Leadership Articles/Videos

Employee engagement is either a positive reflection of, or a side effect of leadership. Leaders are charged with connecting with employees as both individuals and as a holistic team in an effort to earn buy-in and loyalty. It is a leader’s responsibility to bring clarity to the vision and inspire employees’ desire to help bring the vision to life.

Unfortunately, employee engagement as a side effect of leadership has become commonplace. Only about 15% of employees are truly engaged and loyal to their organization. These employees make up the genuinely happy employees and often become the tenured talent.

For leaders and organizations to engage, let alone retain more than 15% of their talent, they will need to be purposeful when it comes to culture, experience, and impact. There are ten ways leaders and organizations can enable a culture with purpose:

• Understand the strengths of each employee and leverage them for the good of the team and the business. Help others on the team understand their peers’ strengths and how to leverage them as well.
• Based on strengths, make sure everyone is in a role where they can be successful and feel empowered to add value.
• Be clear and transparent in communication. Minimize doubt and build trust.
• Provide a consistent balance of recognition and accountability across the team.
• Create an environment where employees feel their voice and opinions are welcomed and valued.
• Seek and respond to feedback on a routine basis.
• Teach teams ways to be more operationally efficient.
• Show humility, admit errors, be willing to learn from those at all levels.
• Provide opportunities for fun and team building. Allow employees to interact as just people and continue to build on their relationships.
• As the trajectory of the organization changes, keep employees informed as appropriate and bring them along on the journey.