Very often leaders will negate themselves from the equation, deflecting accountability by questioning why team members don’t engage well with each other or between levels of job scope and responsibility. In reality-accepted levels of engagement, within a company, lies purely with the leader at the top. So why is it that engagement often slips through our fingers? Why isn’t engagement our number one priority? Perhaps because as leaders we often self-prioritize rather than acknowledging our team members are our star players and therefore should be viewed as our most valuable assets who, if retained, can be nurtured into next generation leaders.

The rapport and relationship that we, as leaders, build with our teams is vital, as is the relationship and trust built between team members and the bigger organisation they work within.

Open engagement with your team members promotes ownership, innovation, self-motivation and the energy to go beyond expectations and raise company performance, giving a high yield and ROI (Return on Investment).

We often ask… How do I engage? Particularly when leadership is such an isolated space… a common starting point is to create a shared purpose and vision to establish agreed outcomes, strategies, and expectations in a safe collective space with known boundaries, whereby team members feel safe to contribute and fully buy into the bigger company vision and are motivated to provide high performance.

Achieving this builds a strong foundation for self and collective growth. To achieve deeper authenticity, requires us to be visible, fully present and to be observant, acknowledging the unique contribution of team members and the collective innovation and success that embeds us as a leader worth following.

Creating a culture of following up and following through, with consistent feedback, acknowledgement and encouragement promotes drive and motivation.

Being emotionally fit, endorsing a company culture of emotional intelligence sets a positive pathway in communications and engagement. Being self-aware is pivotal. Therefore, living your values, leading by example, and being comfortable in your own skin reveals authentic leadership.

Are you aware of the impact you make as a leader? If not, perhaps gather honest feedback; know how your team relates to you. By acknowledging your own style of leadership, creating a safe environment for engagement through a shared vision with safe boundaries and expectations and then building resilience, direction and motivation among team members, this enables continual growth, team loyalty and the realization that the talent of individual team members are the building blocks of company success.

Feel free to share your experiences of developing engagement among your team members in your leadership journey…

I’d enjoy hearing about your views and feedback… feel free to add your input and ideas…