An engaged workforce is your only true competitive advantage.

The economic impact of disengagement is a staggering $550 billion a year, according to Gallup.

1. Communication Done Right

Engagement means passion. But how do you reach into your employees’ hearts and minds? Start by developing the right communication strategy.

✦ Generate more excitement and buy-in from your team by shining a spotlight on what’s to come. A letter from the CEO expressing personal commitment to the initiative is a great way to start.

2. Culture of Recognition

Employees begin to care when they feel the company cares for them. Get to know your team members as individuals.

✦ Devote extra energy to creating systematic ways to praise members of your teams for good performance. When employees feel emotionally connected to their team and the goals of the organization, they are more likely to go the extra mile.

3. Hiring for the 360-Degree Fit

✦ It is unrealistic to expect continued performance from someone whose interests and personality traits are mismatched with the job specifications, even though technical competence may appear on point.

What is "Diffusion of Innovations Theory"?

"Diffusion of Innovations Theory", created by Everett Rogers (1962), aims to understand how innovations take hold in the market and what are the elements that contribute to their propagation. 

It helps us to understand the path to new ideas and what particular elements favour their propagation.

How do we apply this to HR?

Suppose the company wants to implement a new office/hybrid working policy and we do not know the impact.

1️⃣ Identify the impacted and motivated population (especially innovators and early adopters.)

2️⃣ Organize a meeting with intentional barriers to participation, such as requiring completion of a lengthy form or scheduling inconvenient appointments.

3️⃣ During the meeting, explain the WHY of the idea and solicit feedback, emphasizing the importance of participant involvement.

4️⃣ Ensure participants understand that participation is voluntary with no negative consequences for non-participation.

5️⃣ Identify committed individuals who align with the vision, and collaborate with them regularly to refine and promote the policy.

6️⃣ Their enthusiasm will inspire others to join, leading to widespread acceptance and successful implementation.

The core of Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” is his discovery of The Golden Circle. The Golden Circle shows how leaders were able to inspire action instead of manipulating people to act.

Simon’s key idea in a nutshell:

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

How to Make It Work:

For the Golden circle to work, each of the below pieces must be in balance and in the right order:

1️⃣ Clarity of Why the organization exists

2️⃣ Discipline of How — Finding your why is the easy part, Holding yourself true to this and sticking to how you achieve your why is the hard part. It requires discipline.

3️⃣ Consistency of what — Everything you say you do. All your products or services should reflect your WHY

The goal of business should not be to do business with anyone who simply wants what you have. It should be to focus on the people who believe what you believe. When we are selective about doing business only with those who believe in our WHY, trust emerges.

Trust begins to emerge when we see that people and organizations are driven by reasons that go beyond the self-serving. Aligning Why, How and What, is a way to build that trust.

🔽 Book Summary by Author (PDF)

🔽 Main Ideas Infographic