When you’re surfing, every wave is different. In business, every day brings a new challenge, a new opportunity. I’ve learned that a well ridden wave requires not just skill, but a deep engagement with the ocean. In business, the same principle applies; a company’s success hinges upon the engagement of its team.
What is team engagement?
Gallup defines employee engagement as the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace.
The key words are involvement and enthusiasm – you could seamlessly switch from engagement to stoked – the only difference being the context – the workplace or the surf break.
In surfing, the essence of a great surfing experience comes from being stoked/engaged – from being in synchronization with the waves, reacting to changes, and working with the power, not against it. When employees are disengaged, they often just go through the motions, much like a surfer who is un-stoked. The result? Decreased productivity, one of the major problems stemming from disengagement. Just as an un-stoked surfer struggles to maintain enthusiasm, a disengaged team struggles to deliver results, holding back company growth and profitability.
Quality matters, both on a board and in the boardroom. A stoked/engaged surfer is committed to giving it everything, on every ride. Thinking back to my years as a pro – every wave I rode got everything I had to give. I simply wanted to be the best I could be, on every wave – I took great pride and pleasure in my passion. Sometimes disengaged/unstoked employees don’t take pride in their work, leading to a decline in work quality. Ultimately, this erosion of enthusiasm leads to a of lack of attention to detail, that can result in customer dissatisfaction, negatively impacting the organization.
Individual morale and job satisfaction are as crucial in business as they are in a surfing context. When one member of the team isn’t putting in their best effort, it affects everyone. Disengaged employees can foster a toxic culture that can spread through an organization like a wave of negative emotional contagion. Over time, this individual negativity can lead to a broader culture of disengagement, affecting employee satisfaction and company culture.
Just as the ocean constantly changes, employees change and often look for new opportunities – inside and outside of their organization. Disengaged employees, feeling disconnected from their roles, often seek greener pastures, resulting in high employee turnover. Losing a team member means valuable experience and skills are lost and having to replace an employee is a costly and time-consuming process.
Customer satisfaction is the lifeline of any business and when employees are disengaged, it reflects in their interactions with customers. This can lead to subpar customer service, potentially driving clients to competitors – a clear loss for the business. One unstoked team member can have a tremendous negative impact so re-engaging team members should always be an ongoing organizational imperative. In conclusion, the negative impact of employee disengagement can create profound problems in an organization. I enjoy using surfing metaphors to clarify the complexities of business – engaging team members, getting them stoked and maintaining that stoke, should be a primary goal of leadership. A stoked team is an engaged team, and an engaged team is a great team.
