Leading Matters #36 David Niu CEO TINYpulse
Culture is the spark that ignites employee engagement. That is something that David Niu discovered after interviewing more than 30 business leaders across the globe, and the motivator for the company that he built, TINYpulse. The company helps leaders discern employee sentiment and take actions that help improve engagement
ENGAGEMENT IS HOW EMPLOYEES CONNECT TO THE COMPANY MISSION
Think mission isn’t important, think again because your employees crave mission. Employees either find or don’t 
find purpose in what they do. Mission makes sure that purpose is easily discovered.
WARNING: SIDE EFFECTS MAY BE UNCOMFORTABLE
TINYpulse has an profound immediate impact on leaders because for the first time leaders receive a new kind of candid feedback. It can be painful, but it can also be the first step towards building the muscle memory of positive culture.
TAKING THE TEETH OUT OF CYNICISM
TINYpulse takes those water cooler-ing arm chair quarterbacking cynics out of the game by encouraging criticism AND enabling suggestion. Have an issue with how Joe in product management does something?. Tell him via TINYpulse, but suggest something that might make it better.
TALENT DEVELOPMENT STARTS WAY AHEAD OF EMPLOYMENT
It takes time to turn around a culture. So we either have a big task ahead of us to get it straight, or we have to protect what we have built. Therefore it is critical for us to have in place a clear understanding of what the company values, and make those values clear to our talent marketplace.
VALUES CAN’T BE IMPOSED
Your employees may or may not identify with the values of the company. Especially if those values have changed since they first arrived. This is not a negative, it is simply a reality. Does it mean that we need instead an army of automatons that adhere to the letter of the values law that the company holds dear? No. But it does mean that we as leaders have to do our best to (1) make the values clear and (2) help our employees connect with our values.
STICKING TO VALUES TAKES COURAGE
The age old problem of what do you do when you have a top notch performer who flies in the face of the company values and culture. Another complexity that TINYpulse seeks to sort out. Hard decisions sometimes have to be made, but they are better served with transparency and communication.
CEO NEEDS TO BE THE CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER
If the CEO doesn’t passionately care about his or her people then engagement might never be attainable. The business of investing in our people has to be a priority for leadership.
