Musings of an organization consultant
Posted in Employee Engagement on Jul 12th, 2010
When I know a person has a strong interest in employee engagement, I like to recommend Peter Block’s Community. If they are interested only on a superficial level, they will let me know by saying, “Well, that book is really about life outside the workplace and really is not relevant to business organizations.” Sometimes, it [...]
Posted in Employee Engagement on Apr 19th, 2010
Various theories in psychology suggest that we make choices in life based on the perceived cost/benefit ratio of a particular situation and this is true of our relationships, whether at home or at work. Is this relationship costing me more than I are getting back, emotionally, physically, or financially? Is it reciprocal? Am I getting [...]
Posted in Competencies, Employee Engagement, Leadership on Mar 29th, 2010
David McClelland’s early work in competency development led to large scale efforts in the 1990’s toward developing competency models for various employee groups. I was a part of that movement and worked with a number of organizations to develop competency models from the ground up to energize and engage employees around what is most critical [...]
Posted in Competencies, Employee Engagement, Leadership on Mar 29th, 2010
Not that it makes us feel any better, but according to the Towers Watson 2010 Global Workforce Study, we in the U.S. are not the only ones to be faced with an anxious, stressed out workforce. According to the study findings, “From the global recession, to financial defaults, to changes in business models, both employers [...]
Posted in Business Strategies, Employee Engagement, Management models on Mar 10th, 2010
[The cyclical model of growth] resembles the natural flow of life where we encounter mini cycles of birth, death and rebirth in marriage, jobs and family relationships. We have our peaks, but also valleys in which, ideally, we discern the way forward.
Posted in Employee Engagement, Labor Management Partnerships, Uncategorized on Jan 28th, 2010
It is not unusual to hear managers say that employee engagement is important to their organization culture, and in the next breath offer a caveat – except for the bargaining unit. The sour tone of labor negotiations has either made management and labor want nothing to do with each other, or, the history of the [...]
Posted in Employee Engagement, Labor Management Partnerships, Pay and Benefits on Jan 28th, 2010
One example of what can happen when employees, union and non-union, and management work together, can be found in Montgomery Ohio, a small city not far from Cincinnati. Several years ago the City implemented a Health Care Committee that relies upon labor, union and non-union, and management to work together to guide the city health [...]
Posted in Competencies, Employee Engagement, Uncategorized on Dec 19th, 2009
When dogs bite and bees sting, we bring to mind our favorite things, but when things get stuck, or stale, what we need are a few good questions to evoke the spirit of engagement.
Over the years of working with people, I have found a few questions to be nearly fool proof. While the goal is [...]
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