The Most Important Element

Organizational leadership that can clearly communicate their company’s vision, mission, purpose, strategic direction, etc. and can clarify the roles and expectations for each member of the organization tend to more effectively engage their workforce. Strong and consistent communication strengthens organizational trust.

A recent article by Nic Paton, titled “Clarity the Key to Employee Engagement“, found on Management-Issues.com addresses this topic and provides supporting research from Watson Wyatt. The article points to a WW poll of 14,000 employees across Europe that posits that organizations that provide employees with a clear “line of sight” to company vision and direction tend to have a much more committed, engaged and productive workforce.

The full article can be found by clicking here.

Paul Michelman of the Harvard Business Review Online recently posted an entry on his “Conversation Starter” feature titled “Should Leaders Always Take the Blame”. It poses an interesting question, “When do you stand up and take the bullet for a deal or strategy gone wrong and when do you duck your head and let others take the fall?”. The article gives a example of a leader not taking the blame from the recent headlines (Morgan Stanley’s Zoe Cruz). There are some excellent comments from readers that you might find interesting.

What do you think?

PS> Harvard Business Online is a wonderful resource, with lots of relevant articles, podcasts (“Ideacasts”), video and links. Make sure to check it out.

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The results of a research study of employee in select Asian Pacific countries, which was sponsored by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, were recently released. The WorkAsia study, an initiative which comprises an analysis of worker attitudes in 11 locations in Asia Pacific (including Australia, China (PRC), India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand) featured more than 115,000 participants from over 500 companies and is one of the most inclusive studies ever conducted on employee attitudes in the region. It is part of an ongoing series of surveys regarding work attitudes and opinions about worker-related practices in the workplace.

For one example, in this week’s Manila Times, there was an article on the survey results with a particular focus on Filipino worker’s responses. The survey identified the top three drivers of employee engagement for workers in the Philippines as customer focus, compensation and benefits; and strategic leadership and direction. It’s an interesting article and can be read in its entirety here.

More information on the key findings of the WorkAsia study can be found here. Its exciting to see the issue of employee engagement getting global attention.