Wanted: Inspiring Leaders
April 17th, 2005 by HalThe May 1, 2005 Industry Week editorial Wanted: Inspired Leaders, Engaged Employees, by editor-in chief Patricia Panchak, calls attention to the poor job manager-leaders are doing bringing the good and bad news to our organizations.
We must find a way to deliver this news — the good and the bad — in a way that inspires employees.
Ms. Panchak cites the low level of unemployment and reveals those unemployed are taking longer to find new jobs. She goes on to say job satisfaction continues to fall citing these recent findings:
The Conference Board Reports, Many Are Simply 'Showing Up For A Paycheck'.
- 40% of workers feel disconnected from their employers.
- Two out of every three workers do not identify with or feel motivated to drive their employer's business goals and objectives.
- 25% of employees are just "showing up to collect a paycheck."
Ms. Panchak says we can't provide leadership without looking at the above list from the employees' perspective: "problems of persistent unemployment, flagging job growth and general economic uncertainty."
We live in challenging times. The times are challenging for our company. The times are challenging on our projects. We know from our own experience that we don't want our leaders to be motivating us. We need something different. Speaking only for myself, I want to be inspired by the work I do, the people I work with, and the opportunities that come my way. While I won't leave that solely up to someone else — I recognize that I have a big role in inspiring myself — I want to be around leaders that inspire me.
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April 17th, 2005 at 9:27 pm
Excellent post. The numbers cited are distrubing. Are these managers not communicating at all or has it gotten much more difficult to connect to workers?