ement style as “tough but fair”. The project lead and the other six members of her project team were just wrapping up a six-month project. They had received acceptance sign-off from the users and were preparing to implement the new software that evening. The users were excited that the project was finally coming to an end and that their system would be ready for them when they came into the office the next day. The project team had spent some late nights reworking the software because of tCalling all Executives and Managers! Are you engaging the hearts and minds of your employees”? You’re probably thinking, “This line has been used so often that it’s become a clich?. Of course I am!” But … are you really?

According to Gallup research, 29% of employees are engaged, 54% are not engaged, and 17% are actively disengaged. Gallup researchers estimate that the lower productivity of actively disengaged workers costs the U.S. economy about $370 billion annually. With employee disengagement so prevalent, could it be that managers don’t understand what “engaging the hearts and minds of our employees” really means?

Rational engagement, another way of saying “engaging the mind”, is the intellectual commitment that people make to their organizations. It’s their understanding of how they can help their organizations succeed. And it’s recognizing what’s in it for them as well as for the organization.

Rational engagement is conditional. The expectations that you define with your employee at the beginning of a new assignment determine its conditions. With each assignment and with each change of direction in the organization, these expectations are renegotiated.

Emotional engagement, on the other hand, is about something more fundamental, and much deeper. It’s about the visceral connections your employees have with your organization. It’s how your employees feel about what you’re asking them to do. They may not tell you what they’re feeling, but it nevertheless has a huge impact on your organization’s success.

Emotional engagement is unconditional. Your employees’ expectations are defined by your relationship with them. Your relationship becomes a lens through which your employees view your organization.

Here’s a story of a manager who believed her employees were highly engaged. What do you think?

Diane was a project manager in an I.T. support group in a large retail organization. She thought of her management style as “tough but fair”. The project lead and the other six members of her project team were just wrapping up a six-month project. They had received acceptance sign-off from the users and were preparing to implement the new software that evening. The users were excited that the project was finally coming to an end and that their system would be ready for them when they came into the office the next day. The project team had spent some late nights reworking the software because of t

disengagement so prevalent, could it be that managers don’t understand what “engaging the hearts and minds of our employees” really means?

Rational engagement, another way of saying “engaging the mind”, is the intellectual commitment that people make to their organizations. It’s their understanding of how they can help their organizations succeed. And it’s recognizing what’s in it for them as well as for the organization.

Rational engagement is conditional. The expectations that you define with your employee at the beginning of a new assignment determine its conditions. With each assignment and with each change of direction in the organization, these expectations are renegotiated.

Emotional engagement, on the other hand, is about something more fundamental, and much deeper. It’s about the visceral connections your employees have with your organization. It’s how your employees feel about what you’re asking them to do. They may not tell you what they’re feeling, but it nevertheless has a huge impact on your organization’s success.

Emotional engagement is unconditional. Your employees’ expectations are defined by your relationship with them. Your relationship becomes a lens through which your employees view your organization.

Here’s a story of a manager who believed her employees were highly engaged. What do you think?

Diane was a project manager in an I.T. support group in a large retail organization. She thought of her management style as “tough but fair”. The project lead and the other six members of her project team were just wrapping up a six-month project. They had received acceptance sign-off from the users and were preparing to implement the new software that evening. The users were excited that the project was finally coming to an end and that their system would be ready for them when they came into the office the next day. The project team had spent some late nights reworking the software because of t

at you define with your employee at the beginning of a new assignment determine its conditions. With each assignment and with each change of direction in the organization, these expectations are renegotiated.

Emotional engagement, on the other hand, is about something more fundamental, and much deeper. It’s about the visceral connections your employees have with your organization. It’s how your employees feel about what you’re asking them to do. They may not tell you what they’re feeling, but it nevertheless has a huge impact on your organization’s success.

Emotional engagement is unconditional. Your employees’ expectations are defined by your relationship with them. Your relationship becomes a lens through which your employees view your organization.

Here’s a story of a manager who believed her employees were highly engaged. What do you think?

Diane was a project manager in an I.T. support group in a large retail organization. She thought of her management style as “tough but fair”. The project lead and the other six members of her project team were just wrapping up a six-month project. They had received acceptance sign-off from the users and were preparing to implement the new software that evening. The users were excited that the project was finally coming to an end and that their system would be ready for them when they came into the office the next day. The project team had spent some late nights reworking the software because of t

ling, but it nevertheless has a huge impact on your organization’s success.

Emotional engagement is unconditional. Your employees’ expectations are defined by your relationship with them. Your relationship becomes a lens through which your employees view your organization.

Here’s a story of a manager who believed her employees were highly engaged. What do you think?

Diane was a project manager in an I.T. support group in a large retail organization. She thought of her management style as “tough but fair”. The project lead and the other six members of her project team were just wrapping up a six-month project. They had received acceptance sign-off from the users and were preparing to implement the new software that evening. The users were excited that the project was finally coming to an end and that their system would be ready for them when they came into the office the next day. The project team had spent some late nights reworking the software because of t

ement style as “tough but fair”. The project lead and the other six members of her project team were just wrapping up a six-month project. They had received acceptance sign-off from the users and were preparing to implement the new software that evening. The users were excited that the project was finally coming to an end and that their system would be ready for them when they came into the office the next day. The project team had spent some late nights reworking the software because of the users’ changing requirements, and the users had expressed their appreciation to Diane about the project team’s efforts, especially the project lead “going way above and beyond”. Diane didn’t pass their feedback along to the team. She thought the team members weren’t working up to their capabilities, and if she gave them the users’ feedback, they would probably slack off more than they already were.

The organization had not been doing as well as expected, and there were rumors of layoffs. The team had heard the rumors and they expressed their concern to Diane. She said she had heard them too, but they should not be worried - no layoffs were being planned. In reality, Diane had known for several months that layoffs were coming.

The I.T. Operations Manager approached Diane at 3:00 pm. He had just learned about the pending implementation. He asked if they had tested the software on the new equipment that had been installed earlier that week and was being moved into production that night. Diane was momentarily speechless – she had not heard about any new equipment, much less tested the software on it. She told the Operations Manager they would test now, and continue with the implementation as planned.

Diane met with her team and explained the situation. She said the Operations Manager had failed to tell her about the new equipment, and that the team would just have to work late until the testing and implementation were complete. The team members grumbled and complained, as Diane had expected, but they agreed. She said, “I’ll stay and help you.”

At 4:30, Diane received a call from her daughter reminding her that this was school parents’ night. Diane had completely forgotten about it. She left the office at 5:00, asking her project lead to let the team know, and asked him to call her cell phone when the system had been implemented.

After she left, the team got together. What really happened? they speculated. Diane