Rivers Not Reservoirs

By: David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer

Someone once told me that God created us to be rivers, not reservoirs. He will only give to us what he knows will flow through us. Have you ever considered how this might connect to our business life? The data that’s available is quite surprising.

We have all seen the Gallup studies on employee engagement. Worldwide employee engagement is a miserable 15%. We here in the U.S. are better with the number rising to about 28-30%. Better, but still miserable. Forbes rubs it in by telling us that engaged employees have an increase in productivity of 21%. If only we could find the answers to employee engagement. The answers aren’t that hard to find. You know me well enough that I will say we need to lead rather than manage, but that’s a topic for another writing assignment. The answer I would like to share with you today is to allow our employees and our organizations to be rivers rather than reservoirs.

A 2017 Volunteerism Survey by Deloitte revealed that 89% of American workers believe companies that sponsor volunteer activities offer a better overall working environment than those that do not. 70% of the respondents said that volunteer activities are more likely to boost employee morale than company sponsored happy hours. 77% reported volunteering to be essential to overall employee well-being. The great news is that not only does engagement rise, but workers become passionate about their jobs and the company for whom they work. Organizations who are intentional about giving back to their community become purpose-filled, passion-driven organizations. These organization then become sought after by the best and brightest talents.

So where can you help? This answer is even easier; anywhere and everywhere. MACNY’s own Partners for Education & Business is always looking for mentors to help with the P-TECH programs in Syracuse and Auburn. The United Way of Central New York will help you set up an employee giving campaign in your company. There are organizations all over our town that are always in need. I once heard it put this way: ‘The good news is that we have all the resources we need.  The bad news is that it’s all still in your pockets.’ Why not get engaged and develop a greater passion for our community. Forbes might be correct, and your team might just see a 21% improvement in productivity.

Please join Julianne Pease and me on The Next Page Podcast episode 69 as we take a deeper look into the benefits of giving back and where you might be able to help out.

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