The Model - The Truth About Employee Engagement - addressing the three root causes of job misery

The Truth About Employee Engagement1 is another in a series of leadership fables by Patrick Lencioni. In this fable, he addresses the three root causes of job misery.  They are anonymity, irrelevance, and immeasurement.  Let’s look at each of these causes in a little more detail.

 

 

Anonymity

“People cannot be fulfilled in their work if they are not known. All human beings need to be understood and appreciated for their unique qualities by someone in a position of authority.”2

How well have you connected with your direct reports? Ask yourself:  “Do I really know my people? Their interests? How they spend their time? Where they are in their lives?” 3

How can you measure your progress? Check out The Wheel of Employee Engagement: Manager – Employee Relationship and The Wheel of Employee Engagement: Recognition & Rewards.

 

 

Irrelevance

“Everyone needs to know that their job matters to someone. Anyone. Without seeing the connection between the work and the satisfaction of another person or group of people, an employee simply will not find lasting fulfillment.”4

How well have you helped your direct reports understand the impact they have internally and externally? Ask yourself: “Do they know who their work impacts and how?”5

How can you measure your progress? Check out The Wheel of Employee Engagement: Manager – Employee Relationship and The Wheel of Employee Engagement: Recognition & Rewards.

 

 

Immeasurement

“Employees need to be able to gauge their progress and level of contribution for themselves. They cannot be fulfilled in their work if their success depends on the opinions and whims of another person, no matter how benevolent that person may be. Without a tangible means for assessing success or failure, motivation eventually deteriorates as people see themselves as unable to control their own fate.”6

How well have you helped your direct reports find meaningful metrics to track? Ask yourself: “Do they know how to assess their own progress or success?”7

How can you measure your progress? Check out The Wheel of Employee Engagement: Growth & Development.

 

Addressing each of these three root causes of job misery will not only have a positive impact on the individual employee, the company will benefit from increased productivity, greater retention and lower recruiting costs, and a sustainable cultural differentiation.8

 

What are your thoughts on Lencioni’s three root causes? Which is the most challenging to address?

 

1 Lencioni, Patrick. The Truth about Employee Engagement: A Fable about Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery. New York: Jossey-Bass, 2015. Print.
2 Ibid., p 221.
3 Ibid., p 250.
4 Ibid., p 221.
5 Ibid., p 250.
6 Ibid., p 222.
7 Ibid., p 250.
8 Ibid., p.224-225.

Photo credit: The Model – TableGroup.com

 

 

Let’s Engage!

I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.

Employee engagement is a critical mission. I hope I can count on your help! Subscribe to the RSS Feed to receive the latest intelligence/insights and/or register to make entries in the comments log.

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P.S.  First contact? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement community. Explore and join fellow employee engagement operatives in targeting a known thief – alias: Disengagement. Together we can bring this thief to justice and make the world a better place for all companies and their employees.

Other recent Agent in Engagement data/reports by Agent Gregory F Simpson: