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Employee Engagement is a journey. In fact, it is a long journey given the consistent level of disengagement uncovered in Gallup’s State of the American Workplace Reports and other popular employee engagement surveys.
In my journey, reading is an important part of staying up-to-date on the latest employee engagement information. This week, I came upon the story of Christopher Vogler, a Hollywood film producer and writer. He wrote the “seven page studio memo, “A Practical Guide to The Hero with a Thousand Faces””1 “for Disney Studios on the use of The Hero with a Thousand Faces as a guide for scriptwriters; this memo influenced the creation of such films as Aladdin, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast. Vogler later expanded the memo and published it as the book The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers, which became the inspiration for a number of successful Hollywood films and is believed to have been used in the development of the Matrix series.”2
The Hero with a Thousand Faces was written by Joseph Campbell and was published in 1949. “In this study of the myth of the hero, Campbell posits the existence of a Monomyth (a word he borrowed from James Joyce), a universal pattern that is the essence of, and common to, heroic tales in every culture. While outlining the basic stages of this mythic cycle, he also explores common variations in the hero’s journey, which, he argues, is an operative metaphor, not only for an individual, but for a culture as well. The Hero would prove to have a major influence on generations of creative artists—from the Abstract Expressionists in the 1950s to contemporary film-makers today—and would, in time, come to be acclaimed as a classic.”3
Joseph Campbell “made the famous claim that nearly all myths, and some other story types, have similar ideas, and the heroes’ adventures are almost identical in their format. The different stages of adventure identified have come to be called the “hero’s journey.”” 4
I was curious how the Employee Engagement Journey would compare to The Hero’s Journey. Below, I’ve provided the steps of the Hero’s Journey5 and how each step might apply to the Employee Engagement Journey.
Perhaps understanding what to expect in the employee engagement journey will help us anticipate what might come next and relieve some of our despair when we recognize which step we are in.
What have you learned from your employee engagement journey? What stories, tips, etc., do you have for your fellow Agents?
1 “The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers – History.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
2 “The Hero with a Thousand Faces – Artists Influenced by the Work.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2014. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
3 “About Joseph Campbell.” Joseph Campbell Foundation. Joseph Campbell Foundation. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
4 “Examples of Each Stage of a Hero’s Journey.” YourDictionary. LoveToKnow, Corp. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
5 Ibid.
P.S. First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.
Other recent Agent in Engagement articles by Gregory F Simpson:
- Employee Engagement Briefing for Week of September 29 – October 3, 2014
- What Crayons Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement
- Employee Engagement and Opportunity Cost
- Now / Later / Soon: The Semblance of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music to Employee Engagement
- Dear Managers, Here’s Some Feedback
- When is Your Personal Fiscal Year?
- The Importance of Networking in the Workplace
Let’s Engage!
I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.
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