F E AT U R E Engagement "Nitty Gritty" … or "Essence" by Mary Klett, ASA Communications Team A recent study by Dale Carnegie found that at no matter what level, the single most important—and often underutilized— resource for employee engagement is an employee’s supervisor. My first job out of college was in a company of two people. So yes, there was a lot of engagement between the two of us. (I would joke with people that I was a VP right out of college.) But because we were so small, she knew we needed to mesh personality-wise as well as work-wise. It’s common sense. Who will the new guy lean on for information, direction, instruction? His manager. What managers say, and how they say it, profoundly affects employees’ attitudes about their jobs, their company, and even themselves. Yet managers are rarely given additional time for developing relationships with an employee, thinking that it will come naturally. Still, in a manager’s hectic daily schedule, these relationships are what get short-changed. Almost every company out there is touting how employees are their #1 priority. Yet most have not created an environment that encourages their leaders to engage with employees. The Dale Carnegie study showed that leaders who make the commitment to engage their employees personally benefit from having an engaged team:
• Remove obstacles and provide resources.
Support the agreed upon career goals, help eliminate barriers, and enable them to succeed.
• Hold accountable to high performance.
Communicate high expectations and measure and reward efforts that go above and beyond expectations.
• Show that you care. Become genuinely
interested in employees as people and place value on their health and well-being. Career goals will be different for each individual. Conduct informal talks that let 86% agree that their job is easier when their managers know their employees better - as direct reports are fully-engaged. individuals. Together with good listening skills, here are 75% agree that their job is less stressful when their direct reports are fully-engaged. some questions that can help leaders begin a meaningful engagement conversation: According to Dale Carnegie research, 1. What are the things you feel you do well? there are six practices proven essential for 2. What are you passionate about, personally relationship centered leadership. and professionally? • Provide growth and development opportunities. Align goals with that of your 3. What current challenges might be organization or department and provide impacting your performance? active support and encouragement. 4. What recent accomplishments make you • Mentor and coach. Model positive and most proud? appropriate behavior and be available for timely coaching and advice. 5. What opportunities do you see for bringing about greater satisfaction in your job? • Help employees build networks. Make introductions, create opportunities for 6. What motivates you and how do you like to visibility, empower them to partner be rewarded? with others, and seize opportunities for connections. 93% of surveyed leaders agree that employees who are fully-engaged produce better results than those who aren’t.
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And speaking of rewards. Everyone likes genuine praise. If they did something right - let them know. One teacher encouraged a poorly performing student by praising the few right answers, rather than focusing on the number of wrong answers. It changed their whole perspective. Leadership has to focus on encouraging and supporting engagement at all levels to grow their business, their leaders and their employees. And yes, I grew a lot in my first two years working for the President of the company, and there are definite perks of working in a small business. But no matter what size of a company, it really IS about the people - and how they engage with each other and with the customers. Read the full report, “Managers Matter: A Relationship-Centered Approach to Engagement.”
Marcey Walsh and Robert Graves of Dale Carnegie, will be presenting about “Leading Across Generations” at SUBExcel 2021 in February. They’ll be speaking about leadership and how to lead and communicate in a multigenerational work environment.
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