By Julie Gebauer
Regardless of political views, it was clear to people like me who were watching the happenings at Grant Park in Chicago at 11:00 pm this past Tuesday that one of the most engaging leaders of our time had just stepped onto a world stage. He moved millions of people to give their discretionary effort to help his presidential candidacy and captured the heads, hearts and hands of tens of millions more with his vision for change. We only saw a fraction of them at Grant Park, but I believe the conviction apparent in the eyes of that crowd was pervasive across the country on Tuesday night.
Although Barack Obama hasn’t read Closing the Engagement Gap (maybe he will when it’s out), he did turn every one of the keys we identified in the book to engage and excite the American people. He took the time to know them. He learned what made the different groups tick and focused on the things that mattered to each group. He involved them by getting input and asking people to help with important parts of his campaign. He did things like encourage them to tell his story in their own words on YouTube. He inspired them with a clear, crisp picture of the future. He recognized and rewarded them by doing simple things like sending personal emails to his supporters. He asked them to stretch their thinking and help make change happen. Sure there were many other things influencing the outcome. But I believe his focus on engaging people, whether he thought of it in those terms or not, was a big factor.
Of course, the real story will unfold over the next four years and beyond. I believe very strongly that our President Elect’s future success will depend in part on how effectively he engages everyone in this country. And how effectively he engages other world leaders.
That ongoing commitment to engagement is what sets apart the business leaders we feature in our book. After their initial success – whether it was pulling a company back from the brink of bankruptcy or creating a platform for change in an already successful company – our Engaging Eight leaders kept and keep employee engagement as a top priority. They recognize that their success could unravel if they let employee engagement fall. And while many of the ways to engage people are common sense, these approaches need constant attention so that they remain common practice. An initial success feels great, but can be fleeting without the follow-through.
-Julie
