What would be your 16 words to express authenticity in employee engagement?
Authenticity is one of the 14 keys of the Zinger Employee Engagement Model
Authentic. Authenticity is the the A of CARE. Employee engagement must be authentic. Employees and customers can spot phony from a mile away or even in a moment of time. We must transcend superficial relationships, community or happiness towards engagement that is heartfelt. Powerful engagement is real and robust.
Thanks and an invitation. This post is part of a series that will highlight contributions on the topic from other writers. I enjoyed this soccer analogy written by CV Harquail back in April. Thank you CV for letting me reprint this. After you read this post I invite you to craft your 16 words.
Authenticity in 16 Words? by CV Harquail
So that’s sixteen words. If we give ourselves some leeway, and allow maybe 5 more words, is there anything we should add?At soccer practice this week, I came up with a great idea for my 3rd/4th grade girls team. As coach, I have great ambitions for my team this Spring — I want them to do more than chase the ball all around the pitch whilst squealing. So, I need to teach them to think just a little bit about strategy , and about what they need to do together .
I hit upon the idea of distilling soccer strategy down into a few pithy sayings. I’m calling it “Soccer in 16 words.”
Despite what I know about the dangers of reducing complex ideas into short sentences (e.g., mission statements, corporate values statements), I thought that this would be a great way to get my players thinking about what they each should be doing with the ball once they get their foot on it.
Tomorrow’s game will be the true test…but the girls left practice feeling really excited that they now “know so much” about soccer strategy– all because I could get it down into 16 words that each player can remember . And execute. And shout to her teammates from the sidelines. And use to confirm that she played her own part well.
So this got me to thinking, can I distill down a strategy for moving towards Organizational Authenticity, in 16 words?
Here’s what I came up with:
Organizational Authenticity in 16 Words
Walk the Talk. Point towards purpose. Reflect on our future. Learn, to adjust. Care a lot.
Read CV Harquail. I encourage you to read CV Harquail’s informative and authentic blog at Authentic Organizations: Aligning Identity, Action and Purpose.
The Invitation. Write your 16 world strategy for organizational authenticity in the comments for this page that would both embrace and foster employee engagement. Here is my early attempt:
We connect through trust.
Results are a must.
And we honestly engage.
Through real robust relationships.
16 words for authentic engagement (involve with heart and mind) –
Lead your group in re-asking “How are we doing?”
Engage with activity itself providing daily feedback!
Well said George, I enjoyed your 16 words and the stress on daily feedback.