Do you want to become a really "hot" leader? The one who produces the best results, admired by both employees and peers, whom the top headhunters salivate over?
Then you should master the art of creating engagement in your organization. You see, lack of engagement is the numero uno source of productivity drain in organizations today.
Did you know that on average only 13 percent of people in organizations are actively engaged?
And as many as 63 percent of the employees are passive or indifferent. They do their job, nothing more. The scariest numbers? As many as 24 percent of workers are actively disengaged. They either consciously or unconsciously sabotage the work of others (numbers from a 2013 Gallup worldwide workforce study).
Now you have two choices: 1) You can ignore the numbers, writing them off as "averages" thinking they have nothing to do with your team or organization. 2) Or you can take action; acknowledge the trends even if the numbers are not necessarily true for your team.
And -- If your ambition is to become a "hot" leader, you should for sure go for option 2.
After all -- who's in charge of doing something with these numbers? Well, sorry to tell you, but it's you. Although it might feel overwhelming, you can turn it around and look at the possibilities that lie in these numbers.
Because so many people are disengaged at work, imagine what YOU can accomplish if you just learn how to engage people? To increase the level of engagement in your organization or team equals boosting your results and establishing lasting growth.
How do you engage people on your team? Start by following these two steps and you will be heading in the right direction.
Know your way around Involving Processes. The easiest way to ensure engagement is involvement. People who are involved are more engaged. And with involvement come responsibility, action and motivation. This does not mean you should involve everyone, all the time. But the time when leadership was a lone act where the leader came up with all the answers is over. To succeed today and in the future, you need to tap into the collective intelligence of your team. You need to create a collective genius.
Involve your team in defining your ambitions for the time to come. Ambitions that speak to both the brain and the heart. Ambitions that engage and make people put their best into reaching the goals. Together. Remember that when people feel passionate about what they are doing, their energy is contagious and benefits the entire organization.
Involving leadership at its best will ensure maximum engagement and a kick-ass culture. But you need to look at it as a process. Start by doing one thing at a time. Over time, you will see a shift in people's focus as they take care in what they do. Involving Leadership is all about engaging your team in an effective and target oriented way. And when you get a team that is boiling hot by passion, you will become a hot leader.
This blog post is also published in the blog LeadershipCourageFun. It is written by Kristine Maudal and Even Fossen, founders of Brainwells and creators of the online leadership program FutureLeadershipNow.
We have a common passion for making the corporate world a better place, and do this by training executives and executive teams in how to become Involving Leaders. Daily we experience magic moments when people exceed their own expectations due to new insights and skills. With love and care we'll share this magic with you. Thank you for being here.
All photos © Brainwells