It’s no secret that many people are not happy in their corporate jobs, but Beckie Jorgensen believes this should not be the case. She believes this so strongly in fact, that she is actively working to bring change to the typical corporate working environment. Jorgensen, Executive Coach, Corporate Trainer, and Certified Strengths Coach, says she is on a mission to show businesses a better way of managing their employees.
After spending 15 years as a Certified Human Resources Professional in Corporate America, Jorgensen left the office behind in an effort to have a greater impact on employee engagement and leadership development. Throughout those 15 years in Human Resources, Jorgensen has seen it all, including the all too common disengaged employees and the devastating effects these employees have on a business and organizational culture. It’s said that the average employee works at less than half of their capacity, so it is not hard to imagine the impact this has on a business.
Jorgensen, however, sees the potential in such an environment. By reengaging these employees, companies can experience an array of benefits, including increased productivity, employee morale, innovation, and profits. The key is to focus on the individual employee’s strengths, rather than the usual weakness management found in so many companies. By focusing on the individual, instead of the job description, managers are able to give quality feedback and leverage the strengths of their teams to achieve performance objectives, goals, and desired outcomes more effectively. Employees benefit because they enjoy their work more, have a higher level of confidence, and are often able to be more creative in their work.
“A lot of companies say that people are their best assets,” Jorgensen says, “but their actions just don’t show it.” Adopting a strengths-based approach to management allows companies to walk their talk when it comes to putting employees first.
Jorgensen states that one misconception is that there may be a lack of accountability by taking this approach to management. What she has found, though, is quite the opposite. There is actually less need for the old “stick and carrot” approach to management because employees tend to be more engaged, productive, and are generally happier.
The key to getting the ball rolling is to get the buy-in of leadership. From there, it’s a matter of evaluating the talents and strengths of managers and employees from the top down. Once talents and strengths have been assessed, it’s time to identify any gaps, and then create a plan to leverage the collective strengths of the team to make the team more effective, confident, and productive. While the process is quite simple in concept, leaders should be prepared to engage in a long-term relationship with a coach if they truly want to change their company’s culture from weakness management to strengths-based development.
To learn more about Beckie Jorgensen and strengths-based management, visit: http://beckiejorgensen.com/.