Leadership Article:
Moving Fast and Strong

In this leadership article you'll get a 7-point employee engagement strategy.

I’m a big NASCAR fan. That's me on the pit road of my favorite driver Dale Jr. #88 before a recent Atlanta Motor Speedway Race.

Every week I watch the races and I can tell when a team's working well together by how fast and strong the driver is going.

When the team's really working together, everything comes together, and it makes race day look magical. That 'well-oiled' team is poised to win the race, and maybe even the season.

When I observe high performing teams(in NASCAR or in business)I see these characteristics, they're:

• Fast
• Efficient
• Operating at full power
• Energized
• Eager
• Smooth
• Flawless
• Focused
• Working well together
• Exciting
• Have good timing

What would be the probable business outcome if your team was operating like the list above? You’d have:

• Engaged, eager employees who offer consistent high performance
• Low turnover
• High customer satisfaction and a growing number of loyal customers
• Profit and expansion
• Enjoyable work days

How do you create this type of team power? How can your team Move Fast and Strong? In this leadership article, I'd like to show you how, an employee engagement strategy that works.<

The Gallup Organization polled 1 million employees from a broad range of companies, industries and countries to determine what top talent employees need from their workplace.

Gallup’s survey results are revealed in the book: First Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently.

Through that research Gallup determined that high performance teams and the strength of the workplace can be assessed with these twelve questions:

1. Do I know what is expected of me from work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

If you want strong profits refer back to this leadership article data and begin using these twelve questions in your workplace immediately.

1. Ask your employees to rank the 12 questions, 1 – 5, with 5 being Strongly Agree.
2. Rank employee responses. Make the two lowest scored answers your top priorities.
3. Enroll a cross-section of employees and managers to develop an action plan.
4. Implement the action plan.
5. Survey your employees’ responses to the twelve questions each year.
6. Review the results and go back to step 2.
7. Keep working until you get ‘Strongly Agree’ answers to all twelve questions.

Talented employees need great managers and leaders. Being a great manager and leader starts with asking the right questions. Then taking the results and addressing needs with a plan for action.

The Seven Point Employee Engagement Strategy Plan, based on Gallup’s twelve questions, is simple and clear. It will help you create a team that moves fast and strong.

Would you like more insights on employee opinion surveys? g Check out this small business ideas page that includes a free tele-seminar with small business expert on surveys, plus information about secure surveys tools for small business.

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