Developing Engaged Leadership
‘Great Leaders move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us. No creature can fly with just one wing. Gifted leadership occurs where the heart and head – feeling and thought meet. These are the two wings that allow a leader to soar.’ The New Leaders – Daniel Goleman
It’s a delicate balance, as Goleman suggests in the quote above, in today’s hybrid organisations leaders have an important role in maintaining inclusivity, motivating and energising their teams to ensure that people understand and feel confident about the organisation’s direction and fully supported to enjoy their day-to-day working environment. With many organisations trying to implement digital transformation it is also vitally important that people (employees and customers) remain a constant consideration.
The organisations that are serious about employee engagement realise that it is built on a number of areas of best practice, one of the most important is Leadership, because without engagement from your most senior players, your promises will be empty.
Employees want to be able to trust their leaders, they want this demonstrated through their behaviours, their everyday actions and most importantly their commitment and follow through on their promises, whether to the individual, the business, their customers, or to the community at large .Acting with integrity is a defining measure of behaviour and needs to be a constant benchmark.
In employee engagement, job titles are not what are important, what is highly relevant and essential are the qualities of leadership and the people brave enough to display them.
But what if you are the leader? What will be your legacy?
Ask yourself, do I want to be an ‘Engaged Leader’? Am I bold enough to take on the challenge? If so, aim to be a leader who makes a difference.
Ultimately it is about accountability, and if you are the leader it is about the actions that you take, and so what do you need to do to ensure that you are a leader that people will follow and remember for all the right reasons?
You may want to consider the following:
Will you be the leader who…..
• is accountable, authentic, self-aware and is always seeking opportunities to learn and grow?
• creates a positive inclusive culture built on respect, empathy and genuineness that motivates and encourages all individuals to want to give of their best?
• cares passionately about the success of the business and personally acts to protect your organisation’s reputation?
• listens to your customers, suppliers and cares about the supply chain of your products?
• recognises and rewards performance, encourages progression, creates a coaching environment and opens up channels of communication?
• takes ownership of problems, seeks to find a solution, champions and encourages innovation throughout the organisation?
• takes social and environmental responsibility seriously and cares passionately about your employees, their families, your customers and your local community?
• sponsors and encourages engaged leadership at all levels in the business, respects people’s work/life balance and seeks to create the organisation that people both respect and want to join?
Engaged and passionate leaders are not afraid to lead their organisations, they will champion their employees, they will engage with their customers, and they will lead from the depths of their soul, because they want to create a better world.
If you want to know more about our approach to developing Engaged Leaders contact us here
