Page 106 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

Steering the Ship and Inspiring the Crew C93

been here 14 years. Her response was nothing short of classy. We spent
40 minutes together talking about her life, her kids and her goals.
How she managed this stressful meeting was remarkable. She exhib-
ited many of the qualities we teach with our mindsets—dealing with
adversity, problem solving, and taking personal ownership for one’s
actions. She was scared, but still used the skills we teach. She told me
that one of the mindset trainings helped her be better at work and at
home and that she would always be grateful for that—I couldn’t have
received a greater compliment.

Q: How has your work in developing these mindsets helped
you?
Hoogeveen: Developing the mindsets curriculum has forced me to look
at each of the component parts that make up our leadership principles.
Because I’m clearer about them, I’m better able to spot these talents in
others. I’ve become a better talent scout.

: SENIOR LEADERSHIP IN TURBULENT TIMES

As noted in Chapter 2, companies that increased their employee en-
gagement scores during the months immediately following the eco-
nomic implosion of 2008 scored significantly higher on five themes
than companies whose scores declined during that same period. Two
of those themes, which we call differentiators, are levers that senior
leaders control.

Differentiator #1: Setting a Clear, Compelling Direction That Empowers
Each Employee
Figure 4.1 presents how much some employers gained ground on this
theme, even as the economy crumbled, contrasted with those that
lost ground. The figure shows the dramatic differences for the first
differentiator.