Monday Musings -- Engage Employees

The article linked at the end of these notes is quite a long piece but filled with lots of useful and easily applied information and insights.

Sharing one key quote here; "Perhaps the most fundamental problem to solve is the job description. It’s usually a hodgepodge of skills, qualifications, and platitudes so broad as to be meaningless."

Completely agree! For far too many years in my military career, I read job description after job description that did not capture what I really needed the person to do in the post or position.

Similarly, the slow to respond to changing environments that is the US Federal Government, led to losing great potential applicants due to some frankly, stupid requirement determined in many cases, decades ago.

For example, some years ago I was trying to hire someone to run fitness programs on the military base where I was stationed. I wanted someone with an exercise?physiology background.

Someone who not only had fitness certifications, but understood physiology, anatomy, and kinesiology so that we could ensure our military members were exercising, gaining physical strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular capacity based on good medical and exercise science rather than "gym science".

Meaning, often people?would look at the biggest dude or fastest runner in the gym as the example to follow. What I discovered?and determined as I became a certified fitness coach (which has long since lapsed) was that generally, those individuals had specific physical talents and gifts.

As such, the advice I heard them give to others was not based in sound practice. I digress a little. The point is, we need to engage people consistently and with careful consideration that we ensure we're not just recruiting the best and brightest; we retain them!

One small departure from the recommendations the authors advance here is, we cannot, organizationally, be all things to all people. Leaders should not be giving in to personal predilections when they do not align with operational objectives or our curated culture.

In short, what I mean here is, when people are only thinking about themselves, they aren't thinking about addressing or advancing why your organization exists.

That isn't to say that empathy, psychological safety, inclusion are papered over, rather, I have worked with people whose entitlement mentality was toxic to the work environment. Yet, they tried to hide that behind all the right catch phrases. Borrowing an old phrase, don't give the farm away to those who won't do the necessary farming.

If, as a leader, you aren't out and about farming; engaging employees and teammates, listening and learning, your effectiveness will not be nearly as good as it should be. My last few years in the Air Force included spending a lot of time on the road.

The purpose of many of those trips was to specifically get out and greet people. I listened to thousands of voices to ensure what I was responsible for leading and delivering for the US Space Force, and US Air Force, was on time, task, and target while ensuring we recruited and retained the very best and brightest.

Full piece can be read here: Why Employees Quit (hbr.org)