The more engaged the people are, the less frustrated the leaders are.

Justin Poss started on the front lines at Chobani in an entry-level position. Today, he’s the Director of Manufacturing in a Chobani facility working with ~1,200 team members. Watch my interview with him for another great example of what high impact leadership looks like.

"I think the first thing one has to do in setting out to change a culture is get people on one’s side and show them where you want to take the company. Trust is vital. People trust you when you don’t play games with them, when you put everything on the table and speak honestly to them. Even if you aren’t very articulate, your intellectual honesty comes through, and people recognize that and respond positively." ~ Robert Dockson

3 Simple Ways to Engage Your Team

“When dealing with people, you are not dealing with creatures of logic. You are dealing with creatures of emotion.” ~ Dale Carnegie

1. Intentionally Connect with Your Team

When you’re able to build trust with your team, you move beyond communication and begin to connect. When you connect with your team, you’re building relationships.

When you build relationships, people begin doing things to help you succeed because they want to, not because they have to.

Employee engagement is not about the leader, but it absolutely begins with the leader. Who the leader is and how they do what they do determines if the team is more likely to be engaged or disengaged.

I’m always blown away by “leaders” who do not connect with their team. If you only talk to your team members when you need to tell them something to do or tell them something about the mission or the job, you are not connecting. You are simply communicating.

High impact managers communicate well.

High impact leaders communicate AND connect well.

“Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.” ~ Andy Stanley

2. Intentionally Listen to Your Team

If connecting is so important, what’s the most effective way to do it?

You listen. Not with the intent to reply as managers of people do, but rather you listen with the intent to understand as high impact leaders of people do.

If you could choose to report to one of two bosses, and one is only concerned with ensuring you understand them, and the other is concerned with first ensuring they understand you, which would you prefer to have as a boss? Which would have more influence with you? Everyone knows the answer. The one who wants to understand you first. Which would engage you? Which would disengage you?

When is the last time you intentionally made time to listen to and connect with each of your team members one on one? I bet each of your team members can answer that question without much thought. They can just as easily tell me how you made them feel the last time they spoke with you. How they felt when you walked away had a lot to do with whether they became more or less engaged.

“Leaders with confidence help people. Leaders with ego hurt people because they use and abuse other people.” ~ John C. Maxwell

3. Intentionally Develop Your Team

Developing your team allows you to connect with your team.

Developing your team gives you an opportunity to listen to your team.

During my 20 year manufacturing career (1988-2008), no company or boss ever invested a single dollar or a single minute developing me beyond what was required to do the job. Unfortunately since then, I've discovered that's the norm not the exception.

ALL of my bosses expected me to be a high impact individual, to be a high impact team player, and to be highly engaged. However, NONE of those bosses ever put me in a room and taught me how to become what they wanted me to be. NONE were bad people, but ALL could have been better leaders.

• The moment you start developing your team members is the moment they begin to become engaged on a deeper level for a reason that matters: YOU are helping them because YOU want to not because you have to.
• The moment you start developing your team members is the moment they begin to develop a deeper respect for you. The more team members respect their leaders, the more engaged they will be. The less team members respect their leaders, the less engaged they will be.
• The moment you start developing your team members is the moment their results will begin to improve. The more engaged your team is, the better their performance will be. The better their performance, the greater their results.
• The moment you start developing your team members is the moment they begin to work better together. Team members are not always team players. When you develop your team, you're helping your team members become high impact team players.

Need help developing your team? That's what we do!

Please reach out.

My cell is 334-728-4143. My email is [email protected]

Ria and I want to help you and your team climb to the next level and beyond, so you can perform at the next level and beyond. Check out numerous video and text testimonials from our clients. Learn more about us , watch a demo, and don't miss all the buttons to access our bio and other information.

“My first words are, GET SIGNED UP! This training is not, and I stress, not your everyday leadership seminar! I have never been a part of anything like it. After 30 years in technology and two years in Concrete Construction, I have attended dozens and sent hundreds to the so-called ‘Leadership-Training.’ I can tell you that while all of the courses, classes, webinars, and seminars, had good intentions, nothing can touch what Mack and Ria Story provide. I just wish I had it 20 years ago…I could go on-and-on…100% of the team that attended said that they were ‘blown-away, they did not see that conviction and passion coming.’ Many thanks, Mack and Ria!” ~ Sam McLamb, VP, CMP

Ria and I specialize in quickly increasing engagement by connecting with your team, facilitating improved communication, creating an atmosphere of teamwork, and increasing your team’s productivity.

The result: increased profit, improved morale, and reduced turnover.

We share motivational and inspirational stories from our own lives and fill them with principles your team can apply to improve their own lives at home and at work.

Blue-Collar Leadership? books , development programs , and online training courses are uniquely designed leadership development training and content specifically created to engage and develop the Blue-Collar front line workforce, those who lead them, and those who support them.

We specialize in Helping Leaders Engage the Front Line to Improve the Bottom Line.?

The result:?higher engagement, improved trust and culture, improved morale, increased retention, reduced turnover, and increased number of high impact team players who want to work in your organization.

In short, we'll help you learn how to become the Sought-After Employer of Choice that's attracting and retaining top talent instead of searching for good people.

Mack Story spent many years in the blue-collar workforce, starting his career working as a front line machine shop operator. Later in his career, he logged over 11,000 hours leading hundreds of leaders and their teams through process improvement, leadership development, organizational change, and cultural transformation, both as an employee and as an independent consultant.

Ria Story started her career working as a waitress while earning her GED and going to community college at night. She pursued a career in the healthcare industry, eventually earning her MBA and serving as the Director of Corporate Compliance for a hospital. She now has over 20 years of experience in leadership and management.