Beyond Constraints

Employee engagement is not created! It is a function of what happens inside an organisation.

- Abhishek Totawar

Successful managers who have grown up from the ranks know that they are dependent on their team members to achieve targets. In doing so, they understand that interdependence is key for collaborative ventures. Synergies of this interdependence cannot be harnessed in the absence of a conducive work environment, which is also referred to as organisational culture, work context, or climate. If we look around, we would find that there are some corporations where people [just] work, and others in which they work as well as love what they do. In essence, we say that there are companies in which people thrive and thereby the company grows from good to great. We ask ourselves: are these people special that they are able to thrive, or is there something [special] about the inside of such companies?

This is about the forests of Fontainebleau in France, “if you go there with a thought of leisurely walk, you won’t be able to simply do so… it would be difficult for you to resist yourself from jumping to catch the branch of a tree, throw pebbles or simply run….” Goshal and Bartlett (1994) say that some organisations, inside themselves, create an environment that is similar to the forests of Fontainebleau. It is full of energy, where everyone wants to do a little more. There are four ingredients of this thriving and energetic work environment—stretch, discipline, trust, and support.1