Terms of Engagement

Book excerpt: Building engagement is crucial for every organization. But the traditional top-down coercive change management paradigm--in which leaders "light a fire" under employees--actually discourages engagement. Richard Axelrod offers a better way. After debunking six common change management myths, he offers a proven, practical strategy for getting everyone--not just select committees or working groups--enthusiastically committed to organizational transformation. This revised edition features new interviews--everyone from the vice president of global citizenship at Cirque du Soleil to a Best Buy clerk--and new neuroscience findings that support Axelrod's model. It also shows how you can foster engagement through everyday conversations, staff meetings, and work design.