Last week we wrote (Good Manager/Bad Manager and Engagement) about the problems and challenges associated with leaders and managers who may be negatively impacting engagement levels of your workforce. The article included different actions or steps they are taking that decrease the engagement of their team and employees such as:

  • Micromanagement
  • Lack of trust in the relationship
  • Clarity of roles and responsibilities and inability to set clear expectations
  • Focusing on weaknesses versus strengths
  • And more

This week lets look at the positives steps and actions successful leaders take that have a positive impact on engagement and work to build or increaser engagement levels. Here are a few key manager actions that have a positive influence on engagement:

  1. Communicates effectively and with purpose
  2. Recognizes and appreciates employee efforts, contributions and achievement
  3. Builds trust, exudes integrity and character and is fair to all employees to create strong working relationships
  4. Takes time to listen to and understand employees input, ideas, challenges and working problems
  5. Aligns and helps employees find meaning in their work and how it contributes to organizational health and objectives
  6. Focuses on building morale, teamwork and camaraderie
  7. Inspires and motivates employees to do their very best day in and day out
  8. Strives to coach and mentor employees and help them grow and improve
  9. Takes time to get to know employees on a personal level along with their interests and engagement drivers.

For additional reading see the article “How Managers Drive Results and Employee Engagement at the Same Time”

Managers don’t necessarily have to be experts in every field but the more people skills and abilities they have the better. The commitment to be aware of how their actions impact engagement and continual development and learning will help them improve.

Furthermore, it is critical for managers to understand that their ability to drive high engagement depends not just on the positive steps and actions they take with their employees but also the mistakes they make and actions they take that cause or lead to disengagement! Their success depends on their ability to successfully manage both areas!

Engagement is not that complicated when you have managers who are willing to support and encourage their employees. When they are willing and recognize the importance of engagement their HR department and businesses can arrange the support required to train them in engagement skills and competencies.

Are your managers minimizing actions that decrease engagement while also working to build the people skills that increase engagement?

If not, contact us for more detailed discussions about how we can help your managers build and sustain a highly engaged workforce!

519-656-1066 OR info@engaged2perform.ca

Light a Fire Inside Employees Instead of Trying to Light a Fire Underneath Them!