The case is an outstanding illustration of subordinates’ collective sharing of stories manifesting themselves in a high level of employee engagement. The key highlight of the case is Project X, where the degree of engagement was universally accepted as the highest point within the entire period of cooperation. Therefore, the key patterns and themes of the shared stories are centered around perceived organizational support (POS), shared positive mood, and shared personal vision.
The first evident theme is shared positive mood, which is rooted in the fact that the subordinated “felt that they were at their best,” when they were working on Project X. It is stated that “shared vision, shared mood, and POS have a direct, positive association with engagement. In addition, shared vision and POS interact with EI to positively influence engagement” (Mahon et al., 2014, p. 1). In other words, the feelings and emotional backgrounds constitute to the shared collective sense of positivity and satisfaction, which primarily catalyzed high engagement levels during Project X.
The second theme is shared personal vision, which can be derived from the fact that the team scored 99% percentile and achieved results beyond the set objectives. Since employee engagement was the highest during Project X, such a factor was also co-influenced with one vision being shared among all members of the team. It is stated that “collective engagement, fueled by shared organizational vision, improves service performance” (Eldor, 2019, p. 177). In other words, one should be aware of the fact that performance is correlated with a shared vision, which also directly boosts engagement.
The third theme is perceived organization support, which is evidenced by the fact that all subordinates “felt a sense of belonging.” It is important to note that POS is a key element of engagement, which also directly impacts the overall engagement levels (Mahon et al., 2014). Therefore, a sense of belonging is primarily rooted in POS because support is a crucial component for experiencing such a feeling. Thus, there are three major patterns or themes, which are POS, shared positive mood, and shared personal vision, and they all present within the case on subordinates’ experience and story-based memory in regards to Project X.
Based on these insights, a vision statement should be able to incorporate all three pillars of engagement. A suitable example of a vision statement would be “leading the technology sector through unity, inspiration, and empowerment.” The first half of the vision statement provides a shared personal vision, whereas empowerment advances the notion of perceived organizational support. In regards to shared positive mood, both unity and inspiration can be considered as manifestations of feelings attributed to the group. The unity is also useful for solidifying the insight of shared common objective or vision since it requires subordinates to be collaborative and unified to be able to achieve the results and objectives.
In conclusion, the case is demonstrative of how a team can experience a high degree of engagement within the working process by the mere presence of key catalyzers. There are three evident factors, which directly impact the overall engagement levels, such as POS, shared positive mood, and shared personal vision. Both the case and literature support the fact that the presence of these three elements ensures employee engagement within the work process, which leads to improved organizational performance.
References
Eldor, L. (2019). How collective engagement creates competitive advantage for organizations: A business-level model of shared vision, competitive intensity, and service performance. Journal of Management Studies, 57(2), 177-209. Web.
Mahon, E. G., Taylor, S. N., & Boyatzis, R. E. (2014). Antecedents of organizational engagement: Exploring vision, mood and perceived organizational support with emotional intelligence as a moderator. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1-12. Web.