Vol. 7. No. 1
The Engage Newsletter emphasizes the critical point of human contact for long-term human and business sustainability. Engagement is where culture and business intersect. Significantly, it is where leadership and contributors develop mutual benefit and trust. Moreover, the alignment of interpersonal competencies, ethics, and values is honed at the engagement point.
A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
Hello, and thank you for taking a few moments to re-engage with the Engage newsletter. Like us at Watts & Associates, I am sure you all have been, in one way or another, impacted by COVID-19. The pandemic affected us in many ways, one of which was the temporary postponement of the production of the Engage Newsletter. Excitingly, in this edition, we are introducing readers to the term “Voluntary Engagement,” which will be the overarching theme of the newsletter and a concept we are using to shape healthy culture growth in organizations.
In over thirty years of research and consultancy in organizational development, we have learned that talent engagement (See Gallup engagement, 2022), along with their alignment with organizational goals, are among the most reliable indicators of long-term organizational sustainability. During our consultancies, we found that frequently occurring attitudes associated with engagement emerged, as well as the need to coach clients to recognize better and manage the undercurrents related to it. To this end, the terms “mandatory engagement” and “voluntary engagement” were assigned.
Specifically, mandatory engagement describes an attitude of tolerance for “prescribed leadership” and marginal interest in work. This type of engagement was identified as partial to “subcultures” and “emergent leaders,” often occurring in organizations without clearly stated core values, SMART goals, and policies and procedures that would empower talent as “shaping agents” of the culture.
Conversely, voluntary engagement describes an attitude of “volition” characterized by a commitment to the organization’s work, adaptability to change in the culture, and respect and trust in prescribed leadership. We found that voluntary engagement consistently existed in organizations with clearly stated core values, intelligent goals, policies, and procedures that empowered talent to be a shaping agent of the culture.
Please take a moment to visit our website (WWW.WattsAssociates.Org) and subscribe so that you can receive future offerings. We are excited to be back. Thank you for making room in your day for us!
****
We are excited to announce that the Engage Newsletter will provide information to support the creation of voluntary engagement. To this end, this offering offers tips for healthy living, innovative suggestions for achieving healthy culture and growth in organizations, strategies for making your relationships soar, and much more…
All the best, and stay safe.
Robert
PODCAST
DR. ROBERT WATTS – WILLS
We are beyond excited to welcome you to the SOIG Talk Podcast. Dr. Robert Watts-Wills hosts SOIG Talk; Robert founded Watts and Associates (W&A). Our firm is an organizational development (OD) consultancy; proudly, we have been a vanguard in the organizational health space since 1985. In this regard, W&A has delivered value to the nonprofit and for-profit sectors as leadership advisors, strategic planning consultants, capacity trainers and coaches, Ombudspersons, change practitioners, and keynote presenters.
Dr. Watts is a recognized transformational speaker, “OD thought leader and digital OD architect.” He is the creator of SOIG (Show Observe Interact Grow), the unique hybrid mobile talent management platform that takes the pain away from leading and managing talent. Robert is the author of the acclaimed books “People Are Never The Problem,” ‘Swim SidewayZ,” L.A.D.S.” (Learning Assessing, Diagnosing, and Solutions), and “The Plastic-Coated Leaf.” Dr. Watts borrows from his award-winning university teaching and Hall of Fame football career to bring energy, structure, exciting anecdotes, and principles to each speaking engagement and podcast.
The SOIG Talk Team
Innovative Conversations for Shaping Healthy Culture & Growth
Coming December 2024
LOGON:WWW.SOIGWEB.COM
Treat Yourself Like The Gift That You Are!
As children, our parents and guardians told us not to talk while we had food in our mouths; that instruction was to teach us good table manners and keep us from choking on our food. Both were sage advice of our parents and guardians.
As adults, we find it challenging to adhere to those instructions as we try to fulfill professional expectations in a 12 – 16-hour workday. Consequently, mealtimes become unhealthy or dangerous, e.g., a ‘”lap meal” behind the wheel or hurried dinner conversations with family or a significant other.
Remember, for every instance, we miss an opportunity to enjoy the nutritional sustenance provided to us, and we lose a moment to be peaceful and thankful.
As children our parents and guardians told not to talk while we had food in our mouths; that instruction was to teach us good table manners, as well as to keep us from choking on our food. Both were sage advice of our parents and guardians.
Robert
