Thursday, May 22, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
The Lightning Power of Zap or creating energy and Engagement
By Ken Ingram
For many businesses, employee engagement can be one of our biggest challenges. The question we often ask is, “How can I improve quality, productivity and employee satisfaction?”
The emphasis is on the ‘I’. It is up to you to create the environment. Interestingly enough the answer is simpler than many of us think. In the book Zapp by William C. Byham he shares some ideas on the answer to this question. Byham believes the answer is empowerment.
Most managers are policing for failure, which results in robbing employees’ energy and creativity. Imagine for a moment, you could create a critical mass of employees that are Zapped! What kind of results do you think you would get? Now this is very important. We’re not talking about using a cattle prod to Zapp employees. I’m talking about encouraging responsibility and creating an environment where employees feel they own their jobs. John Miller also wrote an interesting book called the Question Behind the Question, or QBQ. Mr. Miller asks “Could we actually find a way to eliminate blame, complaining and procrastination?". Many managers and business owners would be very surprised to find out that the response is yes. Equally, many managers are looking to change the employees but not themselves.
Change starts at the top. The old adage ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ will not enable you to create the kind of environment that will result in the kind of win-win conditions needed to get that slight edge over your competition.
Michelangelo said “I saw the angel in the marble and I chiseled until I set it free”.
Imagine for a moment we could look at our employees as our personal work of art and coach them until we have succeeded in releasing their full potential. We would in effect be applying the principals of Zapp and the QBQ. In doing so we could pursue any number of business goals or challenges. Did I here you say wow?
Do you want to learn how to Zapp employees or how to find that leader in all of us? Would you like to learn more about the Question Behind the Question? Give us a call at www.tac-coaching.com
For many businesses, employee engagement can be one of our biggest challenges. The question we often ask is, “How can I improve quality, productivity and employee satisfaction?”
The emphasis is on the ‘I’. It is up to you to create the environment. Interestingly enough the answer is simpler than many of us think. In the book Zapp by William C. Byham he shares some ideas on the answer to this question. Byham believes the answer is empowerment.
Most managers are policing for failure, which results in robbing employees’ energy and creativity. Imagine for a moment, you could create a critical mass of employees that are Zapped! What kind of results do you think you would get? Now this is very important. We’re not talking about using a cattle prod to Zapp employees. I’m talking about encouraging responsibility and creating an environment where employees feel they own their jobs. John Miller also wrote an interesting book called the Question Behind the Question, or QBQ. Mr. Miller asks “Could we actually find a way to eliminate blame, complaining and procrastination?". Many managers and business owners would be very surprised to find out that the response is yes. Equally, many managers are looking to change the employees but not themselves.
Change starts at the top. The old adage ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ will not enable you to create the kind of environment that will result in the kind of win-win conditions needed to get that slight edge over your competition.
Michelangelo said “I saw the angel in the marble and I chiseled until I set it free”.
Imagine for a moment we could look at our employees as our personal work of art and coach them until we have succeeded in releasing their full potential. We would in effect be applying the principals of Zapp and the QBQ. In doing so we could pursue any number of business goals or challenges. Did I here you say wow?
Do you want to learn how to Zapp employees or how to find that leader in all of us? Would you like to learn more about the Question Behind the Question? Give us a call at www.tac-coaching.com
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