Leadership and Employee Engagement: 4 Strategies

Engaged employees bring passion to their work, are committed to the organizations they work for, and go above and beyond what is expected of them. Engagement in the workplace refers to the emotional connection employees feel with their jobs and workplaces. Why do employees tend to be motivated and engaged, and how has that changed as more become remote workers?

Employee engagement goes beyond satisfaction; it is about a positive connection with the work employees do and a belief in the goals, the purpose, and the mission of that work. Most employees want to feel valued, appreciated, recognized, and supported. However, they want to know that their work matters, that their contribution is significant, and that it is in alignment with their values.

Management and leadership credibility is consistently cited as a factor that affects employee engagement. Employee engagement is regarded as a primary factor in business success.

Employee engagement is increasingly important to many organizations. Engaging the top leadership is the first step towards achieving great employee engagement. Companies with highly engaged leadership have one thing in common: They have highly engaged leaders at all levels of the organization. In addition, the company and its employees are admired and feel a sense of belonging. There is a sense of alignment around the main purpose of the company.

However, many organizations fail to recognize that engagement really lies with the leaders within the company, and that these leaders are best equipped to do so in order to get their employees motivated and engaged to accomplish common goals. To build commitment, development and high levels of achievement, we must master certain leadership skills.

Why is employee engagement important?

Many employers already recognize that employee engagement directly affects their organization, so they have much work to do in order to maximize the performance of their workforce.

Engaged employees and productivity are affected by social cohesion, a sense of belonging to a team, and knowing their ideas are valued. Employees who are highly engaged in their work will be more productive and committed to the organization in which they work.

Employees who are highly engaged have very positive opinions about their workplace. If your employees feel connected to their teams, enjoy their work, and feel good about the organization, they will want to continue to work for it and be willing to do more to help the organization succeed. The "brand advocates" are happy to talk about their company with family and friends. In turn, they motivate their coworkers to work harder.

Employees who are moderately engaged view their organization favorably. While they like their company, they see areas of improvement. They are less likely to ask for more responsibility and may underperform. There is something about their job or organization that prevents them from being fully engaged.

Employees who are barely engaged feel indifferent toward their workplace. Generally, they lack motivation for their job and will do as little as possible to get by -- sometimes even less. Rarely engaged employees are likely to be researching other jobs and have a high turnover rate.

Employees who are disengaged have a negative opinion of their workplace. They are disengaged from the mission, goals, and future of the organization. They don't seem to be committed to their jobs and responsibilities. It is important to know how to handle disengaged employees so that their negative perceptions don't negatively impact the productivity of employees around them.

The difference between engaged and satisfied workers is that engaged workers are more productive. Employees who are engaged make more discretionary efforts. Employees often want to go above and beyond the basics of their jobs. Leadership and management’s ability to channel energy and effort in the right direction provides a host of positive outcomes for employees.

Engaged employees have no reason to look for work elsewhere.

The employees of an organization have a desire to work for an organization with a successful strategy. It is important to them that they feel they can contribute to that success in their roles. The goal of every individual is to successfully contribute to winning teams and organizations.

The higher the employee engagement, the better the motivation and job satisfaction, and thus the lower the cost to value ratio of your human resources expenditures. As you know, every employee makes a positive impact on the bottom line, but every engaged employee makes that impact that much greater.

4 Strategies to Help Leaders feel more engaged and connected

1. Leaders who both lead and follow are trusted by their employees

Engaging employees requires making them feel part of a common purpose and vision, as well as a shared way of doing things. The goal is to inspire their passion so they do the work the way you want them to. Or at least achieve the outcomes you require. An engaged employee is eager to come to work every day and gives 110% effort every time, so they are often on time, rarely off sick, and have high standards of performance.

Leadership requires leaders to recognize that they must lead themselves first in order to lead others. A high level of self-awareness is necessary for this to happen - or leading from within. When leaders are self-aware, their behavior and results are aligned to their core identity and purpose. As a result, they are able to display their authentic self in everything they say and do, as well as act according to their purpose and values. Once they have accomplished this, they will be better equipped to lead others.

2. Positive attitudes and passion enhance employee performance

An organization's health and bottom line are affected. A leader who inspires employee engagement goes beyond an employee's satisfaction, which is mostly a passive effect.

By being enthusiastic about your work and communicating this passion to others, performance and engagement can be increased. A proactive attitude can also promote collaboration among workers by giving them the ability to step up and take charge during a challenging time.

3. Organizational health is a priority for leadership

Employees are generally motivated to work - and to work hard. Normally, human beings follow their natural instincts when it comes to caring for each other. An effective leader harnesses this effort and creates a workplace environment that inspires people to put extra effort into everything they do. As a result, a culture of high performance is built by going the extra mile collectively.

Most leaders are unaware of how their actions impact the environment, and how their actions lead to more employee engagement. Clarifying their personal style, setting their vision, establishing boundaries, and stating what is expected, is the best way to begin. A culture of continuous improvement and engagement originates when you give clear, direct feedback, maintain direction consistently, understand your own motivation and that of each person, and resolutely lead and develop people.

4. Look after your people, and they'll take care of the mission

Your most valuable asset is your people, so you must pay attention to them. Human resources constitute some of the most costly expenses (hiring, firing, payroll, disciplinary action), so they are well worth maintaining. More than a car or office machine, people also require lubrication, tuning, greasing, and synchronization in order to perform at their best.

Recognition is one of the main motivating factors for most people. It's true that negative feedback or even abuse suggests attention from someone, and being ignored is 100 times worse. Hence, giving feedback frequently, little and often, each day, is a fundamental leadership skill that supports engagement and commitment.

A good leader knows that providing support, offering feedback, and recognizing employees' hard work are crucial parts of their job. Great leaders are aware of themselves and the actions they're taking, and they're always able to objectively assess whether their behavior is setting a good example for others. Leading by example and modeling the behaviors they would like to see in their team members will go a long way toward building an engaged workforce in good times and bad.

Leadership and employee engagement

It may be helpful to develop the above skills in your organization, or to improve your leadership skills by reflecting on various behaviors you can integrate from The Four Lenses Training, the 360-degree assessment tool that works in conjunction with The Leadership Engagement Workshop. We offer virtual, in-person, and public sessions of these workshops, which you can find on our events page.

Embracing effective and collaborative leadership can lead to ‘total employee motivation’ in the workplace.