How many of your top performing team have left you, leaving you, as their leader, wondering why or what happened? Employees and team members will often quit before they ask for what they truly want: clarity, focus on strengths and engaged management.
Clarity Of Our Words
From the leadership perspective, clarity of our words requires you to increase explicit communication and expectations and decrease implicit communication and expectations. Explicit expectations are stated outright, employees know exactly what is expected of them in detail. Implicit expectations are those that team members magically “figure out.” Clear and consistent communication (meetings, phone calls, emails, texts) are key. Why? Communication reinforces the areas/tasks the employee “owns” and reminds them that their managers are easy to approach and willing to listen.
Clarity Of Goals
When done well, performance management has a positive impact on employees. What performance management lacks is going above and beyond the basic annual review. According to Gallup, managers need to help their employees set work priorities and performance goals. When managers help set performance goals, employee engagement is 69%. If managers do not help set performance goals, 53% of employees are actively disengaged. Put simply, your team wants your input and feedback on goals and expectations.
Focus On Strengths
Employees who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged at work. Weaknesses should not be ignored, but a strengths focus offers managers a better chance to develop individuals in the context of who they are, instead of attempting to change their personalities. If you want your team to grow, let them use their natural talents.
Managers Must Be Engaged
Employees who work for engaged managers are 59% more likely to be engaged themselves. As a leader in your organisation, ask yourself – are your managers engaged? If managers aren’t engaged, the team is not engaged.
