I’m in Las Vegas this week, speaking to leaders from hundreds of companies from around the world. Las Vegas is certainly an intriguing place on many levels. It’s an economy that thrives on tourism and in order to keep those tourists happy and coming back, organizations out here need reliable, skilled, engaged workers.

The truth is, the need for engaged, motivated employees isn’t just a Las Vegas issue.

I’ve long felt that the most dangerous employee was not the one who has left the company. It’s the one who has left the company but they haven’t left the company! It’s the people who are just checking in and checking out, day after day, taking up space and leaving a huge amount of productivity on the table. Whether you lead a team of software developers, salespeople, accountants, or doctors, much of our organizational success comes down to how engaged and motivated our front line employees truly are.

I’m staying at a very nice, well-known hotel in Vegas. To be honest, I’m not impressed with the front line service. And you know what? I intersect with enough companies to recognize this isn’t just an issue at Caesar’s Palace. Chances are your organization could use some insights on how to further engage your employees as well.

In recent years I’ve enjoyed following the employee engagement research and writings of Dr. Adam Grant from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. I had the opportunity to catch up with Adam recently and look forward to sharing that interview with you in this episode.

Project management podcastIn the interview, Adam recommends the following books for follow-up:

I strongly recommend each of them as well.

A proven way to help engage your team members is to invest in their development. Budgets don’t always allow for you to send them away for training but that doesn’t mean training has to be put off for a year.

Clearly you already know the benefits of podcasts. Some of the best free learning available these days comes from what you’re doing right now—listening to casts such as The People and Projects Podcast.

Well, starting in July of this year we are launching Premium Subscriptions for our podcast. You and your teams will still have access to our free episodes. But we are going even further with the Premium Subscriptions to help you develop and engage your teams.

Project management podcastHere’s an example of how you can use our Premium Subscription: Have members of your team listen to an episode of The People and Projects Podcast before a team meeting. Prior to that meeting, you download the premium content for the episode. This will typically be questions you can use to facilitate a discussion on the topic. In addition, there are usually links to additional resources such as recommended books or articles for follow-up learning. All this makes it easy for you to develop practical project management and leadership skills on your team without breaking your budget.

Beyond that, Premium Subscribers are automatically entered into drawings for books and other resources throughout the year. And, as a special bonus, you get free admission to webinars that I lead throughout the year. Visit here to learn more about how to develop your team with a Premium Subscription.

One last thing! Would you take a moment to let a friend or colleague know about The People and Projects Podcast? I’d love to pour into them as well, to help them lead people and deliver projects.

Thanks for joining us for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week!

Topics: Team Development, Motivation

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