How to Cultivate Engaged Employees

¶ … Charalambos Vlachoutsicos for the Harvard Business Review in the early nineties. The author gives an account of many of the things that he has learned as a business owner and academic in regards to motivating employees. He addresses six separate points in his article. However, most of these are related to facilitating communication between team members and management. Although, all of his points represent good pieces of advice in various circumstances, not all of them are appropriate in every situation. A few points will be summarized and discussed.

Point One -- Be Modest

The author points out that even though managers often intend to be modest in their endeavors, often their insecurities or fears get the best of them and they often act as a problem solver instead of being a facilitator for the group to tackle problems with a collective effort. It also emphasizes the approach of keeping a balance between sharing stories about failures as well as successes. This allows for the leader to be perceived as human and as a consequence more approachable. Being in such a position allows leaders to be more in touch with group activities.

Opinion

The author's point is extremely reasonable. If you are insecure about your position or leadership abilities it is a natural tendency to try to cover these up. As a result people often over compensate for their own insecurities by actively promoting themselves as the opposite of what they fear about themselves. For example, if you feel that others perceive you as unfriendly or uptight then you may overcompensate for this belief by being overly nice to people. However, if you are comfortable in your leadership role, then you can share stories of previous failures without being preoccupied with worrying about making yourself look bad in front of the group. Although this may seem counterintuitive to people at first, it is common for people to over emphasize things vocally or externally that they feel they are lacking internally. However, being a successful leader requires the support of your team and therefore it is more important to be approachable by group members than to use time in order to promote your own ego to cover personal insecurities.

Point Three -- Invite Disagreement

Summary

The third point makes a distinction that many leaders fail to realize. Under various situations or some organizational structures, employees may feel uncomfortable enough to avoid offering their opinion about an issue even if they disagree entirely. An example of an international operation is given that includes employees that were used to a culture that developed under a communist regime. Even after the organization embraced free market principles, the employees were stuck with the remnants of the rigid hierarchical system that didn't accept alternative opinions.

Opinion

Again the author makes a good point. Disagreement is generally a source of different perspectives that can ultimately lead to the group making better decisions based on a wider range of information. However, situation certainly doesn't need to be as extreme as the example offered for this phenomenon to occur. In fact, the problem is a common one among most groups. People can often feel intimidated by the group, especially during the early stages of formation. Therefore they might not feel comfortable offering their opinion until they warm up to the group. Another point that should be mentioned is that disagreement isn't appropriate for all leadership situations. For example, a leader in an emergency response team or possibly a military operation doesn't necessarily have the time to collect various opinions. For example, if the leader of a fire fighting team is trying to lead a team to put out a fire then they may not have the time to appreciate contrary views. Therefore, it should be noted that disagreement should be fostered only when the situation warrants it.

Point Six -- Don't Insist that a Decision Must Be Made

Summary

This point addresses the commonly held belief that some decision, even though it may be flawed, is still better than no decision at all. The author argues that by approaching situations from the viewpoint that a decision must be made stifles communication. Furthermore, it is better to have the group reach a consensus on any particular decision than to rush the decision for the sake of making a decision.

Opinion

Once again the author makes a point that only applies to certain circumstances. Although this position is absolutely correct in a variety of situations, there are many situations in which the commonly held belief is actually true. Generally, but not always, such expressions stand the test of time because there is some truth to them. When time serves as a constraint to a particular decision then there ultimately must come a point in which a decision is made. A better strategy is to tailor your approach to the demands of the situation. For example, if there is ample time to make a decision then it would be appropriate for a group to try to reach a consensus among its members. However, there are some cases in which there simply isn't enough time for a consensus to be reached. Under such a situation the leader may wish to seek consultation from someone from the group with the most experience regarding the decision. Or if the leader is confident in their decision or if the decision is fairly clear then a consensus approach may not be suitable.