How Engaging Disengaged Leaders Will Improve Employee Engagement
It seems as though there are too many managers out there that seem to believe there are only two ways in which a business can be run, and a team led. They can either be highly engaged with the business that they work for, but therefore sacrifice the ability to connect with the employees or get on really well with the employees, but don’t engage with the business on the level that they should be.
It seems to be a one-or-the-other kind of culture when it comes to engaged managers, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Finding a balance between being engaged with the business and the employees is no easy feat, but essential if you want your business to thrive.
In fact, only 9% of managers surveyed in a 60,000-strong management pool were able to display this kind of balance. Not sure how to transform your unengaged manager into balanced and comprehensive leaders? Here’s everything you need to know.
The Employee Perspective
Firstly, let’s take a look at how the employees in a business are managing under this kind of unbalanced leadership. Forbes recently published information on a Gallup survey of over 150,000 workers in the US and found some pretty surprising results.
Here, it was discovered that an incredible 52% of employees are ‘disengaged’ with the business they work for, as well as describing themselves as ‘emotionally disconnected’ and ‘not willing to do more than necessary’ in order to keep their jobs.
Of course, if 52% of your employees are simply doing the bare minimum and aren’t pushing the boat out when it comes to working hard or even trying to develop a good work ethic, your business is only going to be 52% successful.
However, as State of Writing rightly points out, you can’t be there every step of the way to ensure that your employees are pulling their weight, which is why it’s important for your managers to step up to the mark. In this next section, we’re going to talk about ways in which you can balance out your managers and, therefore, re-engage your employees naturally.
Build a Trusting Relationship
If you’re working 8 hours a day for five days of the week, that’s a total of 40 hours that you’re spending with your colleagues, employees, and managers, and it’s safe to say that the relationships that you have with these people matter. The stronger your relationships are with your management team, the better they’ll perform for you.
“Get the managers in your business to learn that you trust their judgement and give them a responsibility for them to manage, allowing you to build up an honest and productive relationship with your line managers. The more responsibility a manager has, the more engaged they’ll be with your business explains Sharon Harper, a team leader for Big Assignments.
Be Inspiring
As a leader, if you’re able to inspire the managers who are working for you, they’ll become far more engaged in your business and will feel motivated to want to achieve more.
If you’re asking them to carry out a certain task or project, give your managers the reason ‘why’ you’re asking them to do that, once again imparting responsibility and knowledge, building up your relationships.
People thrive on the fact that what they’re doing makes a positive difference and that their skills and talents are being put to good use. By giving your managers a worthwhile purpose, they’ll be far more engaged in what they’re doing, something that will rub off on your employees.
Be a Team, Not a Chain of Command
“Although it’s vital that a chain of command is followed within a business” exclaims Jennifer Pierson, a team-building coach working for Academized. “It’s so important that every single manager and every single employee remembers that everybody is on the same side and working for a common objective, not a free-for-all where one person will come out on top.”
This means rooting for your team players and helping them to overcome problems and being there for them when they have a question or need to learn about something. You’re all here to help each other. This has been a proven technique that works for businesses of all models, from writing services like Paper Fellows to huge, global businesses, such as Virgin, or even Facebook.
Again, this will naturally then pass through your managers and onto your employees. If a team ethic is instilled at all levels of the chain of command, everybody will have your business in their best nature which will dramatically improve engagement rates among your employees.
Conclusion
There are so many ways that you can re-engage your managers into your business and therefore re-engaging your uninterested and unengaged employees as this only scratches the surface of what you can do. Remember to be on the same side as your managers and encourage them to do the best they can.
Whatever kind of attitude and treatment you give your management-level staff, this will be passed onto your employees, helping your business to be the best it can possibly be.
Brenda Berg is a professional with over 15 years of experience in business management, marketing, and entrepreneurship. Consultant and tutor for college students and entrepreneurs at Oxessays. She believes that constant learning is the only way to succeed. You can visit her personal blog at Letsgoandlearn.com
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Tags: Employee Engagement, Employee Motivation, Individual Performance
