Page 121 - The Way to the Top

Michael B. KITCHEN

President and CEO of CUNA Mutual Group

No matter what your organization, the ability to get employees fully
engaged in leading and running the business is absolutely critical. I
learned this when I started working after college, and it’s been reinforced

throughout my career—especially now as CEO of a Fortune 750 financial
services organization.

When companies engage their employees, they are rewarded with
innovation, greater loyalty, increased productivity, less tolerance for poor
performance, and an overall increase in morale. It doesn’t have to be

difficult. Simply ask employees for their help. What ideas do they have to
improve the company? What’s working well? What isn’t working well?
Where can we save money? How can we grow the business?

You have to be prepared to respond to employees. Acknowledge their

ideas. Pursue their ideas. Take the best forward. Will all ideas submitted
be worth pursuing? Of course not. But there will be a good number of good
ideas and, on occasion, some absolute gems that make a big difference for
your organization. More importantly, employees will feel more connected

—because they really are. That stronger connection means a happier
workforce, a more productive workforce, and, at the end of the day, a
stronger company.

When corporate leaders engage employees in leading and running the

company, the level of trust in the organization also grows. The entire
organization feels a commitment to the success of the company. Today,
we’re seeing too many examples of corporate greed. When tough
economic times hit, these organizations have a hard time rallying support
among employees if changes need to be made to wages and benefits in