While it’s not news, it’s a valuable lesson that an employee’s relationship with their immediate supervisor is critical to retention, engagement and succeeding in business goals. I coach high-level leaders and executives from Fortune 500 companies, and many of them struggle with their relationships with employees.
Mostly because they are moving at light speed, and don’t have the time to engage is small talk, but they know that they should. It is surprising how many employees have no absolutely no face time with their supervisors.
You must have trust for an engaged workforce, and you can’t foster trust by not nurturing relationships. It is vital both internally and externally to nurture your network.
Here are five ways to lead your team to employee engagement:
- We know that employees are motivated by great supervisors. Do what it takes to become a good leader: reflect, learn, grow, and be transparent.
- Employees love to be challenged. Offer them opportunities that take them out of their comfort zone.
- Lead by example. It will take less time overall if you teach employees to be self-sufficient problem-solvers, accountable and independent. Expect that of them and show them how.
- Communicate in a meaningful way; Get to know them as a human and understand their strengths and opportunities.
- Create substantial goals for yourself and for your employees. Check-in on those goals frequently, asking them how they are doing. Nothing helps behavior change more than reflection and accountability.
All this sounds good, but how do you find the time? You make it a priority. If you’ve read any of my other posts, you know that the cost of low engagement and turnover is high. Block off the time to nurture relationships with your employees (and your colleagues, but that’s a different blog) today.
For more resources on cultivating your leadership skills, check out my podcast Talk it up with Cindy: Conversations with Women Leaders and the Women’s Leadership Experience, a 6 month executive coaching group.