Category Archives: engagement

On-Going Learning for Optimal Engagement by Michelle Kunz

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Peak performers are known to be committed to on-going learning, among a number of other success-breeding habits and behaviors. As leaders we can use on-going learning as a tool for creating, maintaining and increasing team engagement, even if some on the team do not naturally gravitate to a personal habit of on-going learning.

As in other circumstances, the success of the approach depends on the presentation and on our personal level of commitment to the concept. Mandating a learning program creates yet another obligation, with accompanying low energy and engagement. Team members may participate, but buy-in and results may not reflect our desired outcome. Likewise, if we are not personally committed to on-going learning our ideas will be meaningless. Going beyond mere lip service, we can actively participate in learning opportunities, creating a culture of on-going learning that supports the entire organization.

The key in successfully presenting the concept initially may lie in showing team members how on-going learning benefits them. After all, everyone is busy with actual work – how can they possibly fit in learning? In this case, the employee is the proverbial client and you, the leader, become the sales person in the classic “WIIFM (What’s in it for Me?)” scenario. Once you show the individual the connection between shifting organizational requirements and the value of a highly flexible and versatile employee they are highly likely to see the benefit of investing in developing a strategy of on-going learning. With the increased potential in many organizations of an individual being shifted to different teams, the benefit of becoming a high asset team member as a result of a acquiring a high degree of knowledge which is consistently both broad and deep within the organization’s field of expertise quickly becomes very clear.

Team members who are able to grasp the long term vision of what is possible within the organization using on-going learning as a foundation for both flexibility and value will eagerly engage in programs designed to challenge the status quo and keep them at the forefront of skills and knowledge relating to their field. Everyone wins.

How can you build or enhance your team’s commitment to on-going learning? What one action can you take this week to increase your own commitment to on-going learning? How will you measure your success?

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Forging Connections by Michelle Kunz

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In a recent conversation with a contractor client she confessed that if it weren’t for the wonderful sense of connection she felt with the team members at one site she would probably not continue with the contract. She has been with this particular client for a long time and has seen the team grow in terms of ability, productivity and cohesiveness and she attributes this in part to a powerfully deep connection which has developed between team members. The work itself is very rewarding, but the sense of connection draws her more powerfully than the work or the money.

My client is not alone in her experience. “HR Magazine” published an article in April 2008 that suggests it is universal. Human connection is one of the major forces in building employee engagement. The presence or absence of such connection can have a great impact on teamwork and overall team productivity, particularly during periods of change.

That feeling of connection is optimally present not only between team members, but also between the team (both as a group and individually) and the leader. As powerful leaders, to the extent that we can creatively develop many different opportunities for face to face interaction we can provide a rich environment in which those connections can take root, grow and thrive. These opportunities need to include the possibility of a free exchange of ideas, experiences, facts and feelings without fear of censure, ridicule or future “gotchas” because of dissent.

In what way can you provide one additional opportunity for connection within your team? How can you actively support the free exchange mentioned above, creating a culture of openness and connection?

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The Range of Engagement Model by Michelle Kunz

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Bruce Schneider’s Range of Engagement Model illustrates the relationship between choice and the level of someone’s engaged energy for a particular task or relationship. As we progress from a disempowering perspective of “I won’t” through “I have to” and “I need to” to “I choose to,” we begin to experience a shift in energy, from destructive, or catabolic, to constructive, or anabolic.

That shift happens as we move into the realm of choice. Even a perspective of need pulls us back into catabolic energy because we experience the situation as lacking something — it needs something from us. This may or may not be true, but as long as we engage in the action of judging it to be true, we engage with catabolic energy. (Recall that judging is not the same as discerning.)

When we shift to choice we shift to a perspective based on opportunity. I choose because I see the advantages for myself, for others, for my team, my organization, my relationship, the world. I choose because I want something to happen — something great. This perspective is future oriented, action oriented, possibility oriented. There are no judgments implied, simply possibilities extended.

From which position are your actions motivated? How can you shift to the most empowering perspective and put the power of choice and engagement to work for you in your leadership and team interactions?