What's the difference between leaders who inspire a high level of employee engagement and ones who struggle to get people to do the bare minimum their jobs require?
The secret lies in knowing how to lead from the heart outwards.
Successful leaders inspire their team by communicating their vision in a way that generates excitement and motivates others to jump on board with full commitment. They recognize potential in their people, coach their team members to go above and beyond, and routinely acknowledge others' positive contributions. And while they demand accountability from the people they lead, they also hold themselves accountable for their performance as well.
Here are some heart-centered tips on how to boost employee engagement in your company and create a culture of success:
1. Know your own strengths and weaknesses
If you want to lead others, first you must understand yourself. When you have a clear sense of your own strengths and weaknesses – and the impact your behavior has on others – your ability to engage others will improve.
For example, let's say you're not a graphic designer. Why impose your ideas on the company brochure when you can delegate this responsibility to someone who will do a much better job than you?
Or maybe you're an introvert who hates making sales calls to clients. Why not hand that task over to an extrovert who's been blessed with the "gift of gab" and speaks in a way that makes other people want to listen to him or her?
Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses gives you the ability to discern when your skills will add value – or not – and keeps you open to delegating and listening to people with other points of view.
2. Inspire them with a clear, compelling, continuous vision
To engage your employees and motivate them to work tirelessly toward achieving a goal, you must first have a clear and compelling vision of the future. What will you and your team ultimate achieve? By when? What will everyone gain when the goal is reached? Is it honorable, beneficial, ethical, and uplifting? What's so compelling about it? What else will also be achieved as your team is striving for this major goal?
