Increasing Staff Engagement – When Money Isn’t The Answer

As the economy and organisations emerge from survival to growth what about staff morale and engagement?  Just as leaders can get caught in post recession paralysis, so can employees.  After all the uncertainty and insecurity and with companies maybe asking that bit extra of staff to make it through the recession, what’s next in moving forward?

Well the most superficial response will be bonus’s and pay rises.  Yes of course rewarding your staff is key.  But as Frederick Herzberg said donkey’s years ago, pay is a hygiene factor and not a motivator.  Without it you’ve got serious problems, but there is a point beyond which it doesn’t motivate or engage staff.

In fact Lord Richard Layard wrote a book Happiness – Lessons from a new science.  Research shows that there is a fiscal point above which earning anymore doesn’t make you happier.  If memory serves me right it’s £25K.

So what does increase employee engagement?  Achievement, Recognition, Responsibility, Promotion / Career Progression, Learning and Development, Relationships / Team work, Flexible Working.  These softer, more intrinsic aspects are what  we should ensure are present.  Typically when they aren’t that’s when people start demanding more money.  It’s a sign that they don’t feel valued but are at a loss to put in place the intrinsic factors, so the tangible cash solution is a sticking plaster that patches things up for a while.

As the profits increase staff will, quite rightly, expect a share of that somehow.  Yet in this emergent state your company may not be in a position to offer cash bonus’s.  However if you use the extra cash you have to invest in ensuring the more intangible, intrinsic motivators are present then the payoff’s could be far higher than a pure cash solution.

Living with integrity – its impact on our leadership and brand

Living with Integrity can be tough.  It’s  how we behave when no one is watching, will we live our values or are we going to sell out or compromise.  Knowing that every time we do we are the one that pays the price.  Even if no-one else is watching or ever finds out, we know and our opinion of our self takes the hit.

And if people do find out, what’s the immediate and long term impact for us as an individual and the brand or company we lead?

Golf legend Tiger Wood’s much publicised fall from grace is an example of the catastrophic consequences a business can face when its brand is found to be inauthentic.  The recent stories about the private life of the world’s No.1 celebrity golfer expose a huge gap between the perceived values of the Tiger Woods brand and those of the man himself.

As a leader and as a business we are all judged on whether we live up to the values that are associated with our brand.

Values driven leadership is about ensuring you live up to your values and the values promised by your brand.  After all your customers and employees have bought in to your brand and what you stand for. Your behaviour and the behaviour of your employees then should also reflect the values of the brand.  Of course if the values are what you’d like, rather than what is real then this becomes a challenge to sustain.  So it is important to ensure your brand does not promise something you no longer believe in or cannot deliver.

If your values are aspirational then acting with integrity is going to be a serious challenge.

Every day we’re faced with choices, decision points, where we can uphold our values or not.  At work we can be asked to do something ‘for the good of the company’ and yet we know that it’s against the company’s or our values.  It’s a short term win and another nail in the coffin of that particular value that’s just been over-road.  We may wish to behave differently but go along with it to keep our job.

Consistently acting against our personal values undermines our self confidence and self esteem.  Keep this up and eventually we don’t feel good about ourself and neither does anyone else.    Being consistently asked to act against the corporate or brand values begs the question how real are they and what problems are being stored up for future.

Let’s go back to the challenge facing Tiger Woods, now he has to re-build his brand so he can move forward.  Some people I’ve talked to say it’s not possible.  I think there is hope.

After all, authentic leadership is about who you are being as much as what you’re doing.

Goal Setting and Goal Achievement – Top Tips

Goal setting can be overwhelming or just plain boring.  Here’s one of the indulgent things I do between Christmas and New year and since I’ve done it I swear it makes a difference.

There are however more things I do during December and January.  They’re simple, practical and also contribute to my success.  3 of which I’ve put into a complimentary ebook for you.  Well OK ebook might imply vast swathes of reading, think more ebooklet.  To get your complimentary copy right now just fill in your details below.   We’ll also sign you up to our monthly ezine so you get the next installment I’ll share with my clients in January.

Once you’ve signed up check your inbox (or spam folder) for a subscription confirmation message, say yes and the ebooklet should be with you in the next few minutes.

Merry Christmas and of course an abundant and prosperous 2010.

Change of Address

Please note our new address is now Cholmondeley House, Dee Hills Park, Chester, CH3 5AR

Leadership Development 2010 – You, Your Values & The Company’s Culture

The culture of your organisation is fundamental to business growth, especially if you’re wondering how to get the best from your people and increase your organisations’ performance.

As leader’s we need to be aware both of our presence and the wake we leave behind, these are powerful forces that impact our ability to encourage our staff to live the company’s values.

We might ask our employees for Creativity, Commitment or Integrity, but they have to choose to give them.  They’re not skills but intrinsic traits which we can only encourage to be expressed.

Join us on this 1 day workshop to discover your personal fit with your organisation’s current and desired culture and learn about the common barriers to business growth and cultural transformation.

What will I learn?

You will complete your own Individual Values Assessment before the day and we’ll take you through what the results mean.   Looking at what it means to you, your leadership, the current and desired culture of the organisation.  You’ll have a cleared idea of what’s important to you and what’s required of your leadership in 2010.

You’ll also learn the common barriers to business growth, the cost and symptoms of these and the 4 steps you can take to avoid them.

Plus we’ll share with you some aspects of best practice in the role values play in business performance and releasing human potential.  There will also be the opportunity to learn from your peers as you share your experiences and insights.  The event has been designed to be interactive, informative and experiential.

Who is this designed for?

This day is aimed at CEO’s, MD’s, FD’s and HRD’s who want to improve the performance of their organisation and create a profitable and healthy culture.

Date, Location, Investment

4^th February 2010

Manchester, venue to be confirmed

8:30 Registration and coffee

9:00 – 16:00 Event

Your investment for this event including all materials, lunch and refreshments is £247+ VAT.  Places must be booked before 31^st December to allow sufficient time for you to complete your Individual Values Assessment and for the results to be processed.

To book or find out more contact us now.

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