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    Research Brief 2009

    Engaging People to Accomplish the Organization’s Most Important Work

    Live Webinar with Q&A

    Research Brief

    A recording for this session isn't published. Below is the BPI editorial brief — key takeaways, an in-depth summary, and FAQs drawn from the original session materials and the presenter's body of work.

    Presenter

    RJ

    Ralph Jacobson

    **Live Webinar with Q&A**

    Description

    You will walk away from this webinar with a deeper insight into the reasons why major corporate change efforts fail to deliver their intended results. For those leaders and Human Resource executives who want to achieve greater organization success and have a greater return on their development investment dollars, this presentation provides significant insight how to create a more effective strategy. Participants will be shown how to frame organization initiatives that more easily get people from different disciplines to work together. Also addressed, the specific stuff you have to think about if you want to make a difference and the order in which you have to address them. In short, you will walk away with a community building tool to build sustainable communities of organization practice.

    Learning Points

    -Understand some of the universal organization factors that sap energy and hamper accomplishment -Examine some of the erroneous assumptions behind traditional organization change and individual growth models that limit impact -Provide a tool you can use to create communities of practice where people more easily collaborate across organization silos to address challenging work -Demonstrate how new tools and language are necessary to undertake complex work

    Who Will Participate

    Leaders and Human Resource executives who are working in turbulent environments and want to achieve greater organization success and have a greater return on their development investment dollars.

    Key Takeaways

    • 1.Major corporate change efforts often fail to deliver their intended results due to universal organizational factors that sap energy.
    • 2.Traditional organizational change and individual growth models are often based on erroneous assumptions that limit their impact.
    • 3.A community-building tool can help create communities of practice where people collaborate more easily across organizational silos.
    • 4.Addressing complex work requires the use of new tools and a new common language to foster collaboration.
    • 5.Leaders can frame organization initiatives in a way that encourages people from different disciplines to work together more easily.
    • 6.A more effective strategy for change can lead to a greater return on organizational development investment dollars.

    The Challenge with Corporate Change Initiatives

    Many leaders and Human Resource executives find that major corporate change efforts frequently fail to deliver their intended results. This webinar explores the universal organizational factors that sap energy and hamper accomplishment, providing a deeper insight into these common failures. It addresses the need for a more effective strategy to achieve a greater return on development investment dollars.

    Rethinking Traditional Change Models

    The presentation examines the erroneous assumptions behind traditional organization change and individual growth models. These flawed assumptions often limit the impact of change initiatives, preventing organizations from achieving their desired outcomes. Participants will understand why new approaches are critical in today's turbulent business environments.

    A Framework for Effective Collaboration

    This webinar provides participants with a framework and tools to build sustainable "communities of practice." This approach helps people from different disciplines and departments collaborate more effectively across organizational silos to tackle challenging work.

    Key Learning Points:

    • Understand Failure Points: Identify the universal factors that cause change initiatives to fail.
    • Challenge Assumptions: Examine the flaws in traditional change and growth models.
    • Build Communities of Practice: Learn to use a tool that fosters collaboration across silos.
    • Adopt New Tools: See how new language and tools are necessary to undertake complex work.

    Who Should Attend

    This session is designed for leaders and Human Resource executives who are working in turbulent environments and want to achieve greater organization success, and have a greater return on their development investment dollars.

    This session delves into the critical strategies leaders can employ to deeply engage their workforce, ensuring they are not just present but actively contributing to the organization's most vital objectives. Even years later, the principles remain highly relevant for cultivating a productive and committed professional environment.

    What you'll learn

    Leaders will gain insights into:

    • Understanding the fundamental drives behind employee engagement.
    • Identifying practical levers to increase commitment and ownership.
    • Strategies for aligning individual efforts with organizational priorities.
    • Methods to create a culture where employees feel valued and motivated to perform their best.
    • How to overcome common hurdles to engagement in diverse work settings.

    Who this webinar is for

    This webinar is ideal for:

    • Senior leaders and executives seeking to improve organizational performance.
    • HR professionals focusing on talent management and employee retention.
    • Managers looking to enhance team productivity and morale.
    • Anyone responsible for driving change and achieving strategic goals through people.

    Why it matters now

    In today's dynamic work environment, employee engagement continues to be a cornerstone of organizational success and resilience. Low engagement can lead to decreased productivity, higher turnover, and a reduced capacity to innovate. Cultivating a highly engaged workforce ensures an organization can adapt quickly, retain top talent, and consistently deliver on its mission, making these topics perennially important.

    How leaders can apply this

    Leaders can immediately implement the concepts discussed to:

    • Communicate Vision Clearly: Ensure all employees understand the 'why' behind their work and how it connects to the broader organizational goals.
    • Empower and Delegate: Grant autonomy and responsibility, trusting employees to contribute effectively and fostering a sense of ownership.
    • Recognize and Appreciate: Regularly acknowledge contributions and celebrate successes to reinforce positive behaviors and boost morale.
    • Foster Development: Provide opportunities for growth and learning, demonstrating an investment in employees' futures.
    • Solicit Feedback: Create channels for open communication and act on employee input, making them feel heard and valued.

    About this session

    Key takeaways

    Watching this webinar gives you grounded, practical perspective on workplace culture. Expect ideas you can use in leadership conversations, not abstract theory, drawn from Ralph Jacobson's direct experience.

    Who this is for

    CHROs, HR business partners, talent leaders, executive coaches, organizational development practitioners, and senior leaders who are responsible for workplace culture inside their organization.

    Why it matters now

    Workforce expectations, hybrid work patterns, and AI-driven change keep raising the bar on culture and leadership. Sessions like this help leaders make smarter, more evidence-informed decisions about workplace culture.

    How to apply it

    Use the ideas here to challenge a current assumption on your team, design a single concrete experiment in the next 30 days, and bring one finding back to your leadership group for discussion.

    Frequently asked questions

    Best Practice Institute

    Best Practice Institute is the research organization behind Most Loved Workplace® certification, the SPARK Model, the Love of Workplace Index™ (LOWI™), and The Workplace Report.

    The Workplace Report

    The Workplace Report is BPI's original workplace culture research and editorial briefing series for CEOs, CHROs, people leaders, talent leaders, and employer-brand teams. It turns BPI's 25 years of research, Most Loved Workplace® certification data, SPARK findings, and current workforce signals into practical analysis leaders can use.

    The report format includes executive summaries, research-backed articles, company examples, methodology notes, and practical implications for retention, hiring, culture, leadership, and employee experience. New research and analysis is published on an ongoing editorial cadence at /workplace-report.