Emotional Commitment, Loyalty and Employee Engagement
An essential link between strategy and execution is people. Winning sales cultures understand and embrace this fact. In the following, I will offer a few thoughts on some of the practices that served me well in working with people to build a growth-oriented environment characterized by mutual respect, trust, & teamwork…
1. Build a foundation with honesty and integrity
It may be hard to share difficult news; however, being honest and forthright, even during tough times, is something the most trustworthy leaders learn how to do. Whether your company hasn’t met its goals and is unable to award bonuses this year, or you’ve decided to let go of a member of your team, or be it another important matter. Rather than putting off the difficult discussion, people will respect a leader who is able to openly explain the situation, take questions and give them the facts.
2. Be accountable and admit mistakes
While being transparent about bad news is difficult, admitting when it’s you who’s made a mistake can be even more difficult. You may be surprised to find that employees will like you more for it. Admitting mistakes actually makes you more human and may have you be more likable to others. Psychologists call this the “Pratfall Effect”. Being able to admit to and take responsibility for your mistakes is a major part of being a good leader.
3. Treat employees like people, not numbers
In a competitive, fast-paced environment it’s easy to get lost in the numbers. If your success is based on meeting certain performance metrics, you might fall into the trap of seeing employees in terms of output achieved.
You don’t have to know all the details of your employees’ personal lives, but strive to get to know folks on an individual basis. Be committed to each employee’s personal development and have a good understanding of what your employees find most interesting about their current work, as well what are their longer-term aspirations. When employees know you are genuinely concerned about them as individuals, they’ll go the extra mile for you.
4. Give due credit to your employees
As the team leader, you will often receive recognition from your peers and upper management for your team’s efforts. Make sure you express appreciation and acknowledge your team members for their hard work.
Studies show that those employees who receive recognition from their leaders are significantly more likely to trust them.
5. Demand excellence of your team and put yourself on the line for them
To gain trust, managers must be their team’s best advocate. People want to know that the leader will represent their best interests and has their backs. While you may have corrective actions and coaching for individuals, you must be fully accountable for your team’s performance.
6. Communicate often and ask for feedback
Provide a forum for open, two-way communications where employees can speak freely and candidly without fear. Furthermore, you must encourage and acknowledge valid, constructive feedback. And finally, it is essential that you use this information to implement positive improvements in the business.
This all sounds simple but in reality, consistent execution on the aforementioned items is challenging. Nonetheless, the benefits to your business in terms of employee emotional commitment and engagement are enormous: ownership and committed execution for increased growth, and happy customers.
For a brief discussion on this and other proven strategies to enhance your business growth, schedule an appointment HERE for a free 30-minute consultation!
