Engaging Employees

“The number one challenge for leaders and organizations in 2020 and 2021”

-Nathan Jamail, Keynote Speaker, Bestselling Author

Engaging employees has been a goal and focus for organizations for years, but since this crazy pandemic of remote working and isolation it is more difficult than ever.  Many leaders are finding this to be the most difficult obstacle in business today.  The good news is this is an obstacle that leaders and organizations can overcome, and can use the tools and learnings for years to come.

As leaders we no longer can wait and make symbolic gestures to engage employees, we have to really change how we engage, lead and coach employees.  This will become the number 1 competitive advantage for 2021 and forward.  I will share with you three simple ideas to increase engagement- but they will require consistent effort from leaders.  How we engage our employees is our choice, but the result will be determined by our consistent effort, not our words.

The understanding of our people’s mindset:   

You would think this is simple because we are all experiencing a similar issue working from home or in less than ideal circumstances.  However, this is not your normal ‘working from home’ situation- this feels like being ‘isolated to our homes’ for many.  Everyone has different distractions in their homes, and we are all different in how we react and handle these distractions.

The first step in dealing with this is to not be sympathetic, rather be empathetic.  The difference is we must understand and recognize the employees struggles, but don’t allow them to fall in the hole of frustration and use this obstacle as an excuse to be less than or fail.  Leadership is about helping our people achieve things they can’t achieve on their own.  Being empathetic is understanding, but also helping our people grow and become bigger than their problems or limiting beliefs.  To achieve this we must connect with them emotionally and challenge them more, yes more.  This requires direct and clear communication and a high level of accountability.  We push our kids because we care about their future, we must be committed to the same for those we lead.   

Increase your level of connection and communication:

Communication has been a struggle for organizations since the beginning of time, this is even more prevalent than ever.  I challenge my leaders to connect with each of their direct reports daily or weekly, if possible based on head count.  Don’t just check in via text or email, or call to discuss a problem- this a reactive leadership style that does not create true engagement of employees.  Create a communication system for yourself that is genuine and consistent.  An example of a system is to video conference 3 employees every morning to discuss their daily plans, and help prepare them for those interactions.  Then end every day by calling two-three more employees and review the day’s activities and help them prepare for tomorrow activities.  This action is not about making sure our employees are working, rather it is about preparing them for what they are going to do.  It is about showing them they are not alone and what they do matters and has an important impact on the success of the organization and the value to those clients they serve.

Be aware and be bold:

When talking (via video) be aware of the mindset and attitude of the employee, noticing if they appear distracted or in a bad mood.  Don’t ignore this or justify it in your mind.  Confront these observations and don’t fear the conflict.  As humans we appreciate direct and helpful feedback (believe it or not).  It shows we care, and most important it helps our employees be better and hopefully happier.  Remember those that help us become who we are today, those that made us better and helps us were the ones that did not let us complain or allow us to only do the bare minimum.  They were the ones that pushed us, made us accept responsibility and helped us be the best version of ourselves.  Being an engaging leader is not about cheerleading our people, rather it is about building our people.

Last thoughts:

We cannot have engaged employees without having engaging leaders.  Engagement is a “you get what you give” situation.  Keeping all employees engaged is a difficult challenge for leaders normally, but especially right now.  Just like maintaining a high level of morale is more difficult.  But because this is a difficult goal, we as leaders must never stop finding new ways to achieve it.  My challenge to all leaders now and beyond this crazy time is to look inside, look at ourselves and ask ourselves what can I do better to improve engagement with my team?  To be truly engaged as a team requires commitment and conviction from all parties.  The conviction will go beyond the idea, the plan and the hope.  Conviction will drive engagement.