Knowing what employees actually talk about sounds like a simple task. It is not. When managers and consultants show up, the conversation changes.

But there are some simple dos and don'ts to remember when you want to know what's on peoples' minds at work. And once you know what gets talked about and how it is discussed, you have a much better chance at being an effective change leader.

The past 15 years, I have had the great pleasure of talking to a lot of people about employee engagement, cross-functional change, organizational development, strategy implementation and company culture.

I have talked to people from all kinds of organizations, and with researchers from all kinds of scientific disciplines.

And now — thanks to the reactions I get when I tell people about Qvest — I have finally realized what the problem is with the way things are done in the majority of companies across the world.