There is an old adage in marketing which says that a customer who buys a quarter-inch drill, doesn't actually want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.
The same can be said of leadership.
Let me suggest when your company invests in a leadership development programme, it isn't just better leaders you want, it is better followers.
You want more engaged, passionate and driven employees who are focused on delivering extraordinary value and results for your prospects and customers.
The real outcome you (and every other company) is looking for, is a higher level of performance from your staff resulting in greater sales, higher profits and growth in company value.
Engaged, Not-Engaged and
Actively Disengaged Employees
Of course, leadership is a critical tool in making this business growth happen, but leaders have their work cut out in getting employees to perform at a higher level, and they need all the help they can get.
A quick understanding of the challenge leaders undertake when seeking to inspire staff puts this into perspective.
According to popularly cited statistics from the Gallup Employee Engagement Index:
- 29% of employees are ACTIVELY ENGAGED in their jobs,
- 54% are NOT-ENGAGED,
- 17% are ACTIVELY DISENGAGED.
The real opportunity for leaders to make a difference comes with the 54% of employees who are not-engaged. These are the middle men and women who neither over perform, nor under perform.
If You Want Engaged Employees
You Have to Engage With Them!
Even the greatest leaders in the world have to work hard to engage these middle men and women, but there is another way to create engagement, which works in tandem with leadership.
This is mentoring.
Moving the 54% who are 'not-engaged' to 'actively engaged' comes from working with them at a closer level, taking a personal interest in developing them and bringing them closer into the business.
It also comes from valuing their ideas and inputs, by stretching them and making them think differently so they understand your business at a deeper level.
Traditionally, because of the high-cost associated with it, mentoring usually only takes place at the senior boardroom level, but through the use of technology, and using senior staff to act as mentors to junior staff, mentoring on an enterprise-wide scale is now a realistic option for every company - large or small.
Mentoring - The Key to
Engaged Employees
Great leadership has the ability to take employees to a higher-level, but real employee engagement — where employees want to go the extra mile, not because the leader has asked them to, but because they personally want to — comes from employees being connected to the business at a deeper level.
It comes from feeling part of something, of being connected to something they believe in, and are proud of.
There are many examples of companies who do this well: the Virgin group under the leadership of Sir Richard Branson, and the Marriott Hotel chain under the leadership of Bill Marriott are just two of many who get it right.
Great leadership certainly plays a critical part in connecting with employees and achieving outstanding business results, but real employee engagement (and hence a real change in business results) comes from working with employees at a deeper level, getting under their skin and actively engaging with them. It comes from mentoring employees and sharing with them many of the goals, ambitions, thoughts and drivers that the leader (and business) is working towards. Interestingly enough, it comes from mentoring employees (at all levels) to think like business leaders themselves.
For more information, claim your free 'Employe Engagement and Enterprise-Wide Mentoring' book from
www.enterpriseleaders.com.
