The Extra Mile: How to Engage Your People to Win

303 Pages·2009·4.834 MB·English

by  Brady, Chris;Macleod, David

How can your
‘remarkably valuable’ organization
ABOUT THE AUTHORS Robert B. Cialdini, Author, Infl uence: Science and Practice go the extra mile?
‘one of those rare management books founded almost exclusively on reality!’
You have an ambitious strategy, a sound business
Kevin S Beeston, Chairman, Serco Group plc
model, an effective organizational structure.
But so do your competitors. If you want to win,
‘an invaluable guide to the practical and messy you need to fi nd something else. You need
business of engaging staff to achieve better performance.’ The Extra Mile. You need your people to be
David Bell, Permanent Secretary, Department for Children, engaged. You may think they already are. Think
Schools and Families again. Only 12% of employees are fully engaged.
Why should you, as a manager, care? Because
engaged employees always do their job to the
‘... comprehensively addresses the issue of building competitive
best of their ability and that can have a huge
edge by harnessing the energies of an engaged workforce.’
impact on the bottom line. People who are
Sir David Varney, HM Treasury
engaged often go above and beyond the call of
duty to increase quality, improve customer service
‘In my opinion the book will help many people and organizations to perform better.’
or cut costs. They bring fresh ideas, infuse their
Philip Augar, co-author of The Rise of The Player Manager and ex group teams with their own energy and commitment
Managing Director at Schroders and are less likely to leave.
DAVID MACLEOD has a degree in Business Studies Look around your business. Are your people committed to your goals? Or are they �������������������������������� If your people are engaged, they will
and is a Visiting Professor of the Cass Business merely complying with them? Imagine how much further you could go if everyone go further and faster and your company
�������������
School (City University). He managed the Dulux knew where they were going and actually wanted to get there ... performance will be leaps and bounds
brand through a major phase of innovation and ������������� ahead of your competitors.
as Chief Executive of a number of ICI businesses It’s just common sense that the more committed people are to their work, the more
has extensive experience of improving fi nancial The Extra Mile is the result of four years of
they’re going to put in and the more your business will get out. The evidence bears
performance. He has been on the Board of research into engagement by a joint team from
this out: engagement levels predict profi tability. But how do you make sure people
organizations in Asia, North America, Europe Cass Business School and Towers Perrin. This
are on board? The Extra Mile shows you how to achieve that extra competitive edge
and in Russia. He worked in the Cabinet Offi ce as ambitious and wide-ranging project drew on
Senior Advisor on Change and Performance and by harnessing the commitment of your people, and engaging them with your aims. the results of various studies and surveys which
is currently a Senior Associate of Towers Perrin. together totalled 33 million respondents. These
hard-hitting statistics were supplemented by more
PROFESSOR CHRIS BRADY is the Dean of the than 50 in-depth interviews with executives and
Business School at Bournemouth University. leaders drawn from a variety of business sectors.
He has published on topics as varied as US foreign
policy, cabinet government, teamwork, the Get ahead. Get engaged.
business of football, intelligence failures and the
United Nations. Chris has served in a wide variety
of jobs, including 16 years in the Royal Navy where,
among other things, he served as the head of the
intelligence cell during the fi rst Gulf war and the
Balkans confl ict.
JULIAN POWE, who made a signifi cant
contribution to The Extra Mile, graduated from
Oxford with an MA in French & History. After
an MBA from Cranfi eld he has spent the last 20
years consulting extensively in the public and
BUSINESS
private sectors on change management, focusing DESIGNED BY
particularly on the behavioural shifts associated r &d&c
Visit our website at
with performance improvement.
www.pearson-books.com
Visit our website at
An imprint of Pearson Education www.pearson-books.com
Macleod_Brady_01E_9780273703945_Cover.indd 1 2/11/07 15:02:32
EXTR_A01.QXP 14/11/07 08:12 Page i
Praise for The Extra Mile
“The Extra Mileis one of those rare management books founded almost exclusively on
reality. It delivers personal accounts of real leaders’ experiences in energising their
people and organisations to deliver. It’s easy to read and to dip into and somewhat
harder to put down!”
Kevin S. Beeston, Chairman, Serco Group plc
“With The Extra Mile, David MacLeod and Chris Brady have done something remarkably
valuable. They’ve taken the vaguely defined concept of engagement and shown exactly
what it does mean and, more importantly, exactly what it can mean for large-scale busi-
ness success.”
Robert B. Cialdini, Author, Influence: Science and Practice
“Eschewing the grand theory and strategy that often bedevils management writing,
MacLeod and Brady provide an invaluable guide to the practical and messy business of
engaging staff to achieve better performance. In a time of more fluid loyalties and
drawing upon the ‘real life’ stories of leaders, they demonstrate conclusively how suc-
cessful organisations in the future will need to go beyond the traditional focus on
‘metrics’ and touch the souls of those they employ.”
David Bell, Permanent Secretary, Department for Children,
Schools and Families
“The Extra Milecomprehensively addresses the issue of building competitive edge by har-
nessing the energies of an engaged workforce. The book is focused on the practical
issues of how you need to act. Our economic well being depends upon our organisations
being able to thrive in the more open global economy in order to meet the rising expec-
tations of our citizens.”
Sir David Varney, HM Treasury
“this is a great achievement.”
Geoff Tudhope, Senior Independent Director, Cafedirect
“The basic argument is communicated in a thoughtful and practical way: in my opinion
the book will help many people and organizations to perform better.”
Philip Augar, co-author of The Rise of the Player Manager and ex-group
Managing Director at Schroders
EXTR_A01.QXP 14/11/07 08:12 Page ii
In an increasingly competitive world, we believe it’s quality of
thinking that will give you the edge – an idea that opens new
doors, a technique that solves a problem, or an insight that
simply makes sense of it all. The more you know, the smarter
and faster you can go.
That’s why we work with the best minds in business and finance
to bring cutting-edge thinking and best learning practice to a
global market.
Under a range of leading imprints, including Financial Times
Prentice Hall, we create world-class print publications and
electronic products bringing our readers knowledge, skills and
understanding, which can be applied whether studying or at work.
To fin d out more about Pearson Education publications, or tell us
about the books you’d like to find, you can visit us at
www.pearsoned.co.uk
EXTR_A01.QXP 14/11/07 08:12 Page iii
THE
EXTRA
MILE
how to engage your people
to win
David MacLeod and Chris Brady
EXTR_A01.QXP 14/11/07 08:12 Page iv
PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
Tel: (cid:2)44 (0)1279 623623
Fax: (cid:2)44 (0)1279 431059
Website: www.pearsoned.co.uk
First published in Great Britain in 2008
©Chris Brady and Towers Perrin 2008
The right of Chris Brady to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
ISBN: 978-0-273-70394-5
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
MacLeod, David.
The extra mile : how to engage your people to win / David MacLeod and
Chris Brady.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–273–70394–5 (hardback)
1. Employee motivation—Great Britain. 2. Personnel management—Great
Britain. 3. Corporate culture—Great Britain. I. Brady, Christopher, 1947–
II. Title.
HF5549.5.M63M323 2007
658.3’14—dc22 2007036168
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior
written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying
in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd,
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. This book may not be
lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form
of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, without the prior
consent of the publisher.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
11 10 09 08 07
Typeset in10.5pt Iowan Old style by 3
Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd., at the Dorset Press, Dorchester,
Dorset
The publisher’s policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests.
EXTR_A01.QXP 14/11/07 08:12 Page v
Contents
Preface and acknowledgements viii
Introduction 1
Why bother with engagement? 3
The role of strategy 5
The extra mile 6
Part One: Why engagement? 9
1 What is engagement? 11
What’s in it for the organization? 14
How do we recognize engagement? 18
Alignment 20
Engagement 23
Engagement and alignment 25
2 How are we doing and does it matter? 29
What drives engagement in the UK 30
Other engagement views 32
The employment deal 38
Does it matter? 39
The stories 40
The evidence 45
Engagement and the customer 47
It makes sense! 52
3 Why is engagement so important now? 54
The ‘why?’factor 54
The death of deference 55
Why this shift in attitudes? 58
EXTR_A01.QXP 14/11/07 08:12 Page vi
vi CONTENTS
Part Two: Foundations for engagement 71
4 The leader; walking the walk 73
The ‘being’side of leadership 75
The doing of leadership 88
What about me? 97
5 The top team 102
Balance: the perfect leader 105
Collectivize: the perfect vision 113
Carriers: the perfect voice 128
Part Three: Seven pillars of engagement 135
6 The context 137
7 Pillar One – Commitment 140
8 Pillar Two – Get to the Front Line 146
Face to face, eyeball to eyeball 147
The view from below 154
9 Pillar Three – Loudhailers to Conversations 158
How do you set about creating this co-ownership? 161
10 Pillar Four – The Reservoir of Wellbeing 167
The employment deal 167
1 Fair rewards 169
2 Respect and attention 178
3 Improving skills 183
4 Employee support 189
11 Pillar Five – Bring Back the Manager 198
The manager’s view 200
The power of the manager 201
12 Pillar Six – Harnessing Talent 213
Talent matters 214
Why is this so important now? 215
Are we paying attention? 216
Why aren’t we looking harder? 217
EXTR_A01.QXP 14/11/07 08:12 Page vii
CONTENTS vii
Where do you look for talent? 218
Harnessing diversity 219
Who will rise to the top? 221
The nectar-carriers 223
13 Pillar Seven – Consequences 229
Clarity 230
Measurement 232
Consequences, financial and non-financial 238
Performance management 245
Support 253
Conclusion 259
Conclusion: the extra mile 261
Annex A: Research linking engagement to performance 265
Annex B: Statistical terms and analysis 277
Index 281
List of Figures
1.1 Engagement and alignment grid 25
2.1 Percentage of UK workforce that describe themselves as engaged 30
2.2 The top ten drivers of engagement 31
2.3 Senior management capabilities and behaviours 36
2.4 Views about first-line managers 37
2.5 Impact of employee engagement on financial performance 47
2.6 Highly engaged people are empowered to deliver business results 48
10.1 Reservoir of Wellbeing 168
11.1 Managing the information environment 203
12.1 UK career diversity profiles: individuals have different preferences 221
13.1 Individual performance circle 247
13.2 Performance management process 248
EXTR_A01.QXP 14/11/07 08:12 Page viii
Preface and
acknowledgements
FROM DAVID MACLEOD:
It was during my experience helping to reinvigorate the Dulux brand
thatIfirstbecameawareofthepowerofengagement.Thatwasn’twhat
we called it at the time, but I nevertheless began to recognize how
inspiringandenthusingeveryoneinvolvedwascentraltothecreationof
arangeofnewproductsandnewideas,includingthehugelysuccessful
Dulux Natural Whites. It was an observation that stayed with me as I
went on to manage a series of business turnarounds in the industrial
specialities sector, in the UK, throughout Europe, and then globally.
More and more I appreciated the enormous potential that could be
released by harnessing people’s creativity and energy, and encouraging
them to believe that goals were attainable. I realised increasingly that
levelsof‘engagement’inanorganizationarepredictorsofsuccess.
ThisrealizationwasechoedwhenIwasthensecondedtoworkinthe
CabinetOffice.HavingchairedvariousforumsforPermanentSecretaries
and Chief Executives, I became even more convinced that there was a
common language, a common approach, which could relate to almost
anysectoroftheeconomy,andonwhichresultscouldbebuilt.
Such was my conviction that I decided to change career to focus on
this issue; if I could help distil what I had used and observed, and, in
the process, enable a more productive and satisfying working life,
which would benefit employees and organizations alike, then this
seemed to be a contribution worth making.
I then sought a partner for this journey: and in Chris Brady, at that
time Associate Dean of the Cass Business School, I found someone
who shared my belief.
EXTR_A01.QXP 14/11/07 08:12 Page ix
PREFACEANDACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix
FROM CHRIS BRADY:
I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to observe
engagement in action in a wide variety of situations during a diverse
working life. This has ranged from business academia: I am currently
Dean of the Business School and Professor of Management Studies at
Bournemouth University, to the world of sport; where I was a semi-
professional footballer, a qualified UEFA ‘A’ license coach and managed
at senior semi-pro level. During sixteen years in the Navy, where lives
and livelihoods were always at stake. Also as a young man working at
the front line of engagement I have experienced the power of engage-
ment at the sharp end of many businesses, where my experience
ranged from being a line worker at Chryslers in Detroit to a claims
clerk in the City, to a land surveyor with the Ordnance Survey, to a
manager of a bookmakers.
As a believer in much of what Henry Mintzberg has to say, I did it
his way – I had all of that experience and then did the research using
the mountains of evidence that we gathered through the course of
writing this book. The good news is that the research confirmed and
strengthened everything my experience told me was true.
FROM DAVID AND CHRIS:
Together we set out, over the course of four years, to explore the world
of engagement. We particularly benefited from the input of Julian Powe,
who over the last 20 years has built both a depth and breadth of experi-
ence in helping organizations to achieve change. We harnessed a team
of researchers drawn from Cass and Towers Perrin. We trawled through
all the published literature, a short summary of which is included in the
book. We drew on the conclusions from various research studies,
drawn from more than 33 million respondents. We wanted to explore
the evidence that linked engagement to performance and we wanted to
put that in a broader society wide context. From this analysis we dis-
covered a compelling case that engagement predicts performance.
We set up seminars of experts, including those who were studying
engagement in business schools, consultants who had helped to
implement it in organizations, and engagement ‘practitioners’ –