Over this blog series, and indeed within our employee engagement study, we’ve stressed the role of leaders in driving employee engagement in their organisation.

And for good reason.

The role of leaders is, without a doubt, absolutely critical. Staff look to leaders for direction, to communicate that direction effectively and to be great role models. Leaders are judged by what they ‘do’ as opposed to what they ‘say’ so secret #5 comes in the form of the familiar saying: leaders must be the change they want to see.

The importance of selling strategy to employees cannot be overstated. The understanding of strategy is one aspect but personal commitment to the direction is something above and beyond, and is a vital ingredient in the making of an engaged employee. Leaders should look to:

  • Understand what already influences staff before learning how to influence them.
  • Put in place disciplines and processes to ensure that employee contributions are recognised, and that they feel valued.
  • Understand how to meet core human needs. The endgame is to make work a positive addiction.
  • Be a strategic story teller. Use story-telling to effectively communicate to teams.
  • Develop a set of standards, values and behaviours so that they understand what quality leadership entails and that they can be accountable for.
  • Be the best leader they can be by shedding disempowering aspects that are holding them back and replacing them with an empowering mindset.

Remember that selling strategy is not just a once-off. It must be repeated. Relentlessly.

To download your complimentary copy of The State of Employee Engagement in Australia – click here.

Leaders can do all of the above to drive employee engagement by shedding their limitations and replacing this with a sense of personal empowerment and accountability. Guiding leaders through this process of ‘stepping up’ is something we do at Engaged Strategy. If you would like more information, you are very welcome to contact us.

Stay tuned for the final instalment of the Employee Engagement Blog Series, presenting the state of employee engagement in Australia: where we are, where we could be, and secrets of how to get there.