Contents
PART I The Truth About Employee Engagement
Truth 1 You don’t need the carrot or the stick
Truth 2 You have direct influence over your employees’ passion quotient
Truth 3 You get the best by giving the best
Truth 4 It’s not money that motivates
Truth 5 Employment engagement isn’t for sissies
Truth 6 Real engagement gains happen after survey scores come in
PART II The Truth About Yourself
Truth 7 Your behaviors are your brand
Truth 8 You can’t give what you don’t have
Truth 9 “Best” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone
Truth 10 Think you’re a great leader? Think again
Truth 11 You could be your own worst employee
Truth 12 Visionary or beat cop? Your choice
Truth 13 Your health may be compromising your leadership effectiveness
Truth 14 You don’t have to be perfect
Truth 15 Your career can recover from an engagement hit
PART III The Truth About Engaged Cultures
Truth 16 Employee happiness is serious business
Truth 17 Great leaders make their people cry
Truth 18 Better questions lead to better answers
Truth 19 Individual passion builds a passion-fueled customer service culture
Truth 20 Authentic is better than clever
Truth 21 Retention begins with hello
Truth 22 The bad will do you good
Truth 23 Your biggest complainer may be your best supporter
Truth 24 You can sell an unpopular decision
Truth 26 Nobody cares if you don’t mean to be mean
Truth 27 Controlling your temper is a labor-saving device
Truth 28 There is no “but” in “I’m sorry”
PART IV The Truth About Motivation
Truth 29 Engagement happens one person at a time
Truth 30 If you’re a manager, you’re a career coach
Truth 31 The candidates you’re seeking may not be the ones you need
Truth 32 Ask for cheese—you might get the moon
Truth 33 You lead better when you get off your pedestal
Truth 34 Trust is your strongest persuasion tool
Truth 35 If they aren’t buying it, they aren’t doing it
Truth 36 Overselling an opportunity can cost you precious talent
Truth 37 Focusing on what’s right can help solve what’s wrong
Truth 38 High performers are motivated by a piece of the action
Truth 39 All the generations want the same thing
PART V The Truth About Performance
Truth 40 Compassion promotes performance
Truth 41 A hot star can brighten your whole team
Truth 42 B players are your A team
Truth 43 High performers have enough coffee mugs
Truth 44 Discipline deepens engagement
Truth 45 You don’t have to inherit the problem employees
Truth 46 Performance appraisals are really about you
Truth 47 New hires can inspire current employees
Truth 48 Terminations are an engagement tool
PART VI The Truth About Creativity
Truth 49 Innovation begins with y-e-s
Truth 50 Everyone can be creative
Truth 51 You stand between inspiration and implementation
Truth 52 Failures promote progress
Truth 53 People don’t quit their bosses, they quit their colleagues
Truth 54 Extreme pressure kills inspired performance
Truth 55 Creativity is a balancing act
PART VII The Truth About Communication
Truth 56 Open questions ignite inspiring answers
Truth 57 Serving your employees means managing your boss
Truth 58 Bad news is good news
Truth 59 Trivial conversations are essential
Truth 60 The way you listen speaks volumes
Truth 62 Engaged employees need to know more
PART VIII The Truth About Teams
Truth 63 Absence makes the employee happier
Truth 64 Your team has untapped talent
Truth 65 People need to fight their own battles
Truth 66 Games don’t build teams
Truth 68 Your team can lead you to greatness