The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 

Earlier this year (September) the Guardian published their Sustainable Business Quarterly and shared some of the take-aways from the employee engagement discussion groups. I thought there were a number of interesting things brought up—many of which seem to easily apply to the project environment. I thought I would share just a few. You can see all of them HERE.

• We need to stop dividing people up into the blunt categories of consumers and employees and to get messages to both much more aligned. I once worked with a man who said, "You brand is not who you say you are. It's your values, and how you act on those values at every point of contact with your customers and your employees." If there is a disconnect, it doesn't take long for customers to find out who you really are.
• Employees are torn when they have to leave their sustainable values at the door. I have worked with very few people over the years who were willing to check their values at the door. Most people want to be a part of something that supports those values. As project leaders, I think the challenge is determining what those values are, finding a way to incorporate them into the project environment and facilitate an atmosphere where people can work to achieve corporate objectives without making value compromises.
• Empowerment is crucial as it includes the space for individuals to take a lead if they want to. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you already know how important an empowered workforce is in my opinion.
• Transparency—sharing all that you do as a company, not just the good things. This gives you credibility and humility in the consumer's eyes. In project terms, we talk a lot about executive visibility. I agree that visibility is critical to inform decision. I don't think it matters if you're talking to employees or customers, transparency wins. How many times have you read a corporate press release so "spun up" and filled with hyperbola that there was no conceivable way it was credible? As a counterpoint, you might be interested to know that this blog is not censored or otherwise manipulated by AtTask management. Those things we talk about here (and the way we talk about them) reflect a transparent environment where ideas can be openly shared and discussed.

We can learn a lot about creating a productive team environment by looking at how organizations are trying to engage the team in sustainability efforts. I'd be very interested to learn more about some of the things you are doing within your organizations.