The impact of a manager on the dynamics of a team is more influential than one might think.
Performance, atmosphere in the office, degree of commitment and respect for the corporate culture are just some of the indicators that fluctuate according to the empathic and managerial capacity of a leader.
Among the variables involved, according to research conducted by the US consultancy firm Gallup, employee engagement is one of the most subject to the competence of a manager: so much so that, according to the results of the analysis, a leader’s behavior would affect a team’s engagement rates by 70%.
This is how, depending on the boss’s attitude, a team can be involved and motivated to give their best, or it can shut down completely, losing enthusiasm and willingness to commit.
An engagement range not to be underestimated for a leader who wants to grow determined and loyal resources.
How to do it? Simple: just manage 3 aspects in the best possible way. Here’s what they are.
1. Always communicate
Healthy communication is the foundation of any lasting relationship – a powerful truth in both private and office life.
A manager who communicates constantly and transparently with his team, stimulates dialogue and makes employees feel really involved.
To set up fluid communication and able to generate engagement in the team you do not need fireworks: to manage with professionalism and common sense the everyday sometimes it can be enough.
An example? Managers who schedule regular meetings with their employees, enjoy 3 times more motivated teams than managers who remember to align with the group only when needed.
And again: answering a missed call from an employee within 24 hours, makes the employee feel valued and considered. On the contrary, a fugitive manager who barricades himself behind the alibi of an always too dense agenda can create distance and coldness.
Not only how much to communicate, then, but also what to communicate: talking with employees outside the business boundaries is a real fuel for engagement. The reason? Employees who feel viewed as people and not just as assets are more engaged.
2. Set clear goals and monitor your path frequently
The manager never speaks, he barely looks into the office, he hardly knows what tasks you complete each day: however, once a year he sits in front of you and evaluates you.
On the basis of what goals or conditions, probably only he knows. Here is another engagement killer revealed: performance reviews intended as a moment to coldly judge the work of team members.
A moment that not only turns out to be useless and bogus, but which is also frustrating for employees , who feel abandoned and overlooked.
On the contrary, a manager who wants to boost the engagement of the whole team must remember to set expectations well, to indicate to each employee his role and his perimeter and, above all, to make continuous checks on a weekly basis to verify the progress of the work and to keep the attention high.
Only in this way can a performance review be interpreted as an engaging and sincere checkpoint to draw conclusions together.
3. Exercise positive reinforcement
They teach it in educational theories for children: positive reinforcement is the best way to make an individual feel appreciated and considered.
The perception of being appreciated stimulates engagement, automatically raises the bar of performance, and pushes you to do even more to confirm the first positive impression.
The manager who knows how to neglect the weaknesses of his resources, and relies on their virtues, obtains exceptional results in terms of engagement and productivity: the employees involved and motivated are more concentrated and more efficient, both in terms of quantity of work and quality.
Not only that: enhancing the real talent of resources favors the construction of an intelligent, fruitful and motivating path of growth, based on strengthening the strengths of each employee.
After all, what would have happened if they had said to Rafael Nadal : “We know you’re strong with the left. But the right does not work: work on that, or you will not grow! ”.