It is widely proven that employee engagement is directly linked to the profitability and sustainability of a business. Why is it, then, that, according to the Gallup Organization, only 11 percent of all employees worldwide are engaged in their work? Shouldn’t engagement be a higher priority for business leaders?
Engagement means being committed to something or someone in an organization. This commitment can be rational — seeing one’s job as serving a financial, developmental, or professional self-interest — or emotional, where one values, enjoys, or believes strongly in what one does. In either instance, however, even engagement is not always enough. According to Dr. Ray Benedetto, a consultant who helps leaders build high-performing, character-based cultures in addition to teaching at the University of Phoenix Chicago Campus MBA program, and Molly Meyer, a marketing professional and independent writer, there needs to be something more.
Going Beyond Engagement
Their research revealed several companies where employees possess strong emotional attachments that have led to remarkable results and exceptional performance. Employees in these companies are more than engaged; they are entangled — where the drive for positive employee-company dedication and commitment run constantly at the deepest levels, resulting in a sustainable competitive advantage for each company.
Although “entangled” sounds negative, it is an extremely strong positive force that draws people together. A key difference between engaged and entangled employees is the tension that arises from the knowledge that things can always be better. Entangled employees are never satisfied with simply being good. They want to be great, and that mentality is what affects profitability and sustainability of their respective businesses.
Entangled employees operate within unique cultures where eight critical elements exist. The synergy and magnetism that arise as each element strengthens become the distinctive competence that competitors cannot imitate, which leads to a unique competitive advantage.
Dr. Ray Benedetto, DM, is a retired USAF Colonel. He founded a consulting firm that helps leaders build high-performing, character-based cultures in addition to his teaching leadership and strategic planning for the University of Phoenix Chicago Campus MBA program. Molly Meyer is marketing professional and independent writer. They are the co-authors of It’s My Company Too! How Entangled Companies Move Beyond Employee Engagement For Remarkable Results. For more information, please visit, www.ItsMyCompanyToo.com.
Click through for eight critical elements that can take your organization to the next level, as identified by Dr. Ray Benedetto, a consultant who helps leaders build high-performing, character-based cultures in addition to teaching at the University of Phoenix Chicago Campus MBA program, and Molly Meyer, a marketing professional and independent writer.
The primacy of senior visionaries, the transformative leaders who shape a performance-excellence culture, is evident in entangled cultures. Transformative leadership operates at all levels within these entangled cultures. Everyone has leadership responsibilities because of the ability to influence the actions of others through one’s behaviors.
Entangled organizations have explicit core values such as respect, trust, ethical conduct, and caring that extend to all stakeholders. Daily actions reflect a meaningful pronouncement of what each organization holds dear. Trust between suppliers and customers grows each time an obligation is met and a promise is kept.
Entangled employees create world-class organizations through shared visions requiring cross-functional teamwork and elevated thinking about potential solutions. Setting and holding to cascading performance metrics — linking individual action plans with strategic and operational goals — is a critical element for achieving unit and company success.
The first step for understanding any organization is defining the key processes that deliver value to customers. Entangled organizations manage and improve these processes constantly. Process improvement stems from the alignment of human capital within each process.
Leaders within entangled cultures focus first on the individual, building on a set of core values that respect the dignity of each person. Leaders must support the will to excel, which begins with building trust. Leaders must develop self-confidence and esteem through personal example and constant encouragement.
Freedom to operate begins with clear definitions of each employee’s role and performance expectations, which helps to define one’s area of responsibility. Discipline relates to appropriate conduct in any situation, which relates to core values and desired behaviors. Freedom also means deciding how best to reach one’s goals while helping one’s organization excel.
Entangled companies create the structures and behaviors that result in high employee commitment. Readily identifying errors, conducting post-mortems after every event, and fostering open discussions that lead to continuous improvements reinforce and encourage discretionary thinking.
Creating an entangled, world-class company requires progressive and continual improvement guided by Kotter’s eight-step model for major change. Building self-efficacy and discretionary thinking requires pervasive trust rooted in relationships between and among stakeholders.
