Leadership’s Role in Employee Engagement and 5 Tips to Inspire Employees

Good #leaders know that without their #employees they and their #companies are nothing. When employees are unproductive, unmotivated, or disengaged, it is easy to blame systems, processes, and even corporate #culture. While these can be contributing factors to an employee’s job satisfaction, the reality is that the lack of effective leadership may be the bigger culprit!

Leadership plays a very distinct role in the level of employee engagement and therefore, productivity and motivation in the workforce. It is their responsibility to not only inspire their team members to perform well in their job functions but more importantly, to find their purpose within their roles as well.

According to the world-renown research firm, McKinsey, effective leaders possess several critical skills and convey this to their employees:

• Taking appropriate action despite possible risks
• Finding meaning and purpose in their work
• Transferring fear into opportunity
• Utilizing networks and connections
• Inspiring others through motivation

5 Tips to Inspire Employees

Let’s look at several ways that leaders can utilize these skills as mentioned above to inspire their employees to do their best work, improve communication, and encourage collaboration and teamwork.

1. Demonstrate enthusiasm, passion, and positivity for your work. Employees will feed off of your energy and excitement, empowering them to take pride in their own work and to work collaboratively for the benefit of the organization.

1. Provide open, honest, and frequent communication about the overall health of the organization, its mission, and objectives. Employees will follow when you have established and communicated long-term goals and priorities.

1. Model the behavior and attitudes that you want to see in your employees and teams. Be self-aware of your actions and how they impact the lives and decisions of others.

1. Be a follower. While this may seem to be counterintuitive to the idea of leading, studies show that employees value and trust leaders who are willing to get their hands dirty, to both lead and follow.

1. Take care of your employees. By having a sincere interest in your employees, they will learn to trust you and will, in turn, take care of the business. Establish credibility and respect and employees will be more inclined to believe in the company’s purpose and mission.

Lastly, good leaders know that by recognizing employee efforts and accomplishments, providing support and feedback, they demonstrate their commitment to the employees and the company as a whole. As the saying goes, “the whole is only as good as the sum of its parts”. Without dedicated, loyal, and trustworthy employees, a leader will not be effective in driving change, creating momentum, inspiring creativity, and ultimately, reaping the rewards of success.

10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Nurture a Culture of Engaged Employees

1. Do you live and breathe the values of the company? Do you walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk?
2. Does your vision statement clearly define the goals of the company and how employees play a role in its success?
3. Is accountability a shared responsibility among leaders and employees??
4. Do you discourage internal competition to avoid the breakdown of teamwork?
5. Do you encourage teamwork and collaboration and display it yourself?
6. Does your mission encourage both efficiency and effectiveness?
7. Is feedback (positive and negative) encouraged at all levels of the organization?
8. What is the emotional intelligence level of leadership?
9. Do you have an open-door policy for communication??
10. Do you believe in getting your hands dirty or are employees there to serve you?

Many companies and leaders believe in surveying or asking for feedback from employees relative to engagement, job satisfaction, purpose, and happiness. In reality, leadership’s role is to continuously self-monitor and self-evaluate to determine the culture of the organization, the environment, and to gauge the level of employee engagement. Keep it simple and be honest and you will be well on your way to an engaged workforce.

Case Study:

Whole Foods Market has forged the way for many companies when it comes to employee engagement and ultimately, retention. A sense of purpose is a driving force behind the company’s core values and permeates all levels of management within the company. Leadership strives to create a work environment in which all team members can flourish and succeed, are empowered with decision-making abilities, and the values of the company are shared in a “social system” rather than a hierarchy of top-down management.

Conclusion:

Effective leaders know the needs of their subordinates. Being responsible and sharing accountability in every decision and doing the work themselves if needed,? will inspire and empower everyone to do their work effectively and be more productive. To know more about how to inspire employees, contact me for consultation.