2. LEADERSHIP MEANING
A leader articulates and embodies a vision and goals, and enables
others to share and achieve them
Leadership is a state of mind….leadership is about
vision, spirit, and character; getting diverse individuals to work
together as a team
A leader's job is to rally people toward a better future
Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to
inspire, the power to inspire others to follow.
3. Current
Scenario
Employee Engagement has
become Every Leader's
Imperative.
An engaged employee is
someone who is
motivated, finds personal
worth in his work and
committed to the
accomplishment of goals.
Regardless of
tenure, position, title, et
c., employees who
voluntarily
leave, generally do so
out of some type of
perceived disconnect
with leadership.
If leaders spent less time
trying to retain people, and
more time trying to
understand them, care for
them, invest in them, and
lead them well, the
retention thing would take
care of itself.
Creating an engaged
workforce requires
‘effective leadership’ to
help associates realize
their full potential and
value.
The message is leaders
have to do better at
building employee buy-
in and job satisfaction.
4. TRAITS OF LEADERS
Drive
Desire to
Lead
Integrity
Conviction
Magnanimity
Coaching
for
results
Makes people
jobs
challenging, e
xciting, and
meaningful.
Openness
Emotional
resonance
5. LEADERS ENGAGEMENT
With all of the talk about the need for employee engagement, let’s
flip the coin over and see what’s on the other side? The backside
of the issue is “leader engagement.”
When leaders are perceived as disengaged bad things happen.
If employees think that their leader is aloof, or distant, or not in
touch, they check out as well.
Commitment compromised. Morale busted. All it takes is the idea
that the leader is disinterested, in either the work, or the
worker, to cause the disconnect.
6. 3 RELATIONAL AREAS
Leaders who prove to be most effective are fundamentally sound in three
relational areas: invitation, encouragement, and challenge.
• ‘Challenge’ is a relational skill that assures no one becomes
stagnant, too comfortable, or just plain lazy. That’s not good for any
of us. Human beings are built for movement; leaders need to clearly
show how to get ahead, stay interested-in and oriented-to the
future.
Challenge
• “Encouragement’ is the practice of helping others succeed. It’s not
just wishing for their success, or throwing a few words their
way, but it’s an active effort to fully support them, see them
grow, celebrate their wins and overcome their losses.
Encouragement
• ‘Invitation’ is making sure everyone feels welcome to join in. Many
of us like to keep our distance from others, and it’s communicated
through the signals we send out through our body language, tone of
voice, (lack of) interest in others, ego, etc. The leaders who are most
successful attract others. It becomes their very nature to draw
people in.
Invitation
7. Steps for Truly Effective Leadership Style
o Be Bold
o Be Strengths-Savvy
o Be “Going Somewhere”
o Be Follower-Focused
o Be Balanced
o Be True to You
8. WAYS TO ENGAGEMENT
Listening
The biggest mistake a leader can make is a failure to LISTEN!
But, many people may believe they’re better listeners than they actually are. That’s the
problem. They’re blissfully unaware of a very glaring fault.
These are a few of the fatal listening flaws: Thinking your opinion is better, or more
informed, than others, Not acknowledging what you heard, and the person(s) saying
it, Ignoring what you don’t want to hear, Dismissive of feedback, Making decisions without
input from others.
Listening is much more than hearing … it’s the origin of relationships. A “Listening
Leader” attracts people – getting them “on-board” by tuning into them, and establishing a
connection with them.
Communication
There’s a direct linkage between being engaged as a leader and your ability to
communicate. Good communication expresses engagement.
If your communication is all fact, and no feeling, you’ll miss the important aspect of
getting to know your people beyond their work product, and understanding them as
individuals, with everyday cares, concerns, and interests.
Good, open, positive communication with the workforce offers great benefits: improved
production, morale; elimination of confusion, frustration, and lack of motivation;
consensus-building; trust; employee input; open-dialogue. The results are significant –
generating confidence in your leadership, and ultimately, achievement.
9. Walk the Talk
Good leadership takes strength of character and a firm commitment to do the right thing, at
the right time, for the right reason. This means doing what you say, when you say it. If your
team can't trust you, you'll probably never lead them to greatness.
Tips about How to Walk Your Talk
Model the behavior you want to see from others.
If you make a rule or design a process, follow it.
Act as if you are part of the team.
Help people achieve the goals that are important to them.
Do what you say you're going to do.
Build commitment to your organization’s big goal.
When leaders don't "practice what they preach," it can be almost impossible for a team to
work together successfully. How can anyone trust a leader who talks about one thing, but
does another?
Then people are most unlikely to follow you enthusiastically. Everything you tell them after
that may meet with suspicion and doubt. They may not trust that you're doing the right
thing, or that you know what you're talking about.
Good leaders push their people forward with excitement, inspiration, trust, and vision. If
you lead a team that doesn't trust you, productivity will drop. Enthusiasm may disappear.
The vision you're trying so hard to make happen may lose its appeal, all because your team
doesn't trust you anymore.
10. Coffee Sessions; round table chats
Such meetings may not be conducted necessarily to discuss work related
matters but they indirectly help create a healthy work environments.
Engagement in informal meetings makes it easier to connect and the flow of
ideas and opinions is more honest from both sides of the table.
The seriousness of a meeting room is often very pressurizing for boosting team
building and increasing productivity levels.
Meetings conducted informal settings away from the office, give employees a
chance to forget their usual distractions of phone calls, emails and allow them to
concentrate on the topic of the meeting to generate creative solutions.
Round tables work best as no one will be at the head of the table. The leader
should break the ice by welcoming the group, and perhaps adding some
personal information such as hobbies or family.
Encourage openness by telling the group that it is a informal session meant for
an open discussion; a feedback session and that no one should be afraid to ask a
question.
11. Storytelling
Inspiring leaders tell powerful, memorable, and actionable stories. Incorporate
stories in your conversations, emails, and presentations to make the message more
lively and impactful.
Many companies even provides seminars to teach for crafting stories and giving
presentations with them. Few biggies has banned bullet points and replaced them
with a process of writing “strategic narratives”. And some of the storytellers also join
theater groups to hone their story skills.
The five most commonly used are probably these: inspiring the organization, setting
a vision, teaching important lessons, leading change, defining culture and
values, giving people coaching and feedback in a way that will be received as a
welcome gift. It can help bring out more of people’s creativity, or help them rekindle
the passion for their work & and explaining who you are and what you believe.
Self-knowledge is the root of all great storytelling. Great leaders are people with
enormous self-knowledge. They have self-insight and self-respect balanced by
skepticism; who understand their own masks as well as the masks of life, and this
understanding makes them humble. The more you understand your own
humanity, the more you can appreciate the humanity of others and dealing with them
in a compassionate yet realistic way. That duality makes for a wonderful leader.
12. Passion Talks
Share your passion for work that you do, the benefits it brings to others, and most
importantly, for the employees that do it in a way that enables them to feel
passionate, too.. Show that you are committed to them, and to their success.
The nature of the vision and mission is critical for enabling others to feel as if their
work has purpose and meaning beyond the tasks they perform each day.
Communicating the big picture regularly will help reinforce the reason your
organization exists.
Developing relationships to the extent where others feel they know you, they know
what you stand for, they believe in your sincerity, integrity and motivations, they see
you’re interested in them, and positively inclined toward them.
If on the other hand they have disagreements with you, mistrust you, or simply
dislike you … they’ll hear what you say in a negative light, or simply tune you out.
Pizza and Problems
Globally recognized experts on employee engagement and leadership suggests not to
undermine the impact of celebrating team achievements, performance and also
discussing work related issues over pizza party.
13. MEASURABLE TOOLS
Standardized Employee Engagement surveys are also available
that can help leaders identify and factors that influence an
employee’s level of engagement.
Critical Leadership Skills Survey
14. CONCLUSION
Exceptional leaders generate
more engaged employees.
If one believes that talent is one of the last sources of
competitive advantage—and that motivated and
productive employees are the make-or-break
ingredient to successfully navigating the business
pressures – engagement should be a top business
imperative for all business leaders.
To ensure and maintain employee
engagement, leaders must know what
factors influence an employee’s sense of
involvement, motivation and commitment
to their job and to the organization.
Before stated suggested actions
leaders can take to improve
engagement levels and become better
positioned for future success.
Employees are a critical component to
every organization, and their engagement
serves as a barometer of organizational
health.
Engaging the right employees in the right
behaviors remains the critical ingredient of how
companies manage the diverse economic
conditions facing their organizations today.
Notes de l'éditeur
Boldness is an essential for leading upwards. To grab the attention, confidently make your point with as little padding as possible.Review where you’ve been holding back in your leadership. What elements of your personality could you allow to shine through more? Where could you be bolder?Get to know your signature leadership style inside-out. Heighten your awareness of what you’re good at, and consciously play to your natural strengths as much as possible.Ask five colleagues what they consider to be the strengths of your leadership styleCall it being visionary, call it setting direction, —creating hope for the future and helping people see the way forward is one of the top four basic needs of followers, according to Gallup’s latest research.Recent studies shows that to be a great leader, alongside being trustworthy, you simply must be able to communicate a vision of where you and others need to go. Not only will this inspire confidence downwards, among your team, it will also increase your impact upwards, among your bosses.Recognizing the contribution of others and giving the team room to innovate is the best way to lead into a more resilient future.Consider “Why should my team be led by me?” Notice what you already bring them, and what they need more of from you to bring out their best.Ask yourself, “What can I give my team today?”Strive for sustainable thought and action. Ask yourself, “What might the unintended impact of my/our action be?”Balance yourself. Prioritize the things outside work that keep you sane by creating “golden time” in your calendar that can’t be touched.If you’re not being authentic, people will see straight through you. Genuine passion and pride create a fast-track to building connection and trust. The most valuable thing you have to offer is yourself. Whatever your leadership style is, it is uniquely yours. Own it, have confidence in it, trust that it’s not about becoming something completely different.