Engaged employees care about their work, are committed to their organizations, and often give more than is required or expected. Employees want to feel pride, satisfaction, recognition, and support, but more than that, they want to believe that their work matters and that it resonates with their values. So what can leaders do to deepen employee engagement?
Employee engagement is "the positive emotional connection an employee has to their work and their workplace". But more than simply satisfaction, employee engagement is a positive connection to the work employees do and a belief in the goals, purpose, and mission of that work. Employee engagement studies and surveys consistently cite manager and leadership credibility as a crucial factor in this connection. "If we don't believe in the messenger, we won't believe the message" is the underlying concept of the leadership practice Model the Way from the leadership model, The Leadership Challenge.
There are several behaviors that effective leaders can model to their teams.
Employees may have questions — and sometimes we don't have answers right away, but ensure you are encouraging them and keeping lines of communication open:
Sometimes being innovative is easier said than done. It can sometimes be frustrating for employees to experiment or meet new challenges when the workplace feels uncertain and deadlines are looming. Be sure to:
Today, with the rapidly changing business landscape, many employees are taking on new challenges— but many may also feel left behind. Ensure everyone has a chance to stretch their work muscles by:
As we said above, teams need to believe in the messenger. Be sure your actions reflect your intentions and:
One of the primary goals to ensure a consistent level of employee engagement is by modeling the above behaviors at a leadership level. Through the regular practice of meaningful conversations surrounding empowerment, encouragement, and growth, leaders can manifest a standard of engagement that has lasting effects on their colleagues and, in turn, prompts their own personal and professional growth.
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