Book SummaryInspire Greatness, by Matt Tenney

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Inspire Greatness

The Current Challenges and Importance of Employee Engagement

Engagement Remains an Issue Despite Significant Efforts and Resources

This section highlights a significant concern about staff engagement. While we have extensive research pinpointing what leads to employees feeling engaged and have poured vast resources into improvement initiatives, engagement remains stagnant overall. This frustrating reality underscores the need for innovative and effective solutions to finally impact employee engagement.

Employee Engagement Levels Unchanged in Two Decades

According to Tenney, a startling observation from Gallup reveals that the average rate of engagement among employees has remained static for the past twenty years. Despite possessing substantial research on what encourages employee engagement and dedicating significant financial resources towards its enhancement, we have failed to witness a meaningful increase in engagement levels. Tenney uses the example of Jennifer, an HR professional at a company with an astonishing annual employee turnover rate of 55%. Jennifer undertakes multiple efforts to boost engagement—a yearly survey, leadership workshops, and focusing on improving the organizational culture. However, despite these efforts, employee engagement actually worsens and turnover rises to 58%. As of 2023, average workforce involvement in the U.S. remains around 32%, mirroring the lack of improvement seen globally.

Context

• Employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment an employee has...

Inspire Greatness Summary Leaders' Role In Driving Employee Engagement

Tenney challenges the pervasive notion that engagement is primarily the result of perks and benefits from HR. He emphasizes that leaders bear the true responsibility for engagement. This section highlights the pivotal role that leadership plays in nurturing workforce engagement.

Leaders Should Prioritize Inspiring and Engaging Employees Over HR

This section delves into the ways leaders should approach employee engagement, specifically focusing on inspiring genuine engagement instead of focusing on perks, benefits, and the illusion of a fun workplace.

Leadership, Not HR, Drives Engagement and Dedication

Tenney debunks the misconception that engagement of employees is solely an HR responsibility. While HR plays a vital role as a partner, the author argues that it's team leaders who wield significant influence over their team's engagement and retention, contributing to at least 70% of the variation. Citing Gallup research, he emphasizes this point, advocating for more emphasis on developing leadership, tightly integrated with measurement and improvement initiatives for engagement.

Practical Tips

• Implement a 'job swap' day where employees can experience a...

Inspire Greatness Summary Motivating People to Succeed by Meeting Employees' Fundamental Needs

Leaders Must Fulfill Employees' Universal Work Needs For Thriving

This section delves into the actionable strategies leaders can employ to foster excellence by fulfilling the fundamental needs of their employees.

14 Global Requirements Linked to Engaged, Loyal Employees

Tenney identifies fourteen fundamental requirements that people experience at work. These needs are based on decades of research and are directly correlated with high levels of employee involvement and retention. The following are those needs:

1. Appreciation/Recognition: Feeling valued and acknowledged for contributions.

2. Autonomy: Having control over one's responsibilities and decisions.

3. Belonging: Feeling included in a supportive and inclusive team.

4. Clarity of Expectations: Understanding clear goals and expectations.

5. Completing Tasks That Capitalize on Strengths: Utilizing and developing individual strengths.

6. Excellence: Striving for and achieving high-quality work.

7. Feedback: Getting consistent and helpful critique.

8. Feeling Like One's Opinion Matters/Is Heard: Having one's ideas and perspectives valued.

9. Receiving Support and Care from One's Manager: Sensing genuine...

Inspire Greatness Summary Impact of Engaged Workforce and Factors for Positive Workplace Culture

Engaged Teams Outperform Less Engaged Ones

The following section explores how an engaged workforce can affect a business and the key elements that foster its development.

Engaged Workers Are More Productive, Profitable, Safer, and Loyal

Tenney uses two examples to highlight the positive impacts of employees being highly engaged on a company. The first is from research that shows companies whose employees are very engaged experience a 147% increase in per-share profits. The second is from the company Fields Law, where, after instituting a four-day-a-week schedule, the company realized a decrease in employee turnover of over 45% in six months, resulting in a cost savings of $2.4 million while simultaneously improving employee well-being. He also cites research demonstrating that businesses in the top 25% of employee engagement levels experience 18% better productivity (sales), safer work environments (36% fewer safety incidents), and higher profit margins (23% better margins) than companies in the bottom 25th percentile.

Context

• Per-share profit, or earnings per share (EPS), is a financial metric that indicates the profitability of a company allocated to...

Inspire Greatness Summary Innovative Insights and Habit Development for Health and Growth

Annual Engagement Surveys Can Harm Engagement

This section tackles the shortcomings of traditional, large-scale yearly surveys that measure engagement levels among employees and presents a more agile, impactful way to offer feedback and develop habits.

Frequent Feedback Paired With Developing Leadership Skills Works Better

Tenney criticizes the conventional practice of conducting extensive yearly surveys to assess how engaged employees are, arguing that they often prove ineffective and can even be counterproductive. He argues yearly surveys create three primary problems: an overload of information, focus on wrong variables, and questions that don't result in actionable outcomes. He contends that these assessments often become overwhelming for leadership, leading to inaction or a focus on superficial perks rather than addressing core behavioral issues within management. He also states that the extended time between feedback and action erodes trust and nullifies all improvements implemented. Additionally, he draws a parallel with athletics, where frequent, timely feedback is an integral part of performance improvement, emphasizing that a similar principle should apply...