What does an employee need to be engaged?
Do they need an inspiring manager? A senior leadership team that sets the example of engagement? An organizational culture that supports engagement? Having these things in place will definitely help, but employees also need their own internal motivation and drive to be engaged. Having your own drive and determination is necessary especially when you have a manager who isn’t motivating you in the best way.
Jeff was an engineer who had worked for Tom over the past two years. Tom’s former managers had all focused on negative motivation and being critical as a way to get people to do things. Tom only knew how to manage his team through criticism and pushing them to work a lot of hours. The team was burning out, but he told them that they just needed to do what was necessary to get the job done.
Jeff was driven and had aspirations to climb the ladder. He had found a way to work within Tom’s management style, but he didn’t want that to be a style that he adopted. He had a choice to make about how to lead his own team. He wanted to create a style that was focused on inspiring his team, giving them positive encouragement, and supporting them when they needed help. Jeff was soon recognized as the leader who developed his people and helped them to succeed.
The work will get done in both of these situations, but it comes at a cost.
Employees who are being criticized and consistently given negative motivation aren’t excited to come to work in the morning. It takes a toll on their stress level, their health, and potentially their relationships. People who aren’t engaged at work, bring all that stress and negativity home with them if they aren’t able to stop themselves.
Jeff was able to break the cycle because he had seen what “good leadership” looked like in a previous role. This took confidence on his part to step into a style that was different than his manager, but ultimately made him more successful in his career. He wanted to lead his people in the best way and he could see the things that he was doing were making a difference with his team.
Leaders have a choice to make. They don’t just follow along with what others do, they do what needs to be done to engage their team. What choice will you make?