CEO Linda Dunkel on what It takes to create highly engaging workplaces

The facilitative leader is able to get more out of the organization, while also staying on track and driving it forward.

The honor of being recognized as one of America's 2006 Best Bosses has special meaning for our CEO Linda Dunkel — and for everyone at Interaction Associates.

Linda is among only 18 winners of the national award, which is sponsored by the national clearinghouse on best practices in workplace excellence, Winning Workplaces. Learn more [5].

Our special pride in this award is rooted in the value we place on walking the walk, the very high premium Interaction Associates puts on achieving strong business results through enlightened people practices. As Linda herself is quick to point out, we're not perfect, but we aim to achieve for our company the same goals we help our clients attain:
- highly engaged employees who are passionate and committed to their jobs,
- open and transparent leadership and decision-making,
- frequent recognition and appropriate rewards,
- a commitment to shared values [6], and
- a shared responsibility for success.
We asked Linda to share her thoughts on how the Best Boss award illustrates the power of our work for clients:

How does Interaction Associates deliver results for clients as diverse as Steak N Shake and the Dalai Lama?

One secret to our success is the way in which we work with clients. We don't come to the table with a prepackaged product that's "one size fits all": we co-create the solution with our client. We aren't shy about stating our point of view, which includes the idea of maximum stakeholder involvement and shared responsibility for a successful result. The Dalai Lama is a facilitative leader. So is Peter Dunn, CEO of Steak N Shake, a hugely successful casual dining enterprise. So whether we set out to design a facilitated meeting of world leaders in Darmasala, India, or to create a leadership development program for store managers in the U.S., we are coming from the same, collaborative point of view. That point of view ensures that the people who are affected by the meeting, development program, or change initiative, have a voice in the way that it's delivered and in its outcome. A collaborative initiative has a much better chance of success than a solution imposed from a hierarchical position.

Learn more about our work with Steak N Shake [7].

Interaction Associates is a premier innovator of collaboration methods and tools — how are they relevant in creating engaged workplaces?

Developing a collaborative work culture means that companies excel when their employees are engaged and committed to their work. Highly engaged employees are more passionate and committed on the job — which typically means they are more satisfied and more productive; they create better products and services; they serve customers better; and they stay put. As many companies know from first-hand experience, a truly engaged workforce is more productive and effective, and capable of achieving stronger results.

How can leaders foster greater collaboration at their companies?

Many leaders today are challenged with driving their organizations in an environment that is less about command and control and more decentralized, team-based, and fragmented.

Collaboration is an essential tool for the new kind of business leader — the facilitative leader — one who engages relevant stakeholders in solving problems collaboratively and works to build a more collaborative culture in his or her organization or community. The facilitative leader makes conscious choices about how much collaboration is appropriate for each decision and delegates accordingly. The facilitative leader is able to get more out of the organization, while also staying on track and driving it forward.