From WeAreTheCity’s Future Leader’s Blog
Let’s look at how employee engagement – or lack of it – can impact your team and your business.
Leaders and teams need to use their ‘engagement radar’
Everyone owns their own engagement. It’s not the manager’s sole responsibility to engage people, but leaders and managers still need to have their ‘engagement radar’ on, to assess how engaged team members are at any time. The first step is awareness, the second step is doing something about it.
Leaders need to have their ‘engagement radar’ on
Solving the engagement issue
Most people are not fully engaged at work. In fact, according to Gallup, only about 13 per cent of employees are fully engaged at work. Here are some of the solutions you can use to reboot your team’s engagement;
1. Role model personal responsibility
You need to start with yourself. You need to be engaged in order to give others the “engagement bug”. When faced with challenges, you need to show others that it’s possible and necessary to stay engaged and solution-focused. It may not always feel like you have a choice at that particular point, but you do. Take a moment and ask yourself how you could respond to what has happened and remind yourself that you value your own time enough to make sure your choice is productive – and engagement is more productive than disengagement.
2. Clearly communicate the team’s purpose
Talk with the team about what they are here to do, what their important purpose is, how they can make a difference. Without that clear reason for being, it’s hard to be engaged.
3. Focus on the individual
Take a genuine interest in your team members. Have regular development discussions and make them meaningful. Tell people how they are doing by giving helpful feedback. Everyone needs to know what they’re doing well and what they could do better.
4. Innovation
If job monotony and boredom is a driver of disengagement, have a brainstorming session on how to invigorate the job. Wherever possible, challenge processes that don’t add value. Could any tasks be swapped? A new task owner could bring new ideas and new energy and engagement.
5. Build team self esteem
Make the team feel good about itself and what it’s doing. Reflect regularly on the achievements of the team. Celebrate achievements and successes, let team members see the impact of their work on customers and the bottom line.
Employee engagement is the fuel of a successful organisation.
So keep your radar out for team engagement and get your team more engaged today.
Tap into your team’s unique aspects to reboot your team!
About the authors
Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of “The Team Formula”.
Their latest book, multi-award-winning “Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions”, published by Financial Times International is a practical tool for building winning teams. You can download a free chapter of the book at www.leadingteamsbook.com
Praise for Leading Teams: “Enjoyable to read. Simple to understand. Practical to implement. A must read for team members or leaders” Debbie Fogel-Monnissen, Executive Vice President, International Markets
