Passionate Performance: Engaging Minds and Hearts to Conquer the Competition

“In Passionate Performance, Colan gives us a framework and a practical guide to engaging the minds and hearts of our people. The result is convincing - an advantage that our competitors will find very difficult to replicate. A quick read that can make a big difference.”
Steven Leven
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Human Resources
Texas Instruments

"Once again, Colan's simple and direct message reminds us of the employee engagement principles we have all experienced in our careers but tend to forget to execute."
Joe Bosch
Chief People Officer
Pizza Hut

“Passionate Performance will help everyone grow. From first-time supervisors to most seasoned executives. It provides clear, simple techniques for winning the minds and hearts of your workforce. A must read.”
Jeff Reeves
Chief Organizational Effectiveness and HR Officer
The Ohio State University Medical Center

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Did you know that 83% of U.S. gross domestic product comes from services or information which are created and delivered by people?

The challenge for leaders is revealed in a Gallup poll showing that only 26% of U.S. employees are fully engaged at any time. On the other end of the spectrum, 19% of employees are actively disengaged, meaning they intentionally act in ways that negatively impact their organizations. The annual cost nationwide to employ this actively disengaged group exceeds $1 trillion.

Your people – and the performance they deliver – are the defining competitive advantage for your organization.
Leaders are the key to engaging employees’ minds and hearts so they deliver value for your organization.
The key to Passionate Performance is found within the minds and hearts of employees where basic human needs are fulfilled. It’s a simple but powerful formula: When my needs are fulfilled, I am engaged and I perform at my peak ability. When my needs are met, I’m motivated to help those who meet my needs. When my needs are not met, I’m frustrated, out of control, unfocused, and disconnected – in a word, disengaged.

We all have these basic human needs, and they have remained the same amidst the tornado of external change. Times have changed, and our world has certainly changed, but people have not. In many organizations today, these basic needs still go unfulfilled. It’s up to you as the leader to fulfill them.

To meet these needs, leaders must first see them and acknowledge them. In order to see them, leaders must view their employees as people and not just workers. If you look at your employees as people, you can identify these six basic needs – three intellectual and three emotional

Lee J. Colan is President of The L Group, Inc., a Dallas, Texas-based consulting firm. His is a high energy organizational effectiveness consultant and executive advisor. He has built a track record of successfully managing rapid organizational change. He blends this understanding with his corporate management experience to help leaders and companies grow.

He is the author of Sticking to It: The Art of Adherence and has authored numerous articles in national publications.