At the heart of engagement is the act of connecting with something you believe in. Yes, there are many aspects of that connection, and many ways an organisation can foster it or conversely, smother it. But fundamentally, it the belief in something greater than, or outside of oneself that we should be looking for.
The good news, as the Gaping Void image in Seth Godin’s post so succinctly illustrates, is that there are an infinite number of things to believe in. People are committed to supporting those things they believe in and they will willingly go the extra mile. They will contribute ideas and effort and in the process, take the lead on moving things forward.
Seth also makes the point that not everyone can be a leader and equally, that the leader is not necessarily the person at the top of the organisation. Both of these insights are significant in the current climate. There is a distinction between being “the leader” and being a leader.
So, if you can inspire more of your people; get them truly committed to what you do and what you stand for, you’ll get more leaders, more commitment and more effort. That’s the key to leadership. Commitment to something great than ourselves builds the qualities of leadership. This is great news for those businesses that put the effort into looking after their people. Employee engagement is one facet of commitment to the company. Building an engaged employee base, means building the leadership potential in the organisation too.
Allow staff to make decisions. Empower them to do what’s best for the customer and therefore, the company. Demonstrate commitment to the development of your people. All this builds employee engagement levels. But it has to be genuine and followed through. Companies that pay lip service to developing an engaged workforce find that they end up going in the opposite direction.
How many leaders are there in your organisation? Hopefully there are many.
Article by Vandy Massey
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