June 11, 2018
According to a Dale Carnegie/MSW Research study entitled “Emotional Drivers of Employee Engagement,” employees who have a positive relationship with their managers are 52% more engaged in their work than those employees who have a negative rapport. Engaged performance is achieved by stimulating employees’ enthusiasm for their work and directing it toward organizational success. Employees at engaged companies know that their work is valued and that they make an important contribution to the success of the organization. As a result, employees:
- Feel personally and emotionally bound to the company
- Take pride in recommending the company as a good place to work
- Are attached to the intrinsic rewards of working at the company instead of the compensation
- Feel a close attachment to the company’s purpose, mission, and culture
Leadership engagement drives employee engagement, which is measured by the strength of the relationship between management and staff and the extent to which employees:
- Are committed to the work that they are doing
- Believe in the values of the company
- Feel pride in working for the company
- Are inspired and motivated to go the extra mile
- Deliver results
Leading is very different from managing. Managing focuses on the details, controlling the progress and results, as well as keeping employees on-task. Managing encourages employees to come to you with problems and expects you to provide the answer.
Leading is about empowering employees to understand the details and their relation to the bigger picture. It is about focusing on personal development and appreciating employee suggestions and motivations. Leading inspires employees to come to you with alternatives and recommended solutions.
Managing is about standing out in front of your team members. Leading is about standing behind them and setting them up for success.
Energy leadership is a process that develops a leadership style that positively influences everyone in the company. Leaders acquire an awareness of how their anabolic (constructive, rejuvenating, and sustainable) or catabolic (destructive and draining) behavior affects employee engagement so that they can make a conscious decision to shift to a level that serves everyone better.
Anabolic leaders recognize that they can choose how to respond to any situation and that the decision they make will either motivate and inspire employees or discourage them. Leaders with anabolic energy can shift and re-engage their teams into finding solutions and opportunities just by their reaction. Doing so in critical moments can dramatically change the culture of a team and your company. Catabolism cannot survive if stress and reactive tendencies are cut short.
