World renowned leadership coach Marshall Goldsmith presented his keys to boosting organisational engagement and performance at the HR Directors Business Summit.
Speaking to HRD Connect after delivering his keynote speech, Goldsmith explained the need to put some of the onus on workers.
“You as HR professionals and we as companies should do whatever we can to engage employees. I also think it’s a two-way street and the employee should be given a little responsibility to do what they can,” he said.
This, he argued, should be done by getting them to answer six key questions every day.
Here they are:
- Did I do my best to set clear goals?
- Did I do my best to make progress to achieve those goals?
- Did I do my best to find meaning?
- Did I do my best to be happy?
- Did I do my best to build positive relationships?
- Did I do my best to be fully engaged?
And he followed that up with his three most important pieces of business advice for HR professionals are:
- Have fun – if you can’t have fun in HR don’t wait for finance as it’s not going to happen there.
- Do what you can to help people – that’s a blessing about the job.
- Go for it – the industry’s changing, do what you think is right; you may not win, at least you tried.
Goldsmith also gave his three vital points to help find satisfaction in personal life, learned from interviews with older people:
- Be happy now – not next week, not next month, not next year, now. The great western disease ‘I will be happy when… I get the money, status, BMW, condominium’. Many of the HR leaders here are among the luckiest in the world – many have friends, family, health, compared to me youth, helping others, they have it all. So don’t get so busy chasing what you don’t have and you can’t see what you do have.
- Friends and family – it’s very easy to get wrapped up in work and you forget how important they are. When you’re 95 years old and looking around your death bed none of your co-workers are waving goodbye. You realise friends and family are important.
- Go for it – because if you don’t when you’re 35 you won’t when you’re 85.
Watch the exclusive HRD Connect video interview with Marshall Goldsmith
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