I loved Clara’s thought-provoking article about the power of the smile and what it can predict about the future success of relationships  Let me know what you think!

By Clara Moskowitz, LiveScience Staff Writer

To foster a culture where employee engagement thrives it is important to have a common understanding of what engagement really looks like, sounds like and feels like.  When I am working with a new corporate client I do my best to soak up the atmosphere determine whether or not I see employees who

Talk About – employees who openly talk about and share their company pride with others.

Stay With – employees who stay with your organization and are loyal

Strive For – employees who commit to striving to help the company reach its goals.

For me, those are good indicators that engagement is alive and well within the company.  Communication is one of the keys to creating the kind of culture that drives engagement.  In a recent article by Alan Crozier in Communication World he points out the key principles that communicators should remember when they are working to drive engagement:

1. It is impossible not to communicate - even silence says something.
2. Communication depends on the recipient – they will let you know if you are being effective.
3. The more complex the issue, the greater need for communication to be informal, frequent and interpersonal.
4. Observed behaviors are the most powerful and reinforcing elements in underpinning expectations and resultant actions in the workforce.
5. Employee tolerate management’s logic; but act on their own conclusions.

In other words, everything speaks.  Good communication is an important element for engagement, however, getting people to talk about, stay with and strive for their organization is more complex.  At the core, engagement entails the alignment of policies, procedures and practices with the overarching values, goals and objectives of the company.  Communication certainly complements those efforts and there is much more.  The journey to get there is well worth it.

 As 2009 winds down and the requisite ritual of New Year’s resolutions lies ahead I am reminded of the practice I value most at this time of year.  It is the gesture that requires us to think of what we want to let go of and what we want to bring into the new year.

 I am as guilty as everyone else.  As much as I tell myself I will be conservative this year when it comes to holiday spending – I spend more than I should.  As much as I tell myself to not send cards and save a few trees – I still send them out.  As much as I tell myself to spend time thinking of meaningful gestures for family and friends – I often don’t.

One of my favorite customer service gurus is Dennis Snow and in his blog today  (http://dennissnowblog.com/) he talks about how to leverage the holiday season’s shopping experience to improve your organization’s customer service experience.  I wanted to share with you his recommendation – it’s simple and brilliant.  Dennis says - 

In your very next staff meeting (or via email if you don’t have a meeting scheduled soon), ask your team to be especially aware of their shopping experiences during the holidays. Even if they’re not shopping for holiday gifts, they’ll likely be doing some kind of shopping. Let them know that in a meeting immediately following the holiday season you’ll ask for a summary of their experiences, and what your organization can learn from those experiences. (Note: this is all strictly voluntary - not a work assignment. You don’t want to get into the “are you paying us for this?” quagmire).

During their shopping adventures, your team should observe:

• The quality of their interactions with employees – What are some examples of things employees did particularly well? What are examples of things employees did poorly? What could they tell about the quality of hiring, training, and accountability from the organizations they observed?

• The quality of the physical environment – What are some “good show” and “bad show” examples they observed while shopping? How effective were companies at keeping the facilities organized? If a company was good at it, what were they doing?

• The quality of company processes – What are some examples of processes your team members experienced that were designed more for the company’s convenience than the shopper’s? What are some examples of process that were impressive?

Keep in mind that the assignment doesn’t just apply to brick and mortar stores. Each of the above three points can apply to online and catalog shopping. For some of you, online examples may be the most applicable.

Ask your team to come to the post-holiday meeting prepared to share what they experienced (again, strictly voluntary). During the meeting, dig for learnings that come out of those experiences, good and bad, that you and your team can leverage in improving the experience YOUR customers have with the organization.

Because your team members lived through these situations themselves, their emotions will be engaged in the discussion, providing a foundation for frank discussion of what your organization can do to improve.

You’ll want to act quickly on getting this “assignment” out, since we’re right in the middle of the busy season. Don’t let it go by without learning from it!

As a leader, you are always looking for new ways to engage and enlist your team.  The following is an opportunity to consider.

With a mature and seasoned team, one of the most powerful and fast, exercises you can take your team through is one where the feedback your team hears is from each other – not you, their leader.

If you have ten team members, as an example, carve out an afternoon where each person will have the opportunity to sit with each team member for 10 minutes.  During their ten minutes, they will each have five minutes to share the following with one another:

• Here is what you do, specifically, that most helps the team succeed
• Here is what you do, specifically, that most stands in the way of success

An example of how this might sound between Susan and Stan (Susan sharing her feedback with Stan during her five minutes) is:

Susan:  "Stan, from my perspective, one of the things that you do that contributes most to our team success is your follow-up.  I don’t know of anyone who is as disciplined and through as you are in this regard.  I always know where the project stands and that saves me a lot of time and worry."

Susan:  "Stan, in terms of something you do that stands in the way of success, I would suggest it might be that at times you tend to over-communicate.  There are days when I receive as many as 20 e-mails from you on the same topic when one summary e-mail would suffice.  I appreciate you considering to make adjustments here.  Any questions?  Thanks for listening. Now, it is your turn to give me feedback…"

For a team of ten, you will want to allow about two hours.  In advance, designate 10 meeting spots and create a list that includes the pairings, the places and the time slots.

The key to this exercise is not to give any advance notice and instead surprise the team with the assignment.  This helps with spontaneity and candor when people don’t spend time in advance preparing what they have to say.

After the fast feedback rounds have all taken place, it can be effective to bring the team back together and debrief.  While no one should be asked to share specifics, general questions can help process the activity.

• How did you like (or not like) the process?
• What did you learn about yourself – others?
• What was the most powerful discovery?

Again, this exercise is for a seasoned team who wants to take their collaboration and commitment to the next level.  The kind of candor and intimacy this exercise produces might not be appropriate for a newly organized team who are still getting to know one another.  

As the new year approaches, this could be a powerful way to enter 2010 with an even stronger team.

I am excited to announce a new collaboration with filmmaker and videographer, Steve Zagata, called Adventures in Communication.  Our video blog invites you on an exciting journey to communication mastery through expert guides, timeless wisdom and exceptional resources.   

• Receive our introductory 2X4 Communication Tool Kit.  2 Reports for 4 months that feature skill building tips and techniques to help you create a foundation for compelling communication that will get you recognized, rewarded and remembered.
• Gain access to ideas and perspectives from experts, authors, speakers, gurus and business professionals on how to best communicate with your employees, customers, stakeholders – even friends and families.
• Have the opportunity to participate by reacting to our blog or even pitching an idea for a featured video or interview!
• Be the first to receive our updates and recommendations for products and services that will enhance your skills.
• Obtain ideas you can read or listen to today and put into action tomorrow.

Visit us today at http://adventuresincommunication.com/  We feature a great video interview this month with authors Chip Bell and John Patterson on their new book:  Take their breath away:  How imaginative service creates devoted customers.

Thank you!

When communicating with your team here are quick tips on what engages and what enrages:

Morale Boosters:

1. Tell people, specifically, what they are doing right
2. Create challenging assignments where people can stretch and shine.
3. Offer to mentor
4. Give credit publically, where credit is due
5. Profile a best practice

 Morale Busters:

1. Praise everyone for everything until it is meaningless
2. Allow for the status quo and “good enough”
3. Offer little support , coaching or one-on-one time
4. Take credit for other’s work
5. Forget to shine the spotlight of what it working well

Take a moment to self-coach and determine where, when and how you can develop as a morale booster rather than a morale buster.

Listening to a story yesterday on PRI, Jason Strother tells us about a service for the stressed-out in South Korea. It’s called “Substitute Men” and they’ll do just about anything customers ask – within limits and the law. (http://www.theworld.org/2009/09/22/south-korea%e2%80%99s-substitute-men/)

While I understand this new "job" may not be ideal, I found it inventive.  A "substitute man" works primarily through an agency and is available for any type of service from picking up dry cleaning and children from school to home fix-it jobs.  In a difficult economy where full time employment is often hard to find, this service in South Korea is increasingly popular for busy business professionals who need help.  Unemployed men are grabbing the opportunity and making money while searching for something else.  I appreciated the ingenuity.

Would this work in the States?  

Ideally, individuals are assigned to a leadership position within an organization because they are trusted, highly competent, great with customers and know how to enlist and engage their people.

With that high level of competence comes an assumption that they don’t need much guidance or handholding.  They are big boys and girls, being paid accordingly and know what to do and simply need to be given the runway to make it happen.

What then, is the role of their boss – the CEO, President or Business Head?  Beyond that, what else would support their success?  Here are a couple of ways the leader of leaders can stay connected and provide additional support:

1.   Make Time for Monday Morning Huddles / Friday Wrap-Ups – Gather your leaders on Monday mornings to share key focus areas for the week.  This creates an opportunity for your team to report on their progress against goals and ask for help if needed.  It also gives you a chance to continually review what they see as priorities and offer course correction as needed.  It is also an efficient platform for you to share your immediate goals, offer additional guidance and direction and a bit of motivation.  Bringing the team together at the end of the week – whether in person or a 30 minute teleconference – to review progress made and align plans for the following week can be helpful to keep the team focused and engaged.

2.   Surprise them with Impromptu Check-Ins – Nothing matters more to your leaders than one-on-one time with you.  When you find yourself with an open pocket of time – reach out to one of your key leaders with a quick phone check in, meaningful e-mail or to grab a cup of coffee.  Get to know them on both a personal and professional basis – that relationship building goes a long way to building loyalty.

3.   Develop Signature Questions – What do you really want to know from your team of leaders?  What would give you the best insight into how they are doing?  Get your team used to core questions that you always want them to be prepared to answer like:

a.   What is keeping you up at night?

b.   What has you fired up and inspired at the moment?

c.    What opportunity are you most excited about?

d.   What do you see as your biggest threat to accomplishing your goals?

e.   What do you need from me?

  Superior leadership requires staying in touch and keeping the dialogue robust.