The Art of Engagement: Bridging the Gap Between People and Possibilities


Book Description

"Haudan's approach helps organizations bring strategies to life by engaging the hearts and minds of their people.” -Marcus Buckingham, bestselling author of Go Put Your Strengths to Work Almost any business leader will admit that creating a strategy is far easier than executing it. That's because the majority of organizations don't know how to bridge the canyons that exist between executives, managers, and front-line employees. Most strategic initiatives fail when a company tries to execute strategy despite its people rather than through them. As CEO of consultancy Root Learning, Jim Haudan has more than twenty years experience helping businesses bridge these canyons and achieve their strategic goals. Here, he shares his secrets for driving this strategic execution. Refreshingly accessible, this important book presents executives, managers, and team leaders with a proven, effective way to communicate, empower, and motivate employees at every level of an organization. Through stories, illustrations, and insightful observations Haudan explores the concept of engagement in business--from the “roots of engagement” to the six reasons why so many workers rank themselves as disengaged to the keys to unlocking engagement in any organization. He also includes a framework for implementing the process of strategically engaging employees as well as a self-assessment for checking your own company's level of strategic engagement. The Art of Engagement equips you with a range of tools--sketches, illustrations, and highly visual “learning maps”--to help employees speak the same language, see from the same point of view, and connect their individual actions to the success of the whole company. Included are: Engaging visual learning tools designed to help you communicate more effectively with your workforce Proven methods for successfully engaging employees at every level of an organization Real-world case studies of such organizations as Harley-Davidson, Pepsi Cola, and Blockbuster A strategy may look perfect on paper, but it's worthless if leaders forget that human beings have to implement it. The Art of Engagement arms you with the knowledge and the know-how to engage your employees and drive effective strategic execution.




The Type B Manager


Book Description

In The Type B Manager, Victor Lipman offers a unique lens through which to view the challenging problems of management. While management has long been considered the realm of Type A individuals hard-driving, competitive high achievers all too often these high-intensity traits aren t effective when it comes to motivating your employees. Many characteristics of Type B individuals being more relaxed, less competitive, more reflective, slower to anger can be considered people skills that better influence motivation and productivity. And successful management after all is the practice of accomplishing work through other people. In a business landscape where 70 percent of employees are disengaged and not working at full productive capacity, Lipman focuses on practical tactical aspects of management viewed through a Type B lens, including: . Motivating and developing employees . Handling conflict, and . Engendering trust and respect He examines specific skills, behaviors, and situations where a Type B mindset is advantageous and suggests ways that self-described Type A managers can boost their effectiveness by adopting Type B approaches and vice versa."




Transforming Organizations


Book Description

This book offers leaders an approach to systemically affect change and create cultures of excellence where staff work together to change the way they view their work. Based on well-known quality concepts, readers will discover the essential concepts and actions that have the power to transform every system.




The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship


Book Description

An ideal resource for organizational scholars, students, practitioners, and human resource managers, this handbook covers the full spectrum of organizational theories and outcomes that define, explain, and predict the occurrence, causes, and consequences of positivity.




Employee LEAPS


Book Description

A recent Gallup Study estimated that 7 in 10 American workers are “actively disengaged” or “not engaged” while at work, costing the economy between $450 and $550 billion per year. Employee LEAPS Leveraging Engagement by Applying Positive Strategies has been written to increase employee engagement and optimize workplace performance. By harnessing the power of engagement and nurturing people’s innate desire to be captivated by the activities in which they are involved, Employee LEAPS has the potential to transform organizations and facilitate remarkable outcomes that extend far beyond what could be achieved otherwise. If you are interested in increasing employee engagement and optimizing workplace performance, Employee LEAPS is the book for you. The author provides astute direction on how to increase organizational capacity and unleash talent, enabling businesses to produce exceptional results. Employees who are engaged in the activities they are involved deliver results far superior to those who are not.




The Manager's Communication Toolbox


Book Description

The Manager's Communication Toolbox focuses on management development by improving communication for new managers as well as more experienced professionals. Like a star baseball player, every good manager should aim to be a five-tool expert. Reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking are basic skills for any employee, but the manager who stands out is the manager who commands these skills. To improve your standing with your employees and superiors, it’s essential to understand each of these areas of communication. In The Manager’s Communication Toolbox, the authors offer tips, checklists, and examples, along with other expert testimony for best practices. Over the years, the practice of these skills has changed as a result of technology. Everyone emails these days, but in this book, the authors dig deeper into what to say, when to say it, and how to say it in a business setting. Rethink your thinking skills—find more time in your day by being more aware of your tendencies. And for everyone who worries about giving speeches and making presentations, find out how to improve, and the steps you can take to show off your managerial communication skills.




The Social Cognitive Neuroscience of Leading Organizational Change


Book Description

In a very understandable, practical, and accessible manner, this book applies recent groundbreaking findings from behavioral neuroscience to the most complex and vexing challenges in organizations today. In particular, it addresses managing large-scale organizational changes, such as mergers and acquisitions, providing lessons and tactics that can be usefully applied to in many different settings. In addition to discussing successful practices, it also identifies the reasons that most past comprehensive, long-term change projects have failed and unmasks the counterproductive effects of the typical evolutionary or emotion-based attempts to change group and individual behavior, using neuroscience as its principal tool.




Employee Engagement for Organizational Change


Book Description

The success of organizational change in a world of increasing volatility is highly dependent on the advocacy of stakeholders. It is the link between strategic decision-making and effective execution, between individual motivation and product innovation, and between delighted customers and growing revenues. Only by engaging stakeholders does change have a chance to be successful. This book presents a coherent and practical view of how organizations might engender engagement with organizational change within their operational, tactical and strategic practices. It does this by providing a comprehensive review of the theoretical and empirical works on engagement and change from a variety of academic and practical perspectives. The academic research presented in this book is reinforced by research from consultancies as well as insights from practitioners that provide timely evidence. Ultimately the aim is to help raise awareness of the need to foster engagement with OC through a stakeholder perspective and how this can be done successfully within organizations across the globe. Employee Engagement for Organizational Change is a valuable textbook for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of organizational change, employee engagement, human resource management and leadership. Its balance of theory and practice also makes it a reliable resource for HR and organizational development practitioners.




Management Techniques for Employee Engagement in Contemporary Organizations


Book Description

Engaged employees are assets to every company because they are not only more productive but are also open to new ideas and technologies that often lead to significant business outcomes. Businesses need to establish credible antecedents to employee engagement based on their own culture and needs to develop a pool of highly engaged employees. Management Techniques for Employee Engagement in Contemporary Organizations provides theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings on management strategies for the promotion, adoption, and implementation of work engagement policies. The content within this publication examines gamification, employee engagement, and management techniques and is designed for academicians, managers, business professionals, human resources officers, policymakers, and researchers.




What Are Your Blind Spots? Conquering the 5 Misconceptions that Hold Leaders Back


Book Description

Uncover your blind spots and reset your leadership approach for long-lasting success in any businessFar too many business leaders today are using outdated practices to engage and motivate their people―and they’re failing miserably. Truly resilient, thriving organizations are those that are purpose driven and focus on more than pure profits. Purpose, or an underlying company philosophy, not only drives strategic change, but also encourages customer loyalty and employee engagement. In order to succeed, leaders must be willing to discard old ways of thinking and detrimental business habits—and recognize their blind spots. Authors Jim Haudan and Rich Berens identify the five most common leadership blind spots that hamper success: Purpose, Story, Engagement, Trust, and Truth. They take you straight into the board room of well-known leadership teams to illustrate how these blind spots play out and the impact they have on organizations. You’ll learn how to identify and overcome your own blind spots and embrace positive, forward-thinking new practices. What Are Your Blind Spots equips you with the tools needed for a personal leadership reset. You’ll discover how to increase engagement, productivity, and growth in your own organization. This is an invaluable guide for executives, managers, team leaders, and human resource professionals looking for an effective way to engage and motivate employees at every level of an organization.