There are a handful of subjects I won’t blog about. The 2 obvious ones are politics and religion. It’s too personal. So why am I blogging about politics? I kind of am, and kind of not. When it comes to employee engagement, there is a recent example worth noting. Keep reading. It’s not what you think.
The annual White House Correspondent dinner was April 27th. It has been dubbed the “nerd prom”. It is a time to put aside your differences, poke fun at yourself, other politicians and of course, the media and correspondents.
It is an example of employee engagement. It is the only aspect of politics that I will relate to employee engagement. Here is why:
Leadership Examples: When our Commander-in-Chief can make fun of themself, it shows us we all can. We are all busy-we all have important agenda items-but I would argue the President of the United States can beat all of us on those 2 issues.
Fun: Don’t underestimate the power of fun as an employee engagement factor. Unless you wear Grumpy Pants, fun doesn’t need to be argued. Of course too much fun can derail performance-but let’s keep this positive.
Humility: To make fun of yourself, you need to be some degree of humbleness. You need to choose well known issues, that are true, even though may be hard to admit. Then you have to be funny about it. It can be a tall order-but when done right, it brings the team together. They see you don’t have to take all aspects of your life seriously-guess what? You are human-and that helps to drive employee engagement.
If you are familiar with Jim Collins, a Level 5 leader is someone who “builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical combination of personal humility plus professional will”.
Sincerity: While Obama was funnier than Conan O’Brien, he closed on a sincere, genuine note. He reminded everyone that Americans have experienced unspeakable tragedies, such as the Boston Marathon bombings and the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas. He didn’t lose sight of what is truly important.
Steph. Mello, VPE
Sources:
Watch President Obama on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON2XWvyePH8
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Correspondents’_Association
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Collins
Forbes, Why You Need to Have Fun to be Successful, July 25, 2012: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/07/25/why-you-need-to-have-fun-to-be-successful/
Foxnews.com, Work hard, play harder: Fun at work boosts creativity, productivity
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/09/13/work-hard-play-harder-fun-at-work-boosts-creativity-productivity/#ixzz2RtfJZaTc
