Meridian Coaching & Consulting Blog » Employee Engagement-Quick Tips For Leaders

Playing Well With Others

Rick Cronen — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:46:29 +0000

People at all levels of an organization are measured on the results they achieve and your results are directly attributable to your ability to build and sustain effective work relationships. Here are three tips that will dramatically improve your ability to build and sustain long-term interdependent relationships.

Always assume good faith. If you don’t believe in people it is hard for them to believe in you.
Care enough about the relationship to resolve differences. When your differences with others are not resolved, a negative emotional override is established that will negatively affect your perceptions of one another from that point forward. If you do take the time to resolve your differences with others a positive emotional override is established that builds trust and fosters cooperation.
Remain open to the influence of others and be prepared to change.

Engaging Others in Solving Problems

Rick Cronen — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:24:38 +0000

When people feel like they are part of the solution, they become more invested in the outcome. They are more engaged. Here are three tips on how to give others the opportunity to provide meaningful input and feel like they are truly part of the problem solving or decision making process. When engaging your staff in conversation about an issue and you genuinely want their input:

Be Pertinent: Before speaking, ask yourself if the subject is pertinent to the speaker? You don’t always have to include everyone. Before you speak, make sure this topic is relevant to the listener.
Be Informative:. Don’t tell people things they already know. Check in with them before you launch into details. Target your audience.
Be patient: Give people an opportunity to participate. Do not let your ego monopolize the conversation.

Three Tips That Will Help You Build Better Relationships

Rick Cronen — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:36:37 +0000

Always assume good faith. If you don’t believe in people it is hard for them to believe in you.
Care enough about the relationship to resolve differences. When your differences with others are not resolved, a negative emotional override is established that will negatively affect your perceptions of one another from that point forward. If you do take the time to resolve your differences with others a positive emotional override is established that builds trust and fosters cooperation.
Remain open to the influence of others and be prepared to change.

Involving Staff In Problem Solving

Rick Cronen — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:20:38 +0000

Here are three tips on how to give others the opportunity to provide meaningful input and feel like they are truly part of the problem solving or decision making process. When engaging your staff in conversation about an issue, when you want their input:

Be Pertinent: Before speaking, ask yourself if the subject is pertinent to the speaker? You don’t always have to include everyone. Before you speak, make sure this topic is relevant to the listener.
Be Informative:. Don’t tell people things they already know. Check in with them before you launch into details. Target your audience.
Be patient: Give people an opportunity to participate. Do not let your ego monopolize the conversation.

Three Tips for Creating Buy-In

Rick Cronen — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:12:05 +0000

Here are three proven techniques for creating buy-in and accountability when making project assignments.

Discuss the schedule for milestones, status meetings, and task completion dates: Mutually establish a schedule, create performance milestones and share information about other projects or activities which may affect timelines.
Identify coordination & collaboration requirements. Be explicit in the level of coordination that is expected. Work performed in highly matrixed organizations or highly technical processes often requires more thoughtful coordination requirements to provide access to valuable information. Ask you employee(s) about their plans to coordinate and collaborate with others – this gives them experience in anticipating needs (otherwise known as strategic thinking).
Pre-determine decision making criteria and guidelines. The criteria for making decisions should be shared and mutually defined. What is the “best” approach”? Clearly establish their level of autonomy for making decisions and implementing solutions.

Learning

Rick Cronen — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:03:11 +0000

Engaged employees are often the ones who feel challenged and feel like they are learning. The best learning, and often the best results, occurs when the employee is free to determine their approach within established guidelines – where the objectives are mutually determined the employee has the information needed to make better decisions.

Delegation Skills Build Employee Engagement

Rick Cronen — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:27:22 +0000

The level of an employee’s engagement is often directly related to how work is assigned. Effective delegation starts with clearly and concisely identifying the objectives and desired results. Taking the time to discuss the purpose and desired results will help in four very important ways:

It minimizes or eliminates the possibility of re-work. Re-work is often the result of unclear objectives and the costs associated with re-work are both the cost of doing the job again and the cost of “lost opportunity”.
It helps define the “boundaries” of the project. This can prevent your employees from doing more than is required or less than is needed in order to achieve satisfactory results.
It identifies and defines priorities. The employee will have the information needed to make decisions about the urgency and importance of the task in comparison to other demands or projects for which they may be also be responsible.
It creates (by example) the expectation of two-way dialogue. This may reveal innovative approaches and insights into the problem which may not have occurred to you or the employee.

Agreements that Build Engagement

Rick Cronen — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:10:09 +0000

The level of an employee’s engagement is directly related to the level of trust that you have established and the clarity of the agreements that have been made. One of the primary agreements has to do with “what” needs to be done. This delegation of responsibility goes on daily for major projects and routine tasks. Make sure you pay attention to the….

WHAT – Clearly identify what needs to be done and the desired results or outcomes expected.
WHY – State why the task is necessary and identify the consequences of success and failure.
HOW – Identify the resources (skills, people, equipment, facilities, etc.) necessary for the successful completion of the project in a timely manner. The level of resources should be consistent with the priority (Importance / Urgency) of the project.
WHEN – Establish milestones and task completion expectations.
WHO – Identify the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved, yourself included.

Aligning Values

Rick Cronen — Mon, 31 May 2010 21:06:19 +0000

Individual motives are a reflection of an individual’s belief system and as such they strongly influence personal and professional goals. If those goals are not aligned with those of the organization, the consequences to the organization can be enormous. So one of the skills every leader needs to develop is the ability to understand the values, attitudes and beliefs of others and determine best ‘fit’. That is how you obtain and retain the very best people and, as a bonus, it turns out that these are also the people who have the highest levels of engagement.

Transparency

Rick Cronen — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:22:36 +0000

Self-awareness and self-management are especially critical skills for leaders because as a leader you occupy the most visible position in the organization and wherever you go – people notice, whatever you do – people judge and whatever you say – people hear. And if you lack transparency in these skills, people will make assumptions about where you are going, what you are doing and what you are saying.