Employee engagement activities, including team building, got a boost from ABC's "Good Morning America" this week.  The morning news program highlighted some of the attributes that make up an emerging approach to getting work done known as ROWE.

Standing for "Results-Only Work Environment," the philosophy, created by two workplace practitioners, is, as GMA points out, deceptively simple.  At its heart is the concentration toward results, and only results; and the ignorance of anything that gets in the way of those results – such clutter as times when people report in or out, scheduling conflicts and even physical barriers for getting together and getting work done.

In moving past the clutter, I find that ROWE has the potential for advancing many of the qualities – Building Blocks, if you will – that Winning Workplaces believes are endemic to great and productive work environments: improved employee engagement made possible through greater trust, respect, and fairness as well as more open communication.  As the GMA piece notes, ROWE also assumes that flexible scheduling, which promotes a healthier work/life balance, is a key factor in the workplaces that embrace it.

Leaders: Have you heard of ROWE, or are you using it?  If so, what has been your ROI?