Are you struggling with securing the full engagement of your employees? In today and tomorrow’s Advisor, experts Aaron K. Olson and B. Keith Simerson, Ed.D., provide a clear, 3-step pathway for boosting leadership success.
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Olson is chief talent officer at Aon plc, a global firm specializing in risk management and human resources, and Simerson provides consultation, executive coaching, and leadership development in the areas of strategy formulation and execution. They are co-authors of the book Leading with Strategic Thinking: Four Ways Effective Leaders Gain Insight, Drive Change, and Get Results.
Few leaders can be successful if they are alone in championing their goals; ideas—particularly big ideas—need a broad coalition of support. Strategic leaders are aware of this and take intentional efforts to secure buy-in, commitment, and advocacy from their most important stakeholders.
The approach we outline in our book Leading with Strategic Thinking (John Wiley & Sons: 2015) is simple and straightforward. In short, we recommend that you take steps to win the hearts, engage the minds, and leverage the hands of your followers (i.e. your employees).
Winning Their Hearts
It is important that employees put their “hearts” into what they are being asked to do and accomplish. It is through their hearts that they will have the internal desire to go above and beyond what will be required of them. Commitment generates internal drive that will help employees embrace the uncertainty and ambiguity typically associated with change, as well as counter the pressures and stresses being exerted by others who are more resistant.
Since most people have full lives with responsibilities and obligations outside of their career, a clear sense of purpose and a personal commitment to a goal will help them prioritize multiple and frequently competing commitments.
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To win the hearts of others, we encourage turning the spotlight on them. You must give individuals the opportunity to contribute to a cause they consider to be important and essential, in a way they consider to be right, just, and fair. You should allow them to participate in a manner they consider to be significant and meaningful. As their leader, you can accomplish this by doing the following:
- Involve employees when making decisions. Ask them about the what, how, when, and where of the plan. Ask them for input on what to focus on, the best way to move forward, or what support they will need to effectively contribute.
- Include employees throughout the entire process. Include them in conversations at the front end so they can help you firm up or refine an idea. Include them at key stages so they can help strengthen or enhance your technology, systems, and processes. Include them at the back end so they can help you identify ways to improve subsequent iterations.
These actions provide concrete ways to win the hearts of your employees by involving them in decisions, bringing them into the process, and taking action on what you hear.
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Engaging Their Minds
It is important for followers/employees to apply their “minds” to what they are being asked to do and accomplish. It is through intellectual engagement that they will apply the knowledge required to accomplish critical tasks. Such engagement will enable them to think about and reflect on what they are doing, encouraging them to investigate ways of doing it more effectively and efficiently.
Engagement will allow employees to recognize the risks and costs of failing to do what is necessary, and to understand the nature and importance of their contribution to the greater good. It also gives them the insights they need to continuously improve systems, processes, and technologies to support the broader plan.
It’s important that your employees possess the right knowledge to contribute to your strategy and to properly strengthen the mechanisms necessary to drive outcomes. To this end, you should help them be confident that they have the capability and fortitude to do so. You should emphasize knowledge areas critical for individual, team, and organizational success.
You should also be able to recognize when individuals and teams don’t have the knowledge and expertise they need, and take steps to mitigate or reduce that risk. You should celebrate and share lessons you’ve learned so they can be adopted and applied throughout the organization or community.
You should role model the correct application of knowledge and react properly when mistakes occur. You should encourage them to do things for the right reasons, not from their own perspective, but rather from that of others.
In tomorrow’s Advisor, Olson and Simerson present the final, crucial step in the process: leveraging your employees’ hands.