There’s no doubt about it: the past year or so has been a lean time for most companies. And while there’s hope that the worst (economically speaking) might be behind us, we aren’t out of the woods yet.

The dark days of the recession have spawned a troubling new issue, one that could cripple organizations even as we head into recovery. The looming problem? A widespread loss of employee engagement.

“Even if companies haven’t literally lost their employees, many have lost them psychologically,” warns Jon Gordon, speaker, consultant, and author of the new book The Shark and the Goldfish: Positive Ways to Thrive During Waves of Change (Wiley, September 2009, ISBN: 978-0-470-50360-7, $16.95). “Too many Americans are beaten down, burned out, and completely de-motivated.

And if leaders don’t strive to change that—to create a positive culture that energizes people—there will be dire consequences.”

Tired of working more hours for less pay under the threat of termination, many Americans have mentally checked out of their jobs. They are simply doing what they need to in order to hang on until something better comes along.

Productivity suffers when morale falls
In fact, a recent study by the Workforce Institute at Kronos shows that in organizations that have experienced layoffs, 40 percent of employees report that their productivity has suffered. Of that 40 percent, two-thirds think that morale has been negatively impacted and that they aren’t as motivated as before.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this atmosphere is not conducive to an organization’s success, now or in the future. But with limited funds and deadlines that still need to be met, what’s a leader to do? For starters, says Gordon, you must focus on winning in the workplace if you want to win in the marketplace.

“For leaders, now is the time to improve your company’s culture and get inside your employees’ heads,” he insists. “You need to personally make sure that your company is a place where people want to work. You can allow the current economy to crush your morale, confidence and spirit, or you can choose to proactively shape your organization into one that is positive, resilient, and prepared to take on challenges.”

Gordon offers the following tips on how to improve company culture:

Focus on people, not numbers

True, there are a lot of numbers to worry about—investments, the bottom line, next quarter’s profits (hopefully!)—and it’s easy to become fixated on those figures. If your brain is spinning with strategies on how to stay out of the red, Gordon suggests that you take a step back and remember that your company isn’t what shows up in the finance department’s spreadsheets—it’s the finance people themselves, and the HR department, and the salespeople, and support staff. Ultimately, an organization’s failure or success is determined by the moods, innovation, energy, thoughts, and behaviors of the people who work there.

“It’s not numbers that drive people, but the people that drive numbers,” Gordon points out. “Too often, worried leaders approach this relationship backwards. However, this is not a time to ignore your people. Place your attention on them and on the process.”

Model good behavior

Leaders set the tone for how employees respond to almost every situation. They can inspire, or they can extinguish. For example if you greet a worker cheerfully even though you’ve both had to come into work an hour early, he’s likely to mirror that attitude. Remember, whatever you expect from your people, you must also expect from your senior leadership.

“Leaders need to be humble and hungry,” Gordon explains. “Humble in that they seek to learn, grow, and improve every day, and hungry with a passion to work harder than everyone else. Now is not a time to be barricaded in your office. Now is a time to be in the trenches with your people, leading, working, and building a successful future!”

Practice positive leadership

And no, “positive leadership” doesn’t simply mean the absence of overt negativity. It means remaining purposeful in the face of adversity.

While it’s important to acknowledge the obstacles your organization is facing (after all, no one really respects a naïve Pollyanna!), don’t dwell on them in meetings or in individual conversations, and don’t bring up bad news before you’ve pointed out one or two things that are going well.

Instead of being disappointed by where you are, optimistically focus on where you are going.

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