Who knew Oprah and the Black Eyed Peas could teach us a thing or two about Employee Engagement. I was asked today to provide an example of a short, inspiring video that could be used by an OD practitioner. What came to mind was the viral vid that’s been circulating the web since September.
I believe this video teaches us two important lessons on engagement. Take a look what do you see that relates to engagement here?
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- Provide clear direction. This was accomplished through rehearsal and practice, by the some 20,000 who chose to participate in kicking off Oprah’s 24th season. When people are provided a clear sense of direction it’s amazing what can be accomplished. In the workplace or on the streets in Chicago.
- Co-create with your group. This one I think is the biggest lesson. After viewing an interview with the director of the video, it was clear that the Black Eyed Peas put ego aside to co-create. In a typical rock concert the spot light is on the stage. Here the spot light extends all the way down Michigan Ave. They let the audience in. They let the audience be part of the show. Takes a confident leader to allow this, don’t you think?
Research from the Corporate Leadership Council suggests that by simply providing a clear direction to the goals of the organization can yield an increase in up to 34% in effort. What do you think the impact to engagement is when people get to be part of the “show” and co-create with their leaders?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I showed this short video clip in a recent 3 Day workshop for Supervisors. As part of performance management, a key component is alignment in goals, a clear job description, clarity in understanding behaviors and performance standards. To kick off our conversation the group of managers watched this. I asked them to think of the 20,000 people on Michigan Ave. as their employees in their organization. What must have occurred for the result to be this great? What could your team do if the vision was this clear. Lastly, how to you – as leader (or Black Eyed Pea) let the group shine with you? I could see ideas spark as managers thought, 'yeah, what if…' Entertain that question – what do you come up with?
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