Employee Engagement Archives

The Power of Personal Connection

02/22/202008/06/2021Jon Rennie

I have a pet peeve.

I can’t stand seeing managers who stay isolated. It bothers me when I hear about bosses who stay locked up in their office or spent their days in meetings.

They never get out to see their employees. They are disconnected!

Look – I know what it’s like to be busy.

As the co-founder and CEO of a start-up manufacturing business, I’m swamped. I’m the head of sales, HR manager, CFO, and Operations Manager.

I wear many hats and work long hours. I’m as busy as the next guy,

But I also know the importance of getting out of my office. I know the importance of connecting with my team.

I also do something very specific each day to make sure our entire company stays connected and everyone is on the same page. It only takes 15 minutes a day and you can do it too.

It’s a morning stand-up meeting.

Now, before you tune me out and tell me how much a waste of time meetings are, let me tell you that I hate meetings as well. In fact, what I’ve found is that our daily stand-up meeting actually prevents us from needing other meetings throughout the day.

But, if you’re still skeptical, hold on. Because I think you will become a believer once I’ve made my case.

So what is a stand-up meeting?

For us, we all meet on the factory floor at 8:30 AM in front of a giant whiteboard. Written on the whiteboard are all of the current orders.

The meeting starts with a briefing from the production manager on what jobs we are going to build that day. We discuss what major shipments will arrive and depart the factory. Then we go around the room and everyone has the chance to add anything that is important to the whole team – Part shortages, quality updates, customer questions, product changes, field issues, and people issues – who’s absent, who’s traveling, who’s leaving early, who has vacation later in the week.

We allow enough time for questions, clarification, and to resolve any conflicting priorities.

I give a quick update on what’s coming up in the future – big orders anticipated, visitors coming in, status on landing new customers, my travel schedule. And I wrap up the meeting by telling everyone to be safe.

That’s it. The whole meeting takes about 15 minutes.

And yes, we stand the whole time.

So, you might be thinking – How does this meeting help with human connection? How does a 15-minute meeting each day make us a more connected team?

Well. I’ll tell you. There are 5 things:

1. There is a personal connection. Like a family gathering around the breakfast table, we learn how everyone is doing. These meetings help us to continue to build relationships with each other.

2. We get everyone on the same page. At the end of the meeting, we all know what needs to be done and our role in it. We’ve resolved any conflicts and we understand the priorities. We have focus and clarity. We have a plan for the day.

We get everyone on the same page. Click To Tweet

3. We have a better view of the future. We know who is taking a vacation, who’s sick. We know when customers are visiting. We know when to expect the next big order. We can better set out daily priorities knowing what’s more likely to happen in the coming weeks

4. We reinforce our mission and values. For me, every discussion helps me reinforce our mission daily as we discuss various topics.

5. These stand-up meetings set the tone, the pace, and the routine in our business. I look forward to each meeting because I know I will come away with all the answers I need for the day. I also know everyone will be there, so I know I don’t have to have any other meetings throughout the day.

These meetings regularly set the cadence for our business.

There is a personal connection every morning, we get on the same page, and we reinforce our mission.

I like this quote from Hilton Barbour. He says, “Small rituals make a culture”

“Small rituals make a culture” Hilton Barbour Click To Tweet

And that’s what our morning stand-up meetings are for us. They are small rituals that help us set and maintain our culture.

So what about you? Do you have a regular way to connect with employees and ensure everyone is on the same page?

Do you have a daily method to reinforce your mission and values?

If not, you may want to try a daily stand-up meeting.

If you hate meetings as much as I do, you’ll love this 15 minute morning ritual.

P.S.

If you like this idea, get a copy of my latest book – “I Have the Watch: Becoming a Leader Worth Following” It is filled with 23 practical ideas like this on how you can become a more effective leader.

And, If you want to get more out of your daily commute, listen to my podcast, Deep Leadership. It’s available on all podcast apps.

I Have the Watch is also available on Audible for your commuting pleasure.

Why Good Employees Go Bad

02/05/202008/06/2021Jon Rennie

Let’s talk about employee engagement.

According to Gallup, only 34% of U.S. workers are engaged and enthusiastic about their jobs and companies. And, it’s a number that hasn’t changed much in the past 18 years.

So, what’s engagement and why should we care?

Well, engaged employees are better employees. These are the people who care the most and routinely go above-and-beyond for their organizations.

They are your BEST employees!

Marcus Buckingham, author of First, Break All the Rules, defines engaged employees as having “a positive state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption”

He goes further to explain…

Vigor is the willingness to invest in work with high levels of conscientiousness, persistence, energy, and mental toughness.

Dedication just means being connected to work, experiencing a sense of significance, pride, enthusiasm, and challenge.

Absorption describes how deeply involved in their work these employees are. For them, time passes quickly and disconnecting from work is difficult.

OK. That makes sense.

So, it’s in our best interest as leaders to create and maintain a high level of engagement in our organizations. We will be more successful when we are surrounded by engaged and dedicated employees.

We will be more successful when we are surrounded by engaged and dedicated employees. Click To Tweet

Got it.

So, what are we doing wrong? Why are 60-70% of employees disengaged and disinterested?

And…why does this affect even our BEST employees?

Let’s review some of the causes:

Good employees become disengaged when managers don’t listen to their ideas and concerns. This is especially true for new employees!
Good employees become disillusioned when managers allow circumstances to compromise the mission. When the actions of management don’t support the mission, good employees get frustrated.
Good employees become disenfranchised when managers are disengaged and disconnected. Disengaged managers create disengaged employees.
Good employees lose trust in their organization when their manager’s actions don’t match their words. A recent ADP study shows that employees who trust their manager are 12X more engaged!
Good employees get frustrated when bad employees are not held accountable. Whether you like it or not, this is true.

I like this quote from Hilton Barbour: “Your culture is defined by the worst behavior tolerated by leadership.”

“Your culture is defined by the worst behavior tolerated by leadership.” Hilton Barbour Click To Tweet

The final thing I would add on this topic is something from my good friend, John Brubaker, over at CoachBru.com. Speaking to great employees, he said…

“Go where you’re celebrated not where you’re tolerated.”

As leaders, I would say, if you don’t want your best employees to become disengaged, frustrated, and disconnected, you need to celebrate them!

And if you don’t what that means…

Go get a copy of my latest book – “I Have the Watch: Becoming a Leader Worth Following” Chapter 10 is all about Celebrating Employees!

That’s it for today

Think about this topic this week. What are you doing as a leader to keep your BEST employees engaged?

If can keep them engaged and happy, you will be a more effective leader.

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By the way, If you want to get more out of your daily commute, listen to my podcast, Deep Leadership. It’s available on all podcast apps.

And my best-selling leadership book, I Have the Watch, is also available on Audible for your commuting pleasure.

What happens when we stop expecting people to be perfect?

12/26/201908/06/2021Jon Rennie

As you are coming out of your Christmas food-induced coma, I thought I would share an important concept that will help you as you prepare for 2020.

One of the complaints I often hear from leaders is that leading people is difficult.

I’ll admit, there is some truth to this.

It’s actually the most common reason why so many people avoid going into management – They don’t want to deal with all the ‘people problems.’

There’s an old joke that says that the only way to get rid of all your people problems is to get rid of all your people.

While that’s technically true, you wouldn’t get anything done either.

The truth is, if you don’t like people, you really shouldn’t go into leadership.

Leadership is a people business.

Leadership is a people business. Click To Tweet

Our plans – all the things that we want to do – can only be accomplished with the help of other people.

All our ideas are dead without people to bring them to life.

But here’s the thing – People are messy!

And, yes – Dealing with people can sometimes be difficult.

But, you know what? You’re not perfect either (and neither am I).

If we’re honest, we all have things that make us imperfect as leaders. In fact, there’s really no such thing as perfect employees or a perfect boss.

If we really want to get things done, we need to stop expecting our people to be perfect.

If we really want to get things done, we need to stop expecting our people to be perfect. Click To Tweet

We need to look past their flaws and learn to appreciate each person as an individual.

People come in all shapes and sizes as well as all different kinds of backgrounds. They’re all going to react differently to your leadership style.

So, the sooner we get over the fact that everyone is unique and no one is perfect, the sooner we embrace the chaos that is “real people,” the quicker we can work together to get things done.

Which, by the way, is the role of a leader.

So my message for you today is simple – Embrace the chaos, love your people despite their flaws, and go get things done.

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And here’s a simple way you can love your people. Give them a gift of leadership as they prepare for the new year.

If you order a copy of my Amazon best-selling book, “I Have the Watch: Becoming a Leader Worth Following” before December 31^st at 11:59 pm EST, I’ll ship an additional signed copy to anyone you want as a gift from YOU to THEM.

Just indicate their names, e-mail, and mailing addresses in the order notes.

Here’s the order link jonsrennie.com/ihavethewatchbook.

This book is a great one day read that improves your understanding of leadership tenfold. – Jack T. Amazon Customer