Mark Crowley has heard companies talk about employee engagement for the past 15 to 20 years, but in his estimation, those efforts come off as highly insincere.
Crowley, a La Jolla resident and UC San Diego graduate, is a former national sales manager for investments. Throughout his career and his ventures as an author and a podcast host, he has been a strong proponent of what he calls human-centered leadership.
His most recent book, “The Power of Employee Well-Being: Move Beyond Engagement to Build Flourishing Teams,” further explores that concept and delivers his latest industry insights. It is scheduled for release Tuesday, Sept. 30.
As the title suggests, the book advocates a work environment in which employees feel valued and, as a result, feel more dedicated to their work.
“What this book is is a primer,” Crowley told the La Jolla Light. “If I can convince you as a manager … that if you focus on your employees’ well-being, it’s going to bring you all the things you’re trying to achieve. … The next question is, ‘OK, how do I do it?’”
“The Power of Employee Well-Being: Move Beyond Engagement to Build Flourishing Teams” will be released Sept. 30. (Provided by Mark Crowley)
Crowley’s previous release, the second edition of “Lead from the Heart,” argues that traditional management concepts are fundamentally flawed.
“We’ve always thought the heart was just a pump and that the mind [has] all our cognitive ability,” Crowley told the Light in 2022. But “the truth of the matter is 90-95% of the decisions we make every single day are being made by our emotions.”
“My original book, ‘Lead from the Heart,’ was basically saying that human beings aren’t rational … and if that’s the case, we should be much more concerned about how we support feelings and emotions.”
Crowley’s latest book homes in on two takeaways. One, measuring employee feedback once or twice a year does not foster timeliness and accountability. And two, positive feelings drive employees’ commitment and loyalty.
“What research has shown is that simply asking people on a regular basis how they’re doing and how they’re feeling about things allows managers to recalibrate in the moment,” Crowley said.
The first half of “The Power of Employee Well-Being” focuses on issues of concern, while the second half guides managers on how they can remedy them.
Part of the problem, Crowley said, lies in the tendency for managers to get stuck on driving revenue and boosting the company’s stock price without consideration for the people helping to make that happen.
“If engagement can’t be proven to be driving that and they’re getting their numbers without it … there’s sort of this lukewarm commitment to it,” he said.
Crowley calls for a “win-win” environment where employees feel valued. When employers treat employees with dignity, he says, they often reciprocate with greater effort.
“I don’t remember any of the numbers we hit or the goals we hit,” Crowley said. “I remember the people whose lives I influenced. Yes, we hit those goals and we did all that and it was important. But as your legacy as a leader, is that all you want to be remembered for?”
Crowley said “The Power of Employee Well-Being” flowed out of his mind rather quickly. After writing it in 3½ months, he pitched it to a publisher with vast experience in the business world.
Throughout the process, he focused on making the story as concise as possible.
“I was on a podcast and somebody told me he went to the pool with his kids and read the book sitting at a … lounge in an hour and a half,” Crowley said. “And that was my goal. People aren’t reading anymore, and managers don’t have a lot of time.
“The idea was if people are really busy but I can give them a ton of information that they can apply and read it in a couple of hours, then I’ve done my job. That’s what the book is.”
“The Power of Employee Well-Being” is available for advance order on Amazon. Find out more at markccrowley.com. ♦