Otherwise Engaged

Ask leaders what their biggest challenge is, and they’re likely to say: “It’s the people part of the job … the soft stuff … the so-called intangibles.” Otherwise Engaged shows leaders how to get a grip on the intangibles. This thought provoking book reveals: How to recognize and embrace the fact that the Intangibles are ... intangible; Why employee engagement can be a trap and how to avoid it; How to create a culture where employees feel empowered; Why leaders so often do the wrong things to elicit trust and respect; Why good faith efforts to promulgate values throughout an organization can be ineffectual and, in some cases, even damaging.

Using humor and metaphor and providing clear, specific actions that a new or experienced leader can take, Guaspari shows us that, in the PowerPoint world of analysis and logic that permeates most organizations, it’s really our humanity and feelings of trust, respect, and safety that generate commitment and therefore performance.

Foreword by Jim Kouzes. Also available in the following formats: epub, $11.99, 978-1-938548-34-5; pdf, $11.95, 978-1-938548-35-2.

“An engagingly funny fable that John Guaspari uses to guide the reader to answer the profoundly serious question posed by the book – Why do employee engagement activities often fail? … Thought-provoking and charming.”
— JIM KOUZES, Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University, and coauthor of the bestselling book, The Leadership Challenge.

“In this very readable (and yes, engaging) book, John Guaspari reminds us that great leaders create an environment which connects people to what is important for them as well as the company. Pick up this book. You will learn that a wise leader doesn’t try to motivate people but rather understands “the intangibles” that motivate us all.”
— DAVID DOTLICH, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO, Pivot Leadership and author of The Unfinished Leader and 10 other leadership books

“Otherwise Engaged is vintage Guaspari: clever and entertaining while also substantive, thought provoking, and wise.”
— DAN CIAMPA, Co-author of Right From The Start: Taking Charge In A New Leadership Role