First pick of the week is under the umbrella of the August monthly theme: ”Engaging the distributed organization” - “Did you see those Gallup numbers? How do we get our people engaged? Build us a program.” – Leaders Everywhere
I think "engagement as a choice" misses two key issues that lead to failure in improving engagement:
1. It assumes that only "leaders" can change the environment, amplifying lack of agency and "learned helplessness" in everyone else, which in turn leads to low engagement. Shaping the environment is a collaborative effort to which different people in different roles contribute in different ways. More here: https://medium.com/org-hacking/working-on-work-e5c6fd18cf71
2. It builds on Lewin's equation B=f(Env,P) and completely ignores one element of the equation. It assumes that only the environment can be changed, but the person is fixed. That's treating people like machines, assuming that their attitudes and mindsets are unchangeable. A holistic approach to engagement aims to change both the environment and the person. More here: https://medium.com/org-hacking/self-engagement-murphy-ac7b56c42c00
I think "engagement as a choice" misses two key issues that lead to failure in improving engagement:
1. It assumes that only "leaders" can change the environment, amplifying lack of agency and "learned helplessness" in everyone else, which in turn leads to low engagement. Shaping the environment is a collaborative effort to which different people in different roles contribute in different ways. More here: https://medium.com/org-hacking/working-on-work-e5c6fd18cf71
2. It builds on Lewin's equation B=f(Env,P) and completely ignores one element of the equation. It assumes that only the environment can be changed, but the person is fixed. That's treating people like machines, assuming that their attitudes and mindsets are unchangeable. A holistic approach to engagement aims to change both the environment and the person. More here: https://medium.com/org-hacking/self-engagement-murphy-ac7b56c42c00