Welcome to the July edition of Conversations, the Fierce newsletter.

This month we continue Susan Scott's new book series, by taking a look at the fourth Worst "Best" Practice. We also look into the second Key Objective of Fierce Conversations — Provoke Learning, and we invite you to join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Feel free to comment on any of our articles on our Fierce blog. We look forward to our next conversation.

1. Worst “Best” Practice #4 

A company is like a huge power generating station. Press your ear to the door and you will hear individuals talking and underneath, you make out the hum of the organization. Or the sputter and cough. When employees are not engaged, companies sputter, cough, suffer.

It's no surprise that "employee inclusion and engagement" are key initiatives within many companies. Engaged workers are more productive, make more money for the company and create loyal customers. They contribute to good working environments where people are happy, ethical and accountable. They stay with an organization longer and are more committed to quality and growth — in fact, engaged employees outperform their unengaged counterparts by 20 - 28 percent points.

I think of it this way: Inclusion + engagement = execution muscle


...and without execution muscle, you might as well hang it up. Yet, according to the latest surveys, 54% of employees are not engaged and 17% are actively disengaged. Good people quit, defect; or worse, show up every day — in body — but only contribute minimally.


It's hard to imagine a company succeeding if only 29% or fewer of their employees are actively engaged. So why these dismal scores? Because inclusion and engagement can't be feigned, trained or mandated. "John, your level of engagement seems to be hovering around 40%. I realize that 100% might be asking too much, so I'd like you to dial your engagement up to 75% over the next three weeks and hold it there." You'll find this approach in the dictionary under "Fat chance".

Nor can engagement be taught in some dry management seminar. An HR executive in a global company once told me, "The big lie we tell ourselves is that if we continue offering awareness training about inclusiveness, things will change. We launch programs focused on women and minorities. We broaden this to include LGBT - lesbian, gays, bi-sexual and transgender people. And still, nothing changes, so what do we do? Offer more classes."

Employee engagement and inclusion isn't a cognitive issue. It's an emotional issue. The overriding theme of studies on employee engagement is "a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort." And all studies, all locations and all ages agreed that the direct relationship with one's manager is the strongest driver of employee engagement. Their relationship with YOU.

The problem isn't out there. It's in here. We want employees to be engaged and feel included, while we ourselves are detached, distracted, disengaged, focused on our To Do lists. We want others to bring that elusive, coveted "discretionary effort" in the door with them every day but we don't have time to engage in the kind of conversations that could enrich our relationships with them. We are busy, not to be found. Besides, conversations and meetings that engage and include take too much time.

The fact is, not having those conversations will cost more in the long term. When you disengage from the world, fail to include it, the world disengages too, in equal measure. It's a two-step, you and the world, you and your organization. Your colleagues, associates, employees lost interest in you because you lost interest in them.

Physicist Henri Bortoft wrote: "Everything is in everything. The part is a place for the presencing of the whole." Engage one of us and you engage all of us. Fail to engage one of us and you lose all of us.

If you want to engage and include the people who surround you at work, then gain the capacity to connect with them at a deep level - or lower your aim. Yet I seriously doubt that connecting with people at any level is on most people's To Do list.

Chapter Four contains the roadmap for employee engagement. You can take a step in the right direction by considering that:

What matters anywhere in your organization, matters everywhere in your organization.

Or should.

In every organization, large or small, there are three basic units: no particular order, the company, divisions of the company (large and small, geographical and functional), and the employees (the individual contributors, who come in every shape, size and color). Each unit (company, divisions, employees) has its own identity - unique in all the world, deserving of recognition, celebration, guidance, support - with its own goals, its own pack to carry, its destination clear or unfolding. And all are connected, dependent on each other, affecting each other with every drawn breath, every missed deadline, every bit of work won, each new initiative.

The challenge is to impart this understanding across the organization, to expand the idea of "inclusion" beyond the usual suspects, and to expand the idea of "engagement" beyond that tired old phrase, "inspirational leadership", as if reciting the mission statement or giving an inspiring pep talk will do the trick!

As you look at your organization, consider how each area affects the others. Consider whom you talk with, who talks to you, who else they talk to. And who is left out? Whose voices and perspectives are missing?

 

More than half a tree is spread out in the soil under your feet.

 

My hope is that you will put at the top of your To Do list:

Connect with one person today.

And do it, during a quiet conversation or a meeting. The kaleidoscope will turn, a piece will drop, a new picture will appear.

2. Ask Fierce (Monthly Column) 

"I'm uncomfortable with saying, ‘I want to provoke your learning.' It sounds confrontational. Is there another way to say that?"

I love it when the Key Objectives of Fierce Conversations generate such an emotional response. Means they're striking a chord and we get to have a conversation about it.

A while back, I wrote an article about the first Key Objective, Interrogate Reality where I worked through changing our context around the word, "interrogate" from a negative to a positive. The second Key Objective is to Provoke Learning, and there is a similar reaction to the word "provoke".

Under the right circumstances, the thought of "provoking" anything can come across as aggressive. I picture someone in another's face, poking their finger at their partner's chest, willing them to learn something new, darn it. (Sound familiar, anyone?)

If someone is uncomfortable with the term "provoke learning", perhaps it's because they bring that kind of energy into their conversations. Maybe their experience of candid conversation is both partners "provoking" each other right into yet another argument where there is no learning or resolution. Sadly, many of us haven't had the experience of a candid conversation in a while, or forgotten how stimulating and unfortunately rare they can be.

As has been said many times, at Fierce, we are not neutral. We don't want to be careful, afraid of stepping on someone's toes. I mean, the reason we're brought into so many companies is that our clients are recognizing that being PC (politically correct) is not getting them the results they say they want. In fact, it's absolutely getting in the way. It's time to stop beating around the bush, tip-toeing around the real issues, and have the courage and willingness to talk about the real issues, as tough as that may be.

Same can be said about semantics. There is a reason we say things like, "interrogate", "confront", and "provoke". Simply put, they are, well, provocative words. They stimulate our emotions. Make us sit up and take note. They're not fuzzy around the edges to soften the blow. And, in fact, though many of us tend to go negative when first we hear these words, there are very powerful positive definers for them.

When you say "provoke learning", think powerful, stimulating, direct, get to the heart of the matter, meat on the bones, enlightening, freeing conversation.

Keep talking about what these words mean to you. Ask others for their perspective. Even after several years working with this material, I'm still gaining new insights. To further provoke your thinking, here is how I think the 4 Key Objectives work together:

1. Interrogate Reality — Let's take a close, hard look at what reality looks like from every angle and figure out where we differ, so that we can,
2. Provoke Learning — Mine as well as yours. Neither of us has all of the answers, so let's learn what pieces we're missing. With this new knowledge we'll be able to,
3. Tackle Tough Challenges — With newfound understanding, we'll finally reach some real resolution and momentum which will,
4. Enrich Relationships — Strong relationships, teams, families - don't just happen. They are the result of resolving tough issues, rather than ignoring and tip-toeing.

3. Fierce Workshops: Save The Date 

Attending one of our workshops is a wonderful way to evaluate Fierce for your organization. You will experience the program in its entirety. You will work on real issues. And our facilitators and team members will be there to answer your questions. If you would like more information, please click on the options below.

 

July 20th and 21st in Seattle, WA

Fierce Conversations (2 Days)

 

September 14th and 15th in Seattle, WA

Fierce Conversations (2 Days)

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