It is estimated that there are approximately 130 million managers in the world, executives and leaders who manage more than 1.3 billion full-time employees. As I wrote in my previous post “Great Managers“, “Almost all the problems and achievements of an organization can be linked to the quality of its managers”. I also wrote that, according to Gallup research, managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement. Therefore, the figure of the manager or team leader is of vital importance. Furthermore, in today’s complex environment, managers experience more stress and burnout than the people who work on their teams.
Motivating and getting the commitment of managers is very important in today’s management. Well, if we don’t have a really motivated and committed manager, it will be difficult (if not impossible) to get a really committed team. And in this sense, the current situation is really worrying. Today ONLY 20% OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES WORLDWIDE ARE ENGAGED IN THEIR WORK. And this data is a huge drag because it is necessary to have high levels of commitment to improve productivity, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. These low levels of commitment are worrisome at an economic level because they slow down not only the growth of your organization, but also the total global productivity.
What if every company in the world could double actual employee engagement from 20% to 40%? If we really achieve significant increases in workers’ commitment, productivity will skyrocket, and the economic and social situation of the countries would improve dramatically.
Having the right managers with a high level of involvement is essential. And in this sense, the leader’s primary mission should be to maximize the potential of each team member, create high collaboration, and drive team success with clients. To do this, Gallup offers some interesting and useful tips:
- Accept that the world has changed. Gallup has found that everyone wants a good job. This is especially true for millennials and even more so for Gen Z. They really want to learn and grow. Therefore, one of the main challenges you have as a manager and leader is to help your team learn and grow.
- Stop “managing” your team and move on to “coaching” your team. And by coaching I mean to help them grow, to motivate them, to coach them so that they can improve their results.
- Following the idea of the previous point, it is also highly recommended that you implant the habit of having a meaningful coaching conversation per week with each member of your team. Schedule time to talk with them, to listen to them, and to discover their talents and motivations. These weekly conversations can be in person, over the phone, email, Zoom, in a cafe, or standing in the hallway.
I am fully convinced that if you try to help your team learn and grow, if you stop controlling and managing them, if you coach them and above all, dedicate quality time to talking with them at least once a week, you will totally transform your team and your organization. In today’s situation, we need leaders who know how to bring out the best in each of the members of their team.
Because as the writer T. Harv Eker said, “Helping people grow and achieve their dreams is the fastest route to success; both theirs and yours.“
