thousands of employees around the world each year to answer one question – does your boss care about your well-being?

Call it employee engagement or morale – it’s an extremely important data point. There are ample studies that show a strong correlation between that data point and company performance.

“A highly engaged workforce means the difference between a company that outperforms its competitors and one that fails to grow.”

                                                                                                                        – Gallup

Both in the U.S. and around the world, employee engagement numbers haven’t changed much over the years. In the U.S., only 1 in 3 employees are excited about their work. Globally it’s worse – only 1 in 8 are fired up. Ugh! What’s a leader to do?

In early 2009 I was asked to give a leadership talk to a group of Army Officers at Madigan Army Medical Center in Takoma, Washington. At that time I was Commanding Officer of Naval Hospital Bremerton, one of the Navy’s 5 Family Medicine Teaching Hospitals, in Bremerton, Washington.

At that point in my career I had been in leadership positions for 25+ years. Having always been fascinated with the topic of leadership, I had read and studied many books on the topic. During all those years in the leadership cauldron, I experienced the profound power of both an uncaring leader and a caring leader.

 “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

  – Theodore Roosevelt

One primary goal I had while in command was simple. I wanted to show all staff members that I cared…because I did.

The question then became – what specific leadership behaviors would show that I care?

My good friends from the Army were compelling me to refine my thoughts on leadership into a formal presentation. Between my passion for the topic and the healthy rivalry between the Army and the Navy, I was pretty motivated. It was the first time I thought deeply about a topic I’ve always found intriguing.

While I’ve added much content over the years, that presentation to my Army colleagues in 2009 became the basic design for my current leadership seminars, as well as the book that I’m presently writing.

Getting back to the original question: given the sad state of employee engagement globally, what’s a leader to do?

The answer is simple: take time to learn the art of leadership.

In this season of my life my passion is to help others on their leadership journey. I’ve learned much of what works and what doesn’t work. I’ve made my share of mistakes and will share it all.

In future blogs I’ll tell personal stories and present some fascinating data that will help any leader convey a caring attitude, get employees excited about their work, and ultimately create high performing teams.

Welcome to my “Leadership Pearls” blog. Don’t forget….enjoy the journey!

Mark

Mark Brouker

Captain (Retired), United States Navy

Founder and President

Brouker Leadership Solutions

Getting Bad News:

Posted on by

How great leaders turn these crucible moments into opportunity.

As leaders, we all know the bad news is coming. It’s not a matter of if, but when.

Getting bad news is part of being a leader. John Maxwell would put these occasions into the category of “crucible moments” – those experiences that create who we are as leaders, and the culture we create.

All is not lost…there is good news here! While we cannot control the delivery of bad news, we can certainly control our behavior in response to the bad news. Therein lies incredible opportunity.

My last blog answered the question:

Which interactions between the leader and follower impact culture?

The answer – all interactions impacts culture.

Every organization generally has either a culture of fear or a culture of trust. Where the organization lands on this spectrum changes constantly. Think dynamic, unstable, fickle… and you’ll get a clear picture of the volatile nature as the culture vacillates on this spectrum.

Here is the important point: The endless movement toward trust or fear is driven primarily by the behaviors of the leader. Day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, second to second – the leader has hundreds of interactions each day to build trust and drive out fear. While all interactions impact this dynamic, certainly some interactions impact it more than others.

Where’s that good news I alluded to earlier?

Here it is: as much as we hate bad news, the truth is these are golden opportunities to build trust. How we react to the bad news is one of those interactions that will have a significant impact on the culture we create.  Maintain your composure, you’ll gain trust. React with anger, you’ll lose trust.

If you react with anger, less and less people will be willing to give you bad news. Blissful ignorance, better known as flying blind, is no place for a leader to be. You can’t solve problems that you’re unaware of. Disaster awaits the ill-informed leader.

On your leadership journey over the next couple of weeks, when the bad news comes, remember to be a great leader and think of it as a golden opportunity to build trust.

Your stomach will be churning and your brain will be swirling. That’s OK! While we can cannot control the delivery of bad news, we can certainly control our behavior in response to the bad news. The optimal response is to maintain your composure – show neither shock nor anger.

Remember, these are crucible moments that create who you are as a leader, and the culture you create.

Don’t forget….enjoy the journey!

Mark

Dr. Mark Brouker

Captain (Retired), United States Navy

Founder and President

Brouker Leadership Solutions

Which interactions between the leader and follower impact trust?

Posted on by

I ask this question at almost all of my leadership seminars.

Inevitably some deep thinker in the audience provides an answer along the lines of “those interactions that discuss your mission, vision, guiding principles are the most impactful”. Others will chime in with “interactions during business meetings”. Rarely, someone will recognize the importance of the “after hours/social event interactions”. These answers are all correct.

If I need to prod the audience to start the dialogue, I use the well-worn tactic that most teachers and facilitators have used for many years – I say that that there are no wrong answers to my question. In this case, that statement happens to be absolutely true!

Which interactions between the leader and follower impact trust?

The answer is simple – all interactions impacts trust.

Undeniably some interactions will impact trust more than others. For example, the casual and quick hallway “meeting” with the boss – you pass the boss in the hallway…she smiles, makes solid eye contact with you and joyfully states “Good morning!” While that interaction will not by itself increase trust to a significant degree, it will certainly move trust in the right direction.

Let’s assume the boss greets you as described above for 3 straight mornings – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. However, on Thursday morning she walks by you with her head down reading her phone…quickly looks at you…and goes right back to reading her phone. No smile. No greeting. How will that quick interaction impact trust? I think we’d all agree – not in a good way.

Other interactions will have more significant impacts on trust.
One very significant type of interaction that I often bring up at my seminars is how the leader reacts to bad news. [I’ll talk more about “reacting to bad news” in my April blog – don’t miss it!] As leaders, we all know the bad news is coming – it’s not a matter of if, but when. As much as we hate bad news, the truth is these are huge opportunities to build trust. Maintain your composure, you’ll gain trust. React with anger, you’ll lose trust.

All interaction impact trust.

Think about the power of this statement! A leader has literally hundreds of interactions with followers each and every day…and hundreds of opportunities to incrementally build trust. Unfortunately the opposite is equally true. Each day the leader’s behaviors during these interactions – on a second by second basis – can erode trust.

The truly great leaders understand that they are always on the big stage and constantly being scrutinized – they are fully aware that all interactions impact trust. They fully understand, respect and embrace this maxim. They see these hundreds of daily interactions for what they truly are – golden opportunities to build trust.

On your leadership journey over the next couple of weeks, be a great leader and find these opportunities. And don’t forget….enjoy the journey!

Mark

Dr. Mark Brouker
Captain (Retired), United States Navy
Founder and President
Brouker Leadership Solutions