copyright center for executive coaching. all rights reserved. this … · 2018-10-08 · have the...

Copyright Center for Executive Coaching. All rights reserved. This content may not be shared except with your paying clients for live one-on-one and group engagements. It may not be licensed to

others, used as part of a train-the-trainer program to train coaches, or distributed electronically as part of an online program for multiple virtual users. You may adapt it for client use with the statement, "Adapted with permission by Center for Executive Coaching.".

2 Copyright Center for Executive Coaching. All rights reserved. This content may not be shared except with your paying clients for live one-on-one and group engagements. It may not be licensed to others, used as part of a train-the-trainer program to train coaches, or distributed electronically as part of an online program for multiple virtual users. You may adapt it for client use with the statement, "Adapted with permission by Center for Executive Coaching.".

Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 3 When To Use the Toolkit / Examples ................................................................................................................. 4 Prompts from the Client that Tell You About an Opportunity to Use the Toolkit .......................................... 5 The Process / Coaching Plan – For a Manager ................................................................................................. 6 Other Toolkits to Consider ................................................................................................................................. 8 Proposal Language Sample ................................................................................................................................ 9 Practical Tips ..................................................................................................................................................... 13

The Toolkit: Coaching Managers ................................................................... 14 Context: Engage and Mobilize Employees ...................................................................................................... 15 Engage and Mobilize Employees: Table of Contents ..................................................................................... 16 General Inquiry: Illustrative Questions ............................................................................................................ 17 Quick Exercise: Your Best and Worst Manager ............................................................................................. 19 Key to Getting Specific: List Your Employees ................................................................................................ 20 Know Your Employees ...................................................................................................................................... 21 Develop Messages that Engage and Mobilize ................................................................................................ 22 Set Clear Expectations ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Customize Your Leadership to the Individual ................................................................................................. 24 Recognize and Acknowledge ........................................................................................................................... 25 Develop Employees for the Future .................................................................................................................. 26 Earn the Right to Lead ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Action Plan ......................................................................................................................................................... 29

Appendix: Coaching The Top of the Organization About Engagement ..... 30 Appendix: Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 31 General Inquiry: Illustrative Questions for Leaders of Organizations .......................................................... 32 Quick Best/Worst Organization Exercise to Improve Engagement. ............................................................. 33 Commitment to Engagement ............................................................................................................................ 34 Vision and Strategy for Success ...................................................................................................................... 35 Creating a Culture of Engagement ................................................................................................................... 36 Measuring Engagement .................................................................................................................................... 38 Structures that Enable Engagement ................................................................................................................ 39 How Leadership Models the Right Behaviors ................................................................................................. 41 Action Plan ......................................................................................................................................................... 42


Executive Summary

The lack of employee engagement is a billion dollar problem. It costs billions of dollars worldwide in lost productivity and employee turnover. We know that one of the main drivers of an employee’s engagement in an organization is their manager. If you can coach a manager to improve their ability to engage employees, you can make a big impact.

This toolkit provides a practical approach to coach clients to address key issues related to engaging employees. It has been used in a variety of situations:

} One-on-one coaching for managers

} Group coaching for managers

} One-on-one coaching for business owners and C-suite executives so that they can engagetheir teams and also create organizational development initiatives to improve engagement

} The foundation for training programs for managers to improve engagement (usually followedby coaching)

} Part of a leadership curriculum in a high-performance leadership academy

} Part of a comprehensive program including employee engagement surveys, organizationaldevelopment work, and coaching to improve measurable engagement scores

Without this toolkit, many coaches make some critical mistakes in coaching clients. Most important, they allow the client to talk about their employees as a monolithic “them.” You don’t engage “them.” You engage employees one at a time, individually, based on their unique aspirations, motivations, and styles. From there, it is easy to imagine a coaching engagement that works with clients to develop and update engagement plans for each direct report while building skills in the key areas required to authentically engage.


When To Use the Toolkit / Examples

Use this Toolkit when a client expresses frustration with engaging their team, getting as much as they can from their team, or a desire to increase employee engagement scores.

Following are some examples:

} A coach piloted a coaching program with a large company to coach 10 managers toimprove engagement over a year. These managers increased their engagement surveyscores by a 3:1 ratio compared to managers who were not coached. As a result, the companyrepeated the engagement a second year with the same results. In the third year, theyexpanded the pilot to be able to train and coach their entire management team.

} A healthcare delivery system with 6,500 employees coached a group of managers toimprove their engagement scores, using internal coaches trained on this toolkit. Theymeasured aspects of engagement with a survey based on the Likert scale (a 1 to 5 scale). Thesurvey defined “practical significance” as having an improvement of .15 on any single surveyscore. The group that received coaching improved their scores far more than any other group,by an overall average of.24. The organization rolled out a variety of methods to use this Toolkitto improve engagement, including training, coaching, and embedding it in a leadershipacademy. All showed improvements in engagement.

} Coaches using the Toolkit have reported results coaching leaders and up-and-comingleaders who tend to have deep technical skills but not necessarily the softer skillsrequired to engage teams. Examples include professionals from technology, clinical, legal,and engineering backgrounds. Non-profit executives have also benefitted from using theToolkit with coaches; while not technical, they often have the same issue of leading anorganization without previous coaching or training on leading people.

} A number of coaches who specialize in working with newer managers benefit from thistoolkit. Two high-potential niches are coaching the new sales manager, and coaching the newnurse manager. In both cases, you have examples of professionals who might have excelledin their front-line role and yet receive no training for a management position. They are placedin the role more because of their performance in the front lines than their managerial potential.Also, they often struggle with the requirement to lead people that used to be peers and evenfriends.

} Coaches also report being asked to work with clients in different delivery modes usingthe content and flow of this toolkit: keynote speeches, training, facilitation, and embeddingit within a leadership academy.


Prompts from the Client that Tell You About an Opportunity to Use the Toolkit

When you hear any of the following laments from clients and prospective clients, you might have an opportunity to use the Toolkit.

} We just got our employee engagement surveys back, and the results were disappointing.

} I love technology but I don’t love managing people.

} My team is not doing what I need them to do.

} I’ve just gotten feedback on a 360-degree review, and the reviews from my employees were anegative surprise.

} I was trained to be a great [lawyer/physician/engineer…] but never on how to lead a team.

} I’ve been a star salesperson but I have no idea how to be a sales manager. (This samesentence can apply to anyone who was a superstar on the front lines and is now thrown intomanagement).

Once you hear any of the above, drill down with powerful questions. Find out what their problem is costing them – in terms of organizational results and ability to carry out its mission and vision, their own career, their time and work-life flow, their stress/hassle level, and the impact on their manager/investors. Then explore the value of solving the problem. Would it be worth enough to justify your fees and the time involved? Employee engagement is usually one area that is easy to quantify, and in which organizations are usually willing to invest.


The Process / Coaching Plan – For a Manager

Coaching plans that use this Toolkit come in many different flavors. Sometimes coach and client work on engagement exclusively. In that case, the client can decide to focus on key skills related to engagement or to focus on a developing and implementing an engagement plan for each employee. A behavioral coaching component can augment the coaching. Assessments can accelerate insights. Of course, the client will also want to discuss other pressing issues as they come up; some will relate back to how they engage and mobilize their teams while others might clear the path for them to focus on that issue.

The following plan assumes that the client will focus on developing an engagement plan for each employee, and will also include behavioral coaching, assessments, and room to discuss other challenges that emerge.

Session Activity

1

} Confirm goals and ground rules.

} Set up assessments. Recommendations: One well-validated off-the-shelf assessment to gain insights about the client’s naturalthinking/communication style and behavioral traits (e.g., Hogan,ProfileXT, Total DiSC, or any other that have high validity and reliabilityscores); a 360-verbal assessment to understand how others perceivethe client (see the methodology in the program); and the Leader’sDashboard to understand the client’s overall role and determinants ofsuccess (see the methodology in the program). Also suggested if youhave the capability: A 360-degree Emotional Intelligence assessment,because EI can be very relevant to this work (e.g., GenosInternational).

} Conduct initial general inquiry to help client think more deeply aboutengaging their team.

Between 1 and 2 } Client completes assessments.

} Coach conducts 360-degree verbal assessment interviews.

} Coach synthesizes assessments.

2 and 3 (or a single longer session)

} Share assessment results with client. Objectives: Client hasinsights that relate to how they can improve engagement. Also, clientidentifies one new behavior or habit that will have maximum impact onengagement and can become part of a behavioral coaching process(see the Toolkit in your program).

} If time and if applicable, set up behavioral coaching process. Usuallyclient and coach will need to wait until next session to confirm the


Session Activity

behavior. However, coach can prepare client for the process.

4 and ongoing

} Set up behavioral coaching process (if applicable and if not doneduring assessment debrief).

} Coaching focuses on: Developing engagement plan for each directreport; discussing new behavior or habit in context of behavioralcoaching; discussing current challenges/high-stakes conversations andhow they might relate to engagement.

Monthly } Review feedback from the behavioral coaching process, acknowledgewhat is working, and make mid-course projections.

Every 12 weeks } Client and coach do a progress review. What is working? What can bebetter?

Six months / As appropriate

} Repeat 360-verbal assessment to assess progress and identify newopportunities. Client and coach report progress to sponsor if required(see your program for an example).

} Review client’s engagement scores using organization’s surveymethodology and make adjustments as needed.


Other Toolkits to Consider

Engaging and mobilizing employees overlaps with many different leadership competencies. Therefore, you are likely to find many opportunities to incorporate other toolkits with this process. Some can enrich the current engagement, while others will lead to add-on work or new engagements. Related Toolkits include:

} The Toolkits for Behavioral and Perceptual Coaching. Clients often have to learn newbehaviors and perceptions in order to shift how they engage their teams.

} Influence and Communicate Powerfully. Clients who have challenges engaging their teamsoften also struggle with one-on-one influence conversations and overall communications.

} Manage Up. Success in an organization requires leading in all directions. Sometimes clientswho have challenges engaging employees also need coaching to improve the way theymanage those above in the organization’s hierarchy.

} Build a Strong Powerbase. Powerbase refers to one’s network of professional relationships.Your client’s direct reports are part of their Powerbase. You might need to coach your client towork more proactively on nurturing, strengthening, and building their network of relationshipsup, down, and across the organization.

} Lead Teams. While this Toolkit is more about Ad Hoc teams (teams that have a start andend), some of the lines of inquiry in this Toolkit might also be helpful.

} Create a High-Performance Culture. Regardless of their level in the organization, leaderscreate a strong culture in order to create an environment where people thrive and are asproductive as possible


Proposal Language Sample

Following is language from a more complex engagement, to give you an example of what can become possible with this Toolkit.

Background

XXXXX would like to improve supervisor and managerial ability to engage employees, resulting in improvement in employee engagement survey results as well as improved outcomes related to employee engagement on units.

As part of this effort, XXXXX has agreed to the following process:

} A series of facilitated sessions over one week with 175 managers based on the Center forExecutive Coaching toolkit about engaging and mobilizing employees.

} Coaching by Andrew Neitlich and a team of up to three other coaches to coach up to 15managers, based on their potential as leaders within XXXX and their opportunity to improvetheir engagement scores.

Outcomes

Participants in the workshop program will be equipped with the following skills:

} Understand and be able to implement best practices in engaging employees.

} Shift from a mindset of engaging “them” to developing strategies and tactics for individualemployees.

} Become more situational in understanding specific employee needs and how to respond tothem for optimal performance.

} Know when to direct vs. when to coach.

} Become aware of whether or not they have earned the right to lead, and how to take steps tobe the leader they need to be.

} Improve ability to set the proper tone for high standards and expectations.

} Properly acknowledge employees when appropriate.

} Consider employees for long-term development.


Each participant will be accountable for submitting an action plan to improve their engagement scores to the XXXXXX HR Engagement Team, and to putting those plans into place.

Participants in the one-on-one coaching program are expected to see measurable improvements in their engagement scores compared to those managers who do not receive direct one-one-one coaching.

Approach

} Workshops:

} Workshops will be conducted for four (4) hours over four consecutive days during the weekof October 5 (tentative dates) in session with up to 25 participants each, for maximumparticipation and interaction. Assuming 150-175 total participants, this will mean a total ofsix to seven total workshops over four days during the week.

} Participants will receive the toolkit Engage and Mobilize Employees, edited for theworkshop’s goals, for use during the workshop. The workshop will include time forbreakouts and application to each participant’s specific group of employees.

} For homework, participants will be asked to turn in their 30-day and 90-day plan to improveengagement for their area of responsibility. Plans will be turned in within two days of theworkshop. XXXXX internal coaches under the guidance of Andrew Neitlich will review plansand follow up.

} Participants are welcome to email Andrew Neitlich with questions by email after theworkshops for as long as needed.

} One-on-one coaching:

} Participants in the one-on-one coaching program will be selected based on their potentialfor leadership in XXXXX as well as for opportunities to improve their engagement scores.You understand that participants are to be selected because of their leadership potential atXXXXX; this is not a “coaching as last resort” or progressive discipline program. AndrewNeitlich and XXXXX leadership will mutually agree on coaching candidates, and aninterview with coaching candidates to confirm their commitment and coachability is alsorequired. This process should take one month after the engagement commences.

} Coaching will take place over 12 months, starting with a confidential assessment phaseand weekly meetings by phone after an in-person kick off. After the first three months,coaching meetings might shift to biweekly depending on participant’s progress.

} We will provide one mid-course review at 5 months to XXXXX leadership, noting that theparticipant will write the review with us, be present during the review, and that we will notbreak our agreement with the participant that all conversations during the coachingsessions are confidential. Our belief is that if the participant is improving performance, itshould show up outside the coaching sessions and that XXXXX leadership should noticethe change through the participant’s work.


} Progress will be measured based on changes in employee engagement survey scores asmeasured by XXXX, with the “before” scores already in place.

Client Responsibilities

} For the Workshops:

} Client will handle all logistics, including room, copying materials provided, scheduling, andselecting and inviting participants.

} For Coaching:

} Client is responsible for selecting coaching participants who are already excited and on-board about the coaching and the opportunity it presents. It is not the coach’s job to enrollthe direct coaching clients into the coaching process. However, after selection, coach anddirect coaching client will meet prior to a formal relationship to confirm mutual fit.

Each direct coaching client will be asked to affirm the following, and the client sponsor agrees with these responsibilities and terms:

1. The coaching relationship is important to you and you are committed to achieving the goalsoutlined above.

2. You will attend all coaching sessions on time.

3. You commit to the full term of coaching, unless we achieve your goals sooner.

4. If you need to reschedule a coaching session, you will do so with at least 72 hours notice.Otherwise, I am under no obligation to make up that session.

5. During coaching sessions you will be present, with no external distractions (cell phones, otherpeople, email, etc.).

6. You will complete any assignments that you agree to do, on time.

7. You will be open and honest during the sessions, which includes giving advice to me abouthow you can get more value from sessions.

8. The agreement we have includes coaching sessions and email support. It does not includeunscheduled calls or calls after business hours. Of course, if you require immediate supportoccasionally via phone, I will do my best to make myself available. However, if this becomesan ongoing pattern, we will need to discuss a new fee structure.

9. We will not discuss in our coaching any topics that might be a conflict of interest with yourorganization, including potential job searches or business opportunities.


Coach’s responsibilities to the direct coaching client, to which the sponsor of the coaching also agrees:

1. My commitment is to your professional and organizational success.

2. I will fully prepare each meeting to ensure that your time is well spent.

3. I will be available and supportive as your coach, including between meetings as needed.

4. I will be open, honest, constructive, respectful, and professional.

5. I am open to your advice about how to bring more value to your experience in this coachingengagement.

6. The specifics of our discussions and all assessments during the coaching are confidential andwill not be shared. The only exceptions are if you disclose that you might hurt yourself orsomeone else, disclose that you are involved in illegal activity, you accuse me of doingsomething during our work together that requires me to defend myself, or if for some reasons Iam required by a judge to testify during a legal action involving you or your organization.

Investment and Terms

Your investment in this engagement is $XXXX for the workshops and $YYYY for the coaching.

Workshop payment is due 75% prior to the workshops and 25% Net 30 after the workshops take place. Coaching payment is due 50% upfront and 50% after six months.

[CLIENT NAME], I am excited about working with you and helping you achieve the goals that we have discussed. Please sign below to indicate that you accept the above terms.

Sincerely,

[NAME/TITLE]

These terms are agreed to on this date ________________________ by:

Client Name and Signature:

Coach Name and Signature:


Practical Tips

} Start with good coaching practices, including active listening and powerful questions.Let the client guide the process first. Use the Toolkit as an enhancement to your coaching. Inseminars when we have teamed up coaches with organizational leaders, sometimes coachand client don’t even need to use the Toolkit when discussing issues about employees. TheToolkit is there if you find the client getting stuck, being too vague or general, using all ornothing thinking, or facing challenges that the Toolkit specifically addresses.

} As always, don’t force-feed the Toolkit on the client. This is another way of reinforcing theabove point. Sometimes the coach introduces the Toolkit too soon in the coaching process.Wait until the timing is right, for instance, when the client is stuck or is going down a path thatthe Toolkit can specifically address.

} There are different ways to use the Toolkit. Sometimes you might just use a piece of it.For instance, it is surprising how few leaders feel comfortable giving regular feedback toemployees or know how to do it. Simply giving them the template in the Toolkit can help thema lot – especially when followed by coaching them on specific examples and role playing.

} Don’t coach about “them” or a general leadership style. Get specific by employee.Similarly, some clients benefit most by creating a plan to engage each and every employee;some need to focus on one or two employees taking up most of their time; others want tofocus more on skill development first and go through the different parts of the Toolkit one byone. Assess the situation to come up with the best plan of action.

} The best coaching always get to how the client can be a better leader. The Toolkit seemsto focus on coaching the client about their direct reports. However, the coaching becomesmost powerful when it challenges the client to look in the mirror and think about how they canimprove their own leadership and way of showing up. The “Earn the right to lead” section is themost important part of the Toolkit.


The Toolkit: Coaching Managers


Context: Engage and Mobilize Employees

Situations/Presenting Problems:

Client believes that he or she is not getting enough productivity or engagement from his or her employees.

Client gets negative feedback from employees.

Client might come from a technical background and have little previous experience or development in authentically engaging and mobilizing employees.

Performance in a unit shows low productivity, low morale, and/or higher-than-average turnover.

The client is having issues recruiting, retaining, and developing top talent.

Benefits:

Higher productivity

Better teamwork

Increased comfort and confidence leading

Improved impact and leadership presence

Increase morale and decrease turnover

Development of internal talent to assume greater responsibility and make continuous improvements

Ability to spend time on fewer hassles and fires, and focus on more strategic issues


Engage and Mobilize Employees: Table of Contents

Area of Inquiry Rationale

Inquiry Get a general sense of what is going on and the client's overall goals.

Quick best/worst manager exercise

The client gets grounded in the best and worst managers they have had in terms of engagement.

List each employee Engaging and mobilizing employees happens one employee at a time, not with a monolithic "them."

Know each employee By knowing the commitments, aspirations, and style of each employee, it is easier to understand how to best engage and mobilize that employee.

Develop messages that engage and mobilize

There are a variety of different messages that can engage and mobilize employees, and most leaders tend to emphasize only a few of them. By having greater flexibility, there is more opportunity to truly engage and mobilize each employee.

Set clear expectations

While this might seem like Leadership 101, even at the highest levels of huge organizations, leaders do not always set clear expectations and give clear feedback so that each employee knows how he or she is doing and how to improve.

Adjust your leadership style to the individual employee

You can't use a single tool to fix a car, and you can't use a single style to engage and mobilize employees. Different employees require different approaches at different times.

Acknowledge each employee appropriately

Many leaders don't think enough about how they can recognize and acknowledge employees, and they are missing out on one of the most powerful ways to engage and mobilize.

Develop employees for the future

The best leaders develop future leaders.

Earn the right to lead You can’t lead others until you earn the right to do so.

Action plan The client puts their insights into action.

APPENDIX: Coaching Organizational Leaders who want to improve Engagement

These additional lines of inquiry are appropriate for business owners and organizational leaders with the authority to make structural changes that can have an impact on engagement.


General Inquiry: Illustrative Questions

Start the process with some general questions to more fully understand the situation.

What is your "Point B"? What would it look like if you were more satisfied with how your team is engaged?

What are specific situations that work well?

What are specific situations that frustrate you?

Which specific employees are ones where you know you need to focus?

Which specific employees are ones where engagement is in place, and why?

Why is the issue of engaging and mobilizing employees been a source of concern for you?

(Continued)


What specific event, if any, has gotten you more focused on this issue?

What have you tried to improve employee engagement that is working, and that you can build on?

What are your ideas to improve engagement beyond what you have already tried?

What talents do you have that you can bring to bear on better engaging and mobilizing employees?

What other ideas do you have to address how you engage and mobilize employees?


Quick Exercise: Your Best and Worst Manager

Following are simple, high-level questions that will get your client grounded in the attributes that improve engagement. You will return to this later in the coaching process.

Think about the best manager you ever had when it comes to engaging and mobilizing people. What are up to 7 behaviors that he or she modeled and that led to great engagement?

Think about the worst manager you ever had when it comes to engaging and mobilizing people. What are up to 7 behaviors that he or she displayed that led to poor engagement?

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.

6. 6.

7. 7.

How might your answers to the above questions provide insights for you to improve engagement among your team?


Key to Getting Specific: List Your Employees

Employee Name

Issues with Engagement, if

any?

Priority to Discuss

Idea Jogger: Potential Engagement Issues

They take up too much of my time because…

They cause conflict/hassle among other team members

They are doing great but I am afraid they might leave

They are not performing up to my expectations

They need to develop skills

Their expectations for moving up are too high

They are ready to move up and I need to develop/mentor them for a new role

Their attitude is not where it needs to be

Our styles clash

They don’t seem to respect me

21 Copyright Center for Executive Coaching. All rights reserved. This content may not be shared except with your paying clients for live one-on-one and group engagements. It may not be licensed to others, used as part of a train-the-trainer program to train coaches, or distributed electronically as part of an online program for multiple virtual users. You may adapt it for client use with the statement, "Adapted with permission by Center for Executive

Know Your Employees

For each employee, describe as much as you can about him or her.

Name Careeraspirations

Personalaspirations

Whatmotivatesthem?

Values Talents,gifts,andskills

Communicationstyle

Professionaldevelopment

needsOtherinsights

This content may not be shared except with your paying clients for live one-on-one and group engagements. It may not be licensed to others, used as part of a train-the-trainer program to train coaches, or distributed electronically as part of an online program for multiple virtual users. You may adapt it for client use with the statement, "Adapted with permission by Center for Executive Coaching.".

Develop Messages that Engage and Mobilize

For each employee, come up with the messages that they need to hear from you to feel engaged and mobilized.

Employee Name Key Messages Types of Messages:

Here is where we have been....

Here is where we are going...

Here is why what we are doing matters and how what you are doing matters....

Here are our values and what we stand for....

Here are our top strategies and initiatives, and here is how your role fits in....

Here are our top objectives/performance indicators, as well as yours and how they fit in....

Here is your specific role, and how it connects to our vision, mission, and strategy....

What support do you need from me?


23Copyright Center for Executive Coaching. All rights reserved. This content may not be shared except with your paying clients for live one-on-one and group engagements. It may not be licensed to others, used as part of a train-the-trainer program to train coaches, or distributed electronically as part of an online program for multiple virtual users. You may adapt it for client use with the statement, "Adapted with permission by Center for Executive

Set Clear Expectations

Employee By when you

will give feedback

What you expect from

him/her What she/he is doing well

How he/she is not

meeting expectations*

What you want him/her

to do differently

and by when*

What happens if

he/she does*

What happens if

he/she doesn't*

What support

does he/she need from

you?*


Customize Your Leadership to the Individual

Employee Name Best leadership strategy now Rationale Idea Joggers

Remove

Redeploy

Direct and inspect

Manage their expectations/provide training

Re-engage

Mentor/advise

Monitor results (w/o abdicating) and ask if they need help; keep engaged


Recognize and Acknowledge

Employee Preferred form of acknowledgement

What I will tell him or her

How I will recognize and/or acknowledge him

or her By when


Develop Employees for the Future

Employee Name

Goals Near Term Longer Term

Results, performance, and achievements

Initiatives started/completed

Attitudes/behaviors demonstrated

Skills learned

Knowledge gained

What the Employee Will Do to Achieve Above Description By When?

New Assignments and challenges

Meet key people, develop mentors, form new relationships

Get feedback and advice

Attend formal training programs/conferences

Join new organizations/networks

Read and conduct self-study

Coaching

Other


Earn the Right to Lead

You can't engage and mobilize employees if you aren't seen as a leader. How would your employees answer these questions about you?

Statement Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Agree

I model the attributes of the best managers with whom I have worked.

I do not model the attributes of the worst managers with whom I have worked.

I set a clear vision and direction for my area.

I am competent.

I am credible.

I demonstrate personal commitment.

I have character and integrity.

I am resilient.

I serve.

I care about my employees.

I am committed to my employees' success.

I admit mistakes.

I lead by going first and setting the example.

I seek respect even if I am not always popular.

My words and deeds match.


One area of improvement

Specific people who report to me from whom I need to earn the right to lead:

One behavior I can change immediately to better earn the right to lead:

One attitude I can change immediately:


Action Plan

What I Will Do By When Notes


Appendix: Coaching The Top of the Organization About Engagement


Appendix: Table of Contents

Topic Rationale

General inquiry Get a general sense of what is working organizationally for engagement and what isn’t.

Quick best/worst organization exercise

Plants the seed for leaders to think about what has to happen for greater engagement to be possible.

Commitment How committed is leadership? Anyone can come up with the intellectual requirements for engagement. Commitment is needed to make it happen.

Vision and strategy for success In engaged organizations, leaders set a vision and strategy to create a successful organization.

High-performing culture Engaged organizations have a culture that fosters engagement.

Measurement Your clients can’t change engagement if they don’t measure it.

Structures Engagement is not a fluffy concept. It requires investment in proper organizational structures.

Leadership modeling engagement Leadership has to model the behaviors they want to see.

Action plan Put the insights to work.


General Inquiry: Illustrative Questions for Leaders of Organizations

What does “engagement” mean to you and your leadership team?

What is the vision for success or “Point B”?

What is already working in your favor that you can build on?

What do you already know are opportunities to change in your organization in order to make improvements in engagement?

What are do you already know that isn’t working and your organization can stop doing?

What are your ideas for a ROBUST solution to engagement

What else?


Quick Best/Worst Organization Exercise to Improve Engagement.

Think about the best organization you ever worked for, in terms of engaging and mobilizing people. What are up to 7 ways that the organization created strong engagement?

Think about the worst organization you ever worked for, in terms of engaging and mobilizing people. What are up to 7 ways that the organization hurt engagement?

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.

6. 6.

7. 7.

How might your answer to the above questions provide insights to improve employee engagement up, down, and across the organization?


Commitment to Engagement

Engagement cannot happen without deep commitment from the leadership team. Describe your and your organization’s commitment to improving engagement….

Overall

Your time

Executive team time

Budget

Making engagement one of your top 3 organizational priorities

Holding yourselves and others accountable for measurable changes

Giving the initiative enough time and baking it into the fabric of what your organization does

Modeling the behaviors you want to see from others that enable engagement

Investing in structural changes (see a later part of this Toolkit)

Training and coaching managers

What else?


Vision and Strategy for Success

One factor that determines engagement is how effectively leaders set the course for the organization and enable its success. Please rate yourself on the following and discuss how any gaps might be impeding engagement.

Criteria Good So-So Need Work

Creating and communicating a compelling vision

Getting buy in and alignment for the vision

Creating a strong sense of purpose/mission

Developing a strategy that helps the organization win

Beating the competition and being a leader in the market in key areas

Keeping people accountable for results

Executing effectively

Achieving key performance metrics and goals

Creating a sense of excitement about what’s possible in the organization

Based on the above, what do you and others on the leadership team differently to create an organization that has a sense of moving forward and doing great things?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


Creating a Culture of Engagement

What behaviors define a culture of engagement in your organization, and that also includes accountability for results?

What do you and your leadership team have to do to better model these behaviors?

What expectations do you and your leadership team have to do a better job setting, checking, and following up on?

If you were to draw an organizational map of the culture, where would there be gaps among managers in consistently creating a culture of engagement? Where would there be clear strongholds?

What do you have to do to better engage your own team in order to create a culture of engagement?

Which of your team members might not be right for working in a culture based on engaging and mobilizing employees?


What metrics confirm that the culture is in place?

What else?


Measuring Engagement

How will you measure engagement?

How often

How will you segment engagement (e.g., by unit, specific manager, level in the organization, demographic factors, tenure in the organization…?

How will you tie measurement to accountability, execution, and incentives


Structures that Enable Engagement

Which areas need attention in order to improve engagement?

Area Need Budget/Timing/Champion

Measuring and tracking engagement

Integrating measurement with key performance indicators, management job descriptions, and work/time allocation

Recruiting the right employees (those who will fit with the culture and are more likely to be engaged)

Compensation and rewards for those who do a good job engaging

Overall compensation systems

Role definitions (to have autonomy, clarity, meaning, and ability to grow)

Clear reporting structures

Career paths that allow people to develop and be challenged

Training and professional development

Performance management that rewards engagement / overall performance

Performance management that removes poor performers, including those who don’t engage their teams

What else?


Given the above:

What is the budget to make these changes happen?

What leadership commitment, support, and oversight is required?

What else is needed?


How Leadership Models the Right Behaviors

Go back to the work you did thinking about your best and worst organization, as well as other insights you have had during this process.

What are the implications for how you have to show up differently as a leader, in general?

How you spend your time?

The messages you send?

Where you invest your budget?

Who is on your team, and who isn’t?

What else?


Action Plan

What Gets Done By Who By When

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