Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of Great Leadership Creates Great Workplaces touch on what makes a workpalce great, how leadership affects employee engagement, and what are Positive Work Attitudes.
What makes a workplace great?
When you’re getting ready to go to work every morning and you say, with a big smile on your face, “I sure am excited about going to work today,” undoubtedly you’re involved in a great workplace. When you know that the values of the organization are ones you share and that your work is contributing to a long-term vision that’s uplifting and meaningful, then you’re part of a great workplace. When you believe in your leaders and see them doing what they say they will do, when you feel challenged to search for innovative ways to do things, and when you feel like you’re constantly growing and developing, then you’re part of a great workplace. When you deeply trust your co-workers and your leaders, and when you feel recognized for your contributions and involved in a spirited community, then you’re part of a great workplace. At its core a great workplace engages one’s mind, emotions, and spirit in doing work that matters.
Do leaders directly affect employee engagement?
Yes, absolutely. Leaders directly affect the extent to which people feel connected to their workplace, the individuals in it, and the work that they do. Our data reveal quite conclusively that there is a direct and significant relationship between how people report their leaders behaving and how positive they feel about what they are doing and the difference they are making (or not!). Leaders directly affect whether or not people want to stay or leave, whether or not they want to work harder, and whether or not they will recommend their organization to others. Leaders have significantly more impact on employee engagement than strategy, structure, pay, tenure, level, age, gender, function, and other demographic variables.
What are Positive Work Attitudes?
To measure employee engagement we use a scale that we call Positive Work Attitudes (PWA). We think this phrase best captures the kind of emotions you want at work. At the end of the day, we want people to feel positive about the work that they perform, the place they do that work, the people they do it with. Included in our PWA are questions about feeling part of a team, pride in being part of the organization, commitment to the organization, clarity about expectations, feeling valued, trusting management, being productive, and having an impact.
This is your first original ebook. How does this differ from your longer books?
The ebook format is an exciting opportunity for us to more quickly respond and provide advice about workplace and leadership issues. It’s also an opportunity to get more of our research out into the marketplace of ideas and, overall, to increase the accessibility of ideas and techniques for increasing the quality and quantity of leaders for the world.
