There are actually two things going on here, each one feeding off the other. First, the employees you perceive as doing mediocre work are most likely disengaged. They are putting time - but not passion or energy - into their work.

 

The second thing I suspect is that you are wearing a set of blinders that keep you from recognizing those who are truly engaged and delivering high performance – you just can’t see it. The many you have observed merely going through the motions has given you the preconceived notion that no one is doing a great job. You have come to perceive things in a set way that makes you immune to other possibilities. In other words, you fully expect mediocre performance and judge or act accordingly.

 

As leaders, we walk past greatness in employees and associates everyday - it is incumbent upon us to be open to the evidence of it. First, realize that some people very quietly display their greatness. Look in your immediate circle of influence: your parents, spouse or friends. We usually have very little difficulty in seeing greatness in those closest to us and the trick is to learn from them! Contemplate their motivation, the inner calling, why that relative or close acquaintance responded in a way that not everyone can. Then consider the impact this person made on your life or someone else’s. Chances are you will discover that circumstances were changed for the better, people were able to triumph over adversity, or were inspired to become the best they could be.  This is ordinary greatness – the willingness and ability to alter, transform or impact another’s status quo. It’s answering an inner calling, only to become self-fulfilled in the process – which, you will recall, is the greatest realization of our potential.

 

The 8^th Habit, From Effectiveness to Greatness by Stephen Covey is about acquiring the mind-set and skills to help us be on the lookout for potential in people. A requisite for acquiring this habit is truly “listening”.  He tells us that the four principles of communication are reading, writing, speaking and listening.  The first three we’ve been trained in – it’s the last one that stymies us, with only about five percent of people having any kind of formal training in how to listen.

 

Our constituency speaks to us every day about their lives, we hear tidbits of job challenges and community involvement – all of which usually goes in one ear and out the other because we have failed to genuinely listen.  We might have heard the words, but not the meaning conveyed.  If we make a conscious effort to “know” who we lead and work with, we might be wonderfully surprised at what they are accomplishing, how they are impacting others’ lives both inside and outside the work environment, and where their inspiration or motivation comes from.  Pausing long enough to listen with our heart as well as our ears can tip us off to the ordinary greatness in those we work alongside.

 

Back to the matter of employee engagement – or lack thereof. People become engaged through having an emotional connection to the organization and it is up to leadership to make this happen. But staff cannot connect with the organization unless there is the understanding that only comes about through open, two-way communication. It is the medium through which engagement and passion and ownership develop.

 

Your staff has to understand where the organization is going and why; they have to know what the plans are for getting there and their individual role in that strategy; and employees need to feel valued through being involved in decision making and being recognized for their performance. The flip side to this is feedback from the workforce which comes about through various forms of “listening.”  One cannot communicate well unless listening skills are honed – and personal listening, as was remarked upon earlier, is also key to seeing the greatness in those employees who are high performing.  They are the  people richly deserving of reward and recognition. Thus we come full circle because showing and communicating that you value employees’ contribution is a strategic driver of engagement.