As of 2010, there were approximately 1.015 billion automobiles worldwide making our cities more traffic prone. Cars. Those that don’t have are buying one, and those that already have are adding to their fleet or changing what they drive. Why is the affinity for this 4-wheel machine growing at an exponential level?
Simply put, cars help us conveniently get from point A to B and reduce travel time opposed to if we were to walk, or ride a horse. Are there key lessons we can learn from driving cars that we can apply to ramp up employee retention and engagement in our organisations? Oh yes there are. If you drive, you would be conversant with the rules.
Taking a detour from the traditional A-B-C (Accelerator, Brakes and Clutch), of driving let’s explore another A-B-C that can drive retention in your organisation:
A for Attitude: As much as cars are built to provide support and comfort, it also has the potential to cause unhappiness and end lives if not well handled. Same for us as line leaders. Every day we walk into our office, we must see the position we occupy as one given to us to advance our careers those of others and impact the organisations where we work. It is important to note that we are in the driver’s seat where our attitude is concerned. As Charles Swindoll said, “Attitude is everything. Life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it”. Choose to exude positive energy, knowing that your attitude is your choice and it goes a long way in impacting those around you especially in your capacity as line leader.
B for Brains: Like driving, effectively engaging your people requires intelligence. Nonchalance and incompetence are a high price to pay when saddled with the sacred responsibility of engaging others. As line leaders, we must deliberately seek knowledge and think of ways to effectively keep our people intellectually engaged. Head, heart and brain all come together in the equation of employee engagement.
C for Control: Power is nothing without control. When sitting behind the wheel, controlling the car and stirring it in the right direction is imperative which should be the same with work. As a line leader, you must take control and stir how you feel, think and act about your work in the right direction. Why? Your disposition towards your work is not only palpable but contagious. You must be a practitioner of the engagement that’s in your place to preach. Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement.” Daniel H. Pink. Channel your autonomy consciously.
Drive can be the engagement vehicle so leaders are encouraged to drive engagement!
Ngozi Adebiyi
