During tough economic times, you'll hear rumblings about "employee engagement" from various levels of an organization. Employee engagement is the hot buzz word that just won't go away, primarily because it does have an impact on how well (or poor) a company comes out of a downturn.

However, while everyone is buzzin' about employee engagement, how many of you actually know what drives, creates, and sustains it?? If you can name at least 3 *without peeking*, you get an A for the day.

Get a little deeper on what drives employee engagement:

• Trust and integrity – how well managers communicate and 'walk the talk'.
  
  
• Nature of the job –Is it mentally stimulating day-to-day?
  
  
• Strategic Direction between employee performance and company performance – Does the employee understand how their work contributes to the company's performance?
  
  
• Growth opportunities –Are there future opportunities for growth?
  
  
• Pride about the company – How much self-esteem does the employee feel by being associated with their company?
  
  
• Coworkers/team members – significantly influence one's level of engagement
  
  
• Employee development opportunities – Is the company making an effort to develop the employee's skills?
  
  
• Relationship with one's manager – Does the employee value his or her relationship with his or her manager?

Self-Confidence for Leaders, By Marshall Goldsmith

I was recently teaching in a seminar for MBA students at the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business. A young second-year student seemed anxious to talk with me. He finally asked: "I have read your book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There. In the book you talk about classic challenges faced by your clients. I noticed that you never discuss self-confidence problems. How do you deal with your client's self-confidence problems?"

This was a great question. It made me realize that I rarely encounter self-confidence problems in my work with CEOs and potential CEOs. It is almost impossible to make it to the top level in a multibillion-dollar corporation if you do not believe in yourself. On the other hand, I am frequently asked to speak at business schools (in fact five this month), and I have noticed that students in my seminars often want to talk about it.

I bet you would all agree with me that loud, rude, and/or negative people in the workplace are not the reason you show up everyday. Most of you would probably agree the rude and mouthy people can be really damaging to your outlook and mood. For instance, how do you feel after hearing someone fly off the handle, yell, and curse over something as small as a rescheduled meeting or unexpected phone call from a sales person?

For the grand majority of us, the instinct to take flight (aka: lay low) takes over. And even if the outburst wasn't aimed at you, guess what happens: your focus, engagement, productivity and creativity are out the window.

This article highlights some research that confirms our intuition about these folks in the workplace. The study shows that rude behavior has an effect on productivity and creativity. And I guess if we're noticing a decline in productivity, creativity, engagement, innovation, etc... we could safely assume it's having an impact on the bottom line, as well.

“We found that even when the rude behavior is pretty mild, it impairs a person’s cognitive functioning and has spillover effects in how they treat their co-workers,” said Amir Erez, a University of Florida management professor.

The unusual study, by Erez and Christine Porath, a management professor at the University of Southern California, appears in the October issue of the Academy of Management Journal.

This well-crafted research shows that when organizations allow rude employees to run roughshod over others, it not only creates uncivilized workplaces, it is just plain bad business.

Take note, and don't let your temper tantrum run roughshod over your employees.

Is there something that is nagging at you right now - that little “to do” that you’ve spent a few days just putting lower and lower on your priority list, but you have to get it done?

Here’s some simple advice: just do it. Make it your top priority in the morning. Get it over with. Get it off your mind. You’ve likely spent more time agonizing over it than it would take to accomplish the task.
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Tackling your nagging “to-do’s” first thing in the morning is a great way to progress and free your mind for the bigger projects in your professional environment.

Do you have any added advice to improve efficiency? Share them!

Author: Angie, LeadStar.us