Creating A Culture Of Engagement In Times Of Change

Change doesn’t fail because people resist it. It fails because people feel left out of it. If employees feel like change is happening to them—instead of with them—You will get compliance at best. But if they feel like they’re part of something bigger? That’s when commitment begins. Engagement isn’t about cheerleading from the top. It’s about designing a process where people feel informed, involved, and empowered. Here are 7 ways to build real engagement during transformation: 🔹 1. Involve, Don’t Just Inform → People support what they help build. Invite them early into conversations. 🔹 2. Link Change to Personal Meaning → If it doesn't connect to their purpose, it won't stick. 🔹 3. Create Local Ownership → Make change visible at the team level—not just in strategy decks. 🔹 4. Recognize Early Adopters → Highlight those who lead by example to inspire the rest. 🔹 5. Share the Journey Publicly → Updates = traction. Visibility = trust. 🔹 6. Ask, Don’t Assume → Feedback isn’t a one-time event—it’s your fuel for course correction. 🔹 7. Provide Resources to Succeed → A new mindset needs the support of new tools and capabilities. Engagement is not an initiative. It’s a leadership discipline. And in every successful transformation, it’s the difference between quiet quitting and full commitment. If your team is navigating change and you need help building alignment, ownership, and follow-through… 📩 DM me “TRANSFORM” to explore how I support organizations as a fractional transformation executive—turning strategy into shared momentum.

Your employees have wishes. Not for ping-pong tables or pizza Fridays, but for a small shift in your leadership. Unfortunately they probably aren't going to tell you what they really need. According to research, 58% avoid giving honest feedback to their boss—because they don’t believe it will make a difference (SHRM, 2023). Their silence isn’t compliance, or lack of engagement. It’s protection. Fear of retaliation, power dynamics, or simply not wanting to "rock the boat" prevents employees from speaking up. How you can grant your employees' wishes without magic wands? Here are five powerful shifts. 🌟 1. Lead from clarity. When priorities shift weekly, employees get lost in the fog. They don’t need the full strategy brief—but they do need to understand the why behind the change. 👉 What to do: Pause before pivoting. Write out your reasoning. If you can’t explain it clearly, the team won’t follow it confidently. Clarity fuels progress. 🌟 2. Keep your promises. Even small promises—“I’ll get back to you next week”—carry weight. When those are forgotten, trust begins to unravel. 👉 What to do: Calendar your commitments. Follow through, or circle back if something shifts. When your word holds weight, so does your leadership. 🌟 3. Invite their perspective. Your employees have insights you can’t see from the top. But if disagreement feels dangerous, those insights stay buried. 👉 What to do: Normalize feedback. Encourage respectful dissent. Create safe ways to speak up. Your best ideas might be stuck behind a culture of silence. 🌟 4. See them and the value they bring. People want to contribute more than what's in their job description. They want to make a difference, but you have to pay attention. 👉 What to do: Ask for their ideas. Celebrate them when they step up. Example: At Diageo, a multinational beverages giant, employees saved $7.8M just by sharing what they already knew. 🌟 5. Build trust with your actions. Trust doesn’t come from slogans or values painted on the wall. It comes from the way you show up—especially in the small moments. 👉 What to do: Be present. Listen more than you speak. Acknowledge gaps. Every interaction is a chance to either build trust—or burn it. ✨ Conclusion According to Gallup, companies that actively seek employee feedback experience 14% higher productivity and 21% higher profitability. No fairy dust required. One small but powerful action is more sustainable than Ping Pong Tables and Pizza. Do you have more to add? Let’s learn from each other 👇 #LIPostingDayApril  #Leadership  

Disengagement is NOT an employee problem. (It's a leadership problem.) I once sat through a companywide meeting where an HR leader responded to low engagement survey results with: “Just park your cynicism and get on board.” 😳 In case you're wondering, that’s not how engagement works. Recent research from Gallup (January 2025) shows that employee engagement in the U.S. has hit a 10-year low. Shocking? Not really. The biggest drops (by 3+ points) in 2024 tell the story: ✔️ Clarity of expectations – Just 46% of employees clearly know what’s expected of them at work (down from 56% in March 2020). ✔️ Feeling cared about as a person – Only 39% of employees feel strongly that someone at work cares about them (down from 47% in March 2020). ✔️ Encouragement for development – Just 30% strongly agree that someone at work encourages their development (down from 36% in March 2020). Let’s be clear: Employees can’t fix this. They can’t force someone to clarify expectations, care about them, or invest in their growth. That’s on leadership. The problem isn’t just employees—it’s managers too. Only 31% of managers are engaged. So the people responsible for driving engagement are just as checked out as everyone else. So, what should leaders actually do? Gallup recommends: 👉 Define the culture you want – Align it with your purpose and value to customers. 👉 Clarify expectations and upskill managers – Equip them to build stronger bonds through clear priorities, ongoing feedback, and accountability. 👉 Select the right managers – Find people who can engage and inspire others—not just the ones who hit their KPIs. At the end of the day, leaders need to stop blaming employees for disengagement and start asking themselves: “Am I proud of how I’m showing up for my team every day?” Or are you just telling them to “buck up and get on with it”?

The workplace change process isn’t just about redesigning space; it’s about using the process to redesign how people connect. The discovery process for workplace change is an opportunity to: 🔥 Build Empathy – Employees share experiences about what they need to do their best work, wherever they are working. 🔥 Drive Innovation – Employees engage in conversations about improving systems and processes, which can lead to reduced friction and improved productivity. 🔥 Strengthen Culture – A workplace designed with employees leads to stronger engagement and ownership of the resulting space. When organizations treat workplace change as a dialogue rather than a directive, they create spaces that don’t just house people—they support them. The process itself becomes a tool for building empathy, driving innovation, strengthening culture, and shaping a workplace that reflects how people actually work today. I recently read a great piece by Eoin Higgins on the rise of hospitality-like workplace amenities. He made key points I want to expand on—because employees, not designers, architects, facilities teams, or HR, should define what best serves them. To engage employees, try this structured discussion in small groups (3-4 people). Each question gets 8 minutes (total of 24 minutes). Have participants write their answers silently for one minute, then take turns sharing (1 minute each). The group selects a top idea from each person’s list to report out. Active Contribution vs. Passive Consumption – What ways of working encourage shared ownership of work, policies, processes, technology, and space? Friction as Meaningful Work – Oliver Burkeman suggests challenges create meaning. If friction were seen as valuable rather than something to eliminate, what would you want more (or less) of in your work? Engagement Beyond Perks – True engagement comes from purpose and shared endeavor. How do you connect with our organization’s purpose and others? What would improve engagement for you? These discussions will inform design decisions and foster ownership of outcomes. Research shows early employee participation increases adoption and support of workplace changes - and also builds connections, strengthening culture. Caveat: Don’t ask if you won’t listen—nothing frustrates employees more. Images by Josef Chalat of people sitting in a circle having a conversation (illustration of a facilitation method called "fishbowl").

Here’s an unpopular opinion: engagement isn’t about being fun. Yes, people love a surprise coffee drop or a well-run trivia night—but real, sustained engagement runs deeper than perks or party planning. What really fuels connection? - Clear expectations, especially during change - Purposeful storytelling that builds trust - Leaders who genuinely listen—and follow through - The ability to see your impact, not just your output As engagement pros, our job isn’t to “keep people happy.” It’s to create the conditions for people to feel seen, valued, and aligned. 🛠 Pro tip: Partner with internal comms, HRBPs, and analytics to track what truly matters—like trust, clarity, and connection. Engagement is not an event. It’s an ecosystem. #StrategicHR #InternalComms #InclusiveLeadership #EmployeeVoice #CultureThatConnects