Earlier this month I asked, "Employee Engagement, Who Cares?" There were some thought provoking responses, just the kind I like! You can click on comments at the end of that post to read them.
In particular, Kenny Moore suggested that we make a distinction between our "personal" and "public" lives. He posits that caring may be more the domain of the personal sphere: family and friends. The "public" life is the domain of the workplace where one is paid for a service offered where caring is not essential. Filling unmet needs between client and vendor is a successful experience.
These comments caused me to reflect on my meaning of caring at the workplace. You can read my thoughts on how a manger may care for a person who reports to them here http://learningvoyager.blogspot.com/ on the January 24 post.
Below are my thoughts on how one may care for their manager.
How would you change this description? When you've had the responsibilities of managing people how did you feel cared for by your staff?
__________________________________________________
The Essence of Employee Engagement - Caring
I am a whole person who comes to work.
I bring my hopes, desires, energy, worries, insecurities and the joys of family life as I work with colleagues.
I am human. I want to be appreciated, trusted - even loved!
My feelings drive my actions.They energize me or they take energy from me.
Having all these feelings, how might I feel cared for by my employees?
*speak openly and honestly with me
*listen to me
*work together with me by appreciating and building on each other's strengths
*be genuinely interested in who I am
*have a positive, proactive attitude
*be flexible, adaptable, accept change
*strive for excellence
*understand our business, how it works, how it makes money
*analyze problems, use common sense
*talk with your colleagues and resolve problems
*accept responsibility
*support my success
The very big difference in how we care for each other is that I, as your manager, must create a culture that supports this way of working!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Employee Engagement, Who Cares?
I ended my last post with this question, "Is it possible for employees and employers to care about each other and make commitments to each other now that the social contract [employees as primary stakeholders] is broken?"
I will address the commitment part of this question in my next post. Tonight I will share some thinking about caring.
Pages of research document the critical nature of the relationship between managers and their direct reports. I believe a caring relationship can and must be present to create successful organizations.
Consider research by Milton Mayeroff, philosopher. His book, "On Caring" has been reviewed as a philosophy of life that is practical, central and sensible for all human activities.
He explains that in order to care I must understand the other's needs and I must be able to respond properly to them. To care for another I must know who the other is, their powers and limitations, their needs and what is conducive to their growth. In order to do this I must know my own powers and limitations.
Even with the disturbance of the economy and the job market I believe managers can choose to create a caring relationship with their employees.
Please share your experiences of being in a caring relationship whether as manager or direct report. What made that a caring relationship?
As Kenny Moore would say, if you are tempted to write please give in to your temptation!
I will address the commitment part of this question in my next post. Tonight I will share some thinking about caring.
Pages of research document the critical nature of the relationship between managers and their direct reports. I believe a caring relationship can and must be present to create successful organizations.
Consider research by Milton Mayeroff, philosopher. His book, "On Caring" has been reviewed as a philosophy of life that is practical, central and sensible for all human activities.
He explains that in order to care I must understand the other's needs and I must be able to respond properly to them. To care for another I must know who the other is, their powers and limitations, their needs and what is conducive to their growth. In order to do this I must know my own powers and limitations.
Even with the disturbance of the economy and the job market I believe managers can choose to create a caring relationship with their employees.
Please share your experiences of being in a caring relationship whether as manager or direct report. What made that a caring relationship?
As Kenny Moore would say, if you are tempted to write please give in to your temptation!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
My Search Lights - Employee Engagement
It may be that Your Search Lights is really My Search Lights. I began this blog in April to create a place for Career Networking Resources so more folks could find this information easily.
I decided to name the blog Your Search Lights because the possible interpretations are rather limitless.
With the original purpose of the blog fulfilled - a place for the networking information -I have the luxury of allowing my writing and interests to unfold here. I realize this must be disconcerting for folks who are focused and thrive with SMART goals. I could say the common thread in my posts is providing resources and ideas for finding ways to be engaged and stay engaged in a world of turbo-charged transition.
With this unfolding process in mind my interests have turned to the challenge of employee engagement. There is nothing more important to an organization's success than engaged employees. Since engagement is about how a person thinks and feels about their work, an engaged employee is energized and involved. Both the organization and the employee benefit from successful engagement. Genuine engagement is one of those rare win-win experiences.
I leave us today with a brief background and a question:
For many years there was a social contract between employees and employer. It was that employees worked hard and employers took care of them. Employees were the primary stakeholders of the organization.
Since the 1970s when management broke this social contract by implementing cost cutting measures which viewed employees as a cost rather than precious resources and stakeholders, the only stakeholders became the shareholders.
Now with this latest recession gripping our economy and the hearts and minds of employees, how do we genuinely create employee engagement? It is possible for employees and employers
to care about each other and make commitments to each other now that the social contract is broken?
This is what I'm thinking about lately and I would love to read your thoughts on this. Please comment!
More later this week.
I decided to name the blog Your Search Lights because the possible interpretations are rather limitless.
With the original purpose of the blog fulfilled - a place for the networking information -I have the luxury of allowing my writing and interests to unfold here. I realize this must be disconcerting for folks who are focused and thrive with SMART goals. I could say the common thread in my posts is providing resources and ideas for finding ways to be engaged and stay engaged in a world of turbo-charged transition.
With this unfolding process in mind my interests have turned to the challenge of employee engagement. There is nothing more important to an organization's success than engaged employees. Since engagement is about how a person thinks and feels about their work, an engaged employee is energized and involved. Both the organization and the employee benefit from successful engagement. Genuine engagement is one of those rare win-win experiences.
I leave us today with a brief background and a question:
For many years there was a social contract between employees and employer. It was that employees worked hard and employers took care of them. Employees were the primary stakeholders of the organization.
Since the 1970s when management broke this social contract by implementing cost cutting measures which viewed employees as a cost rather than precious resources and stakeholders, the only stakeholders became the shareholders.
Now with this latest recession gripping our economy and the hearts and minds of employees, how do we genuinely create employee engagement? It is possible for employees and employers
to care about each other and make commitments to each other now that the social contract is broken?
This is what I'm thinking about lately and I would love to read your thoughts on this. Please comment!
More later this week.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Networking - Lessons from the Recession
I heard an economist interviewed on NPR this week and I think he said , "The recession is officially over!" Did you hear that too? Was I dreaming?
Regardless of the different definitions and perspectives of recession and recovery I think many of us have learned an awful lot about networking.
Now we know that continuous networking is essential to our professional development. I've learned networking is enriching for my professional and personal life.
In an age when so many of us have crafted somewhat isolated lives; just think how many hours you spend each week at your computer or behind the steering wheel, networking has created a sense of community and belonging. It's true that the initial reason to belong seemed rather negative i.e. I lost my job. Over time I have widened my circle of community in meaningful ways. Now my community is more diverse and relevant. I really am grateful for this!
While I am a late adaptor to social networking I've learned I can create relationships that are based on important common ground; professional and personal. In the past geography has often been an arbitrary factor in meeting people, this is no longer so. Thanks to the recession I now have friends and colleagues in Indiana, Massachusetts, Wyoming and Australia.
Ron Katz, President of Penguin Human Resource Consulting sent a letter to the NY Times to
remind us of an important distinction as we network. We must have at least two networks
and use them with purpose:
1. Your inner network of people who actually know you, are familiar with your work and can
confidently recommend you. Cultivate and protect these.
2. Your supersized networks, with casts of thousands that can exist on social media are best
used as sources of information or as a research tools to learn about about industries,
companies or opportunities.
Finally an answer the question I hear so often,"How many people should I have in my
LinkedIn network?" Now this question sounds like asking how many pages should be in my
dictionary? I think you can't have too many!
What have you learned about networking? What networking success stories do you have? Please share them in comments below.
Regardless of the different definitions and perspectives of recession and recovery I think many of us have learned an awful lot about networking.
Now we know that continuous networking is essential to our professional development. I've learned networking is enriching for my professional and personal life.
In an age when so many of us have crafted somewhat isolated lives; just think how many hours you spend each week at your computer or behind the steering wheel, networking has created a sense of community and belonging. It's true that the initial reason to belong seemed rather negative i.e. I lost my job. Over time I have widened my circle of community in meaningful ways. Now my community is more diverse and relevant. I really am grateful for this!
While I am a late adaptor to social networking I've learned I can create relationships that are based on important common ground; professional and personal. In the past geography has often been an arbitrary factor in meeting people, this is no longer so. Thanks to the recession I now have friends and colleagues in Indiana, Massachusetts, Wyoming and Australia.
Ron Katz, President of Penguin Human Resource Consulting sent a letter to the NY Times to
remind us of an important distinction as we network. We must have at least two networks
and use them with purpose:
1. Your inner network of people who actually know you, are familiar with your work and can
confidently recommend you. Cultivate and protect these.
2. Your supersized networks, with casts of thousands that can exist on social media are best
used as sources of information or as a research tools to learn about about industries,
companies or opportunities.
Finally an answer the question I hear so often,"How many people should I have in my
LinkedIn network?" Now this question sounds like asking how many pages should be in my
dictionary? I think you can't have too many!
What have you learned about networking? What networking success stories do you have? Please share them in comments below.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Keeping your Sanity, Sense of Humor and Soul in the Workplace
Kenny Moore is speaking at St. Mathias School Cafeteria in Somerset on October 24. Consider going if you would appreciate a free interactive, insightful and entertaining afternoon. I think his irreverent perspective is refreshing!
Kenny is a best selling author, former Catholic monk and present-day business leader. He will discuss the professional, personal and spiritual elements of earning a livelihood while living out one's vocation in the marketplace.
Kenny's book, "The CEO and the Monk" is rated as one of the top ten best selling books on Amazon.com.
A survivor of incurable cancer, Kenny has dealt with both God and death making him eminently qualified to work with people on awakening joy, meaning and purpose in their jobs and lives.
Visit his website to learn more about him. www.KennytheMonk.com
St. Matthias School Cafeteria - 170 JFK Blvd. Somerset, NJ
Saturday - October 24, 2009 1:00 - 4:30pm
Walk-ins are always welcomed! Registering is also appreciated by contacting:
Deacon John Radvanski - smcng@smpo.us 732-828-1400 x 130
Kenny is a best selling author, former Catholic monk and present-day business leader. He will discuss the professional, personal and spiritual elements of earning a livelihood while living out one's vocation in the marketplace.
Kenny's book, "The CEO and the Monk" is rated as one of the top ten best selling books on Amazon.com.
A survivor of incurable cancer, Kenny has dealt with both God and death making him eminently qualified to work with people on awakening joy, meaning and purpose in their jobs and lives.
Visit his website to learn more about him. www.KennytheMonk.com
St. Matthias School Cafeteria - 170 JFK Blvd. Somerset, NJ
Saturday - October 24, 2009 1:00 - 4:30pm
Walk-ins are always welcomed! Registering is also appreciated by contacting:
Deacon John Radvanski - smcng@smpo.us 732-828-1400 x 130
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Ecological Intelligence
Since I attended the Green Ventures Conference at FDU in May my interest in the green economy and sustainability continues to grow. These are big concepts with many perspectives. My efforts to become more knowledgeable led me to Daniel Goleman's latest book, "Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything."
A major point that Goleman adds to the thinking about our ecology is the life cycle assessment. This refers to the hundreds, often thousands of steps any product goes through starting from its creation to our purchase. Every step along the way there are numerous impacts on the environment, on health and on the people involved. Now these steps can be analyzed and the information is available to us as we make purchasing decisions.
Global warming is a danger that often feels out of our sphere of influence. The ability to make informed choices with relative ease gives us, the consumer, a concrete way to influence companies to do the right thing...to manufacture products that don't harm people or the planet.
Here are three websites that can help all of us make safer purchasing decisions and decide if their impact is worth the price we pay. I use the word price in its broadest meaning. www.GoodGuide.com - rates products on the environmental, health and social impacts compared to other similar products.
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com - a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products
www.ewg.org - exposes threats to our health and the environment.
I logged onto Good Guide and checked Cheerios. This is what I learned. Cheerios is rated as 8. The rating includes a good nutrition score, no or minimal community-related controversies and one of the highest scores in recycled materials. With over 70,000 products rated I hope you will try this site and see how it can help you. Let me know. Post a comment!
Here's to consuming and caring for each other and our planet all at the same time!
A major point that Goleman adds to the thinking about our ecology is the life cycle assessment. This refers to the hundreds, often thousands of steps any product goes through starting from its creation to our purchase. Every step along the way there are numerous impacts on the environment, on health and on the people involved. Now these steps can be analyzed and the information is available to us as we make purchasing decisions.
Global warming is a danger that often feels out of our sphere of influence. The ability to make informed choices with relative ease gives us, the consumer, a concrete way to influence companies to do the right thing...to manufacture products that don't harm people or the planet.
Here are three websites that can help all of us make safer purchasing decisions and decide if their impact is worth the price we pay. I use the word price in its broadest meaning. www.GoodGuide.com - rates products on the environmental, health and social impacts compared to other similar products.
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com - a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products
www.ewg.org - exposes threats to our health and the environment.
I logged onto Good Guide and checked Cheerios. This is what I learned. Cheerios is rated as 8. The rating includes a good nutrition score, no or minimal community-related controversies and one of the highest scores in recycled materials. With over 70,000 products rated I hope you will try this site and see how it can help you. Let me know. Post a comment!
Here's to consuming and caring for each other and our planet all at the same time!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Money = Wealth?
This ongoing recession, which some believe will transition to a new economy, has caused many folks to think even more about money. This has been on my mind lately as well. Mostly I've been struggling with feelings that I don't have enough money. Does anyone else relate to this?
A few friends of mine have recently accepted jobs that pay less than their previous ones. They too have been thinking they don't have enough money.
I decided this is a good time to reflect on my beliefs about money and reinforce beliefs that will add to my well being.
It's true that sometimes I fall into scarcity thinking. This of course only causes anxiety and distrust and does not support the life I'm trying to create. Fortunately I'm able to recognize this and shift my thoughts to beliefs grounded in the psychology of plenty. This is an attitude of appreciating what I have; seeing my life as a gift which offers opportunities (sometimes disguised as problems!). I know that when I appreciate the gifts I have they become more valuable to me and this attracts still more.
While reading about money, I was reminded that money is important but it is not wealth. Wealth comes in many forms and is not limited to the dollars in my bank account. Wealth is offered numerous ways. It is the love and support of family and friends. Knowledge is wealth. Beauty is wealth. Peace is wealth. The services that others offer, the products we use; all are forms of wealth.
When I resist the materialistic notions of our society of getting, accumulating and consuming things and then feel content with what I have, I feel wealthy. As Joseph Campbell wrote, following one's bliss and one's deeper nature is liberating.
I will continue my reflections about money with conversations about sufficiency. If you are interested in this, please send a message to me janice@mjscape.com
You can find more resources about sufficiency at www.globalsufficiency.org
A few friends of mine have recently accepted jobs that pay less than their previous ones. They too have been thinking they don't have enough money.
I decided this is a good time to reflect on my beliefs about money and reinforce beliefs that will add to my well being.
It's true that sometimes I fall into scarcity thinking. This of course only causes anxiety and distrust and does not support the life I'm trying to create. Fortunately I'm able to recognize this and shift my thoughts to beliefs grounded in the psychology of plenty. This is an attitude of appreciating what I have; seeing my life as a gift which offers opportunities (sometimes disguised as problems!). I know that when I appreciate the gifts I have they become more valuable to me and this attracts still more.
While reading about money, I was reminded that money is important but it is not wealth. Wealth comes in many forms and is not limited to the dollars in my bank account. Wealth is offered numerous ways. It is the love and support of family and friends. Knowledge is wealth. Beauty is wealth. Peace is wealth. The services that others offer, the products we use; all are forms of wealth.
When I resist the materialistic notions of our society of getting, accumulating and consuming things and then feel content with what I have, I feel wealthy. As Joseph Campbell wrote, following one's bliss and one's deeper nature is liberating.
I will continue my reflections about money with conversations about sufficiency. If you are interested in this, please send a message to me janice@mjscape.com
You can find more resources about sufficiency at www.globalsufficiency.org
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