Engaging the Hearts and Minds of All Your Employees

Book excerpt: Employee engagement is the cornerstone of achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. In Engaging the Hearts and Minds of All Your Employees , leadership expert Lee J. Colan delivers the "how to" for inspiring your team so they deliver unparalleled value to your customers. Proven at Fortune 500 companies across the globe, Colan's simple but powerful formula is this: meet your employees' basic intellectual and emotional needs, and they will perform at peak ability. Their minds and hearts will be fully engaged, they will be energetic and innovative-and they will keep your customers satisfied and loyal. To do this, he equips you with the practical tools to engage employees at all levels, and ignite the fire of "Passionate Performance." With clear, concise strategies, Colan reveals how to view employees as human beings, not just workers, in order to fulfill their six basic needs: intellectual (Achievement, Autonomy, and Mastery) and emotional (Purpose, Intimacy, and Appreciation). He gives you concrete action steps to: Identify ways to eliminate barriers to achievement Define boundaries within which employees have the autonomy to do their jobs Create a compelling purpose for your team Focus resources and time to best support your purpose Answer the Fundamental Four questions that employees are always asking, whether you hear them or not Create team rituals that help build intimacy Packed with proven strategies for meeting your people's needs as well as instructive examples from stellar companies including Nordstrom, Southwest Airlines, Toyota, and General Electric, Engaging the Hearts and Minds of All Your Employees is your field guide for conquering your competition...one employee at a time.