Kim Barnes, who is, of course, the developer of our Exercising Influence program and author of the book, Exercising Influence: A Guide For Making Things Happen at Work, at Home, and in Your Community (Third Edition) recently engaged in a fascinating dialogue on social media regarding silence and influence.

Georgie, Barnes & Conti’s canine mascot of nearly 11 years, peacefully left the world last month after a brief but serious illness. We first introduced Georgie to our Barnes & Conti extended family in our 2012 Holiday Newsletter. At the time, we said: “Georgie began accompanying Barnes & Conti Finance Manager, Heller Rathbone, to the office about a year ago. Since that time Georgie has been brightening our office and lightening our mood on countless occasions.”

In my previous post [Ed. Note: see “How to Build Trust in a Low-Trust Era”], I suggested that trust was a key factor in helping people work more effectively and efficiently on teams. As formal or informal leaders, it’s our responsibility to help team members focus and move toward action in order to achieve a desired outcome. There are three basic ways that we can accomplish this: through the use of direct power, through manipulation, and by using interpersonal influence.

By Nermin Soyalp, Ph.D.

Two years into the pandemic, engagement surveys—unsurprisingly—report low morale and decreased engagement for many organizations. Organizations have been inviting employees back to their offices. However, with Covid19 surges and employees enjoying working at home, many balk at idea returning to the office full-time. Working remotely is here to stay, and managers face the challenge of creating and supporting an engaged remote work environment.

This article focuses on engagement: what it is, how it works, and the leader’s role in increasing and maintaining employee engagement, especially when leading remotely. Barnes & Conti has redoubled our long-standing commitment of supporting organizations, their leaders, and team members to develop and maintain engaged remote workplaces. This article will identify what contributes to high engagement and how we can create processes to address obstacles to engagement…