Brilliant LeaderAre leaders responsible for employee engagement?
Last year, I wrote an article suggesting that leadership performance should be measured via a hybrid of results and employee engagement. But to what extent can leaders be held responsible for the motivation and engagement of their people?
To a certain extent, each team member must be responsible for their own motivation and career development. However, leaders can have a big impact on engagement via the working environment they create:
- Team working
- Individual recognition and appreciation
- Career and professional development opportunities
- Coaching
- Goal setting
- Activity management
- Keeping people informed
- Providing feedback
- Creating an environment of trust and mutual respect
- Clear vision and strategy
It quickly becomes clear that the vast majority of factors that affect employee engagement can be positively (or negatively) impacted by the leader. Sure, there are some organizational factors such as pay and conditions and environmental infrastructure. And of course, each employee has to take some resposibility for their own working environment and how they engage with the organization’s vision and values.
But in the final analysis, I firmly believe that it is the leader that can have the greatest impact on their team’s level of engagement. As such, organizations need to move towards the model that I offered in my previous article – leaders have to be rewarded and recognized based on a combination of business results and employee engagement.
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17 Responses to “Are leaders responsible for employee engagement?”
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Twitter: EphraimJF
says:
Great article Simon – I couldn’t agree more.
Typically, the greatest factor in an employee’s job satisfaction is her direct supervisor. If a manager exemplifies the array of characteristics you’ve listed above, then her direct reports may have high levels of satisfaction, even if other organizational factors do not rate well.
I recently co-authored a white paper on Social Intranets & Employee Engagement (http://bit.ly/yfCAN8). The hard truth, though, is that without a positive management/leadership culture like the one you’ve outlined a social intranet’s effects will be limited.
EphraimJF recently posted..Social Intranet Case Study – Financial Institution Banking on Employee Engagement
Leadership through proper motivation is a beneficial factor that should be considered by any organization aiming for excellence. Sustaining the development of employees by coaching and extending special incentives to those who are performing exceptionally well is a great way to achieve success. Thanks for the enlightenment.
An exemplary leader also aids in developing positive character traits that will help co-employees carry out their professional responsibilities and that in my own opinion is a great way to motivate people. Thanks, this is an excellent reference material.
I agree that the leader acts like a galvanizing force for the employees. A good leader can always lead the people better and bring in better results. The working conditions become a secondary factor for an employee if he is getting appreciation for his efforts from his immediate boss. Only leader is capable of instilling a vision in the minds of employees.
Aayna recently posted..What Is My Gold Jewelry Worth?
I agree that leaders are responsible for the negative and the positive employee engagement. It is the task of a leader how well and successfully he can motivate his team. The idea of rewarding and recognizing leaders based on a combination of business results and employee engagement is a good one.
Richa recently posted..Bringing the Body Online
They are definitely responsible for employee engagement
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I strongly agree with this article. Based on my experience, all of the team leaders I have worked with in the past have affected my performance as a team member. They either inspire me and make me love my job more, or they exude negative energy that makes me lose interest in doing well. As members then, we look up to leaders. They should set an example for the entire team and push them to be leaders themselves in the future! This article should really be read by leaders for them to be motivated to become a source of inspiration!
People talk a lot about many thing required for employee engagement, but few things that manger don’t think about is being friendly. I have always setup higher standards being friendly with my employees and appreciating them ever now and then. its not a game but human value. The output they give is just amazing. they treat the company as there family!
Your article deserves a thumbs up! Leaders are not the sole responsible for motivating the group; sure, they oversee team work and all, but every member of the group should also work their part and give their best for the benefit of everybody.
My husband works in a corporate environment and i hear precisely these pointers that you have mentioned here from him. Recently, there was a change in top management and some old leaders were fired and new ones brought in. The result: extremely unmotivated team and low employee morale. He doubts that the project would go live on time with such circumstances.
Leaders are surely responsible for employee engagement. It depends on leader how much he can get from his team. Thanks for this great share.
what a great article .I am searching in google from the last couple of days about responsible leaders.But i din’t find any satisfactory content .But now i am satisfied.Thanks a lot.If you have more info about this ,Please let me know.
This is a good discussion to talk about, share opinions and other ideas. Yes, probably a good leader can affect his or her team member’s performance. A nice plan from the leader can control and make goals for them. A leader can definitely monitor his team member’s performance. Whether it’s good or bad there must be feedback to make them feel they are worth it. To be criticized doesn’t always mean it is bad, it just open doors for another improvement that will make the person grow better.
Twitter: JDelBalzo13
says:
This is a great assessment. While leaders can only do so much, good leadership can make all the difference in the world when it comes to employee motivation and overall achievement.
Facilitative share Simon.
I completely agree that leaders have a profound influence on their employees and the company’s success . Leaders who come up short in terms of guidance or feedback put the satisfaction of employees at stake . Leaders influence the productivity of their employees in several ways . Liked the read .
I wanted to be an employee when I was a kid because I wanted to enjoy holiday with family. And now I am employed, I realized that it was not the easy because you have to be competitive and needs to deal good with people.
Twitter: SarahJhons
says:
You are doing great Job with real concepts. This is very useful and great thing for me. Thanks for sharing.
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