I had the good fortune early in my career to work with some extremely talented problem solvers. One of the most important lessons I learned in solving problems is to properly, and accurately, describe the real problem you’re trying to solve. When you get that right, they say you’re 90% of the way to the solution. Employee engagement is rarely an employee problem. It’s a management problem.
Over the last few years I’ve been asked to consult to over 35 Fortune 500 companies. I’ve observed that most companies have the ‘engagement’ challenge completely backwards. The issues isn’t low ‘employee engagement’; the true challenge is low ‘management engagement’. If managers were actively (and effectively) ‘engaged’ in the success of their team, the individuals on their team would be actively engaging their talents in the success of their clients (and thereby the company).
When the manager is focusing on helping the team, the team is focused on helping the clients. Therefore, the company benefits from the manager’s investment in the team. But when the manager is focused either on themselves (their career success), or solely on ‘hitting the numbers’, this chain is broken. When the manager focuses on themselves, their employees focus on themselves. That’s the real challenge to address.
The solution is effective, actively engaged managers. The solution to the real performance challenge is managers that are engaged in helping their team succeed.
