Employee engagement is a crucial but difficult-to-obtain element in small business management. While engaged workers are more productive, innovative and collaborative, the stresses of a fast-paced job and a disconnect between the perspectives of leaders and their teams often make it impossible to keep employees on the same page.
On this episode of The Small Business Show, host Shyann Malone is joined by Chester Elton, executive coach, keynote speaker and bestselling co-author of “Leading with Gratitude: Eight Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Business Results.” Elton has dedicated his career to helping business owners and high-profile executives achieve success by teaching the rules of business management and the advantages of empathetic leadership. He has also conducted extensive research into employee engagement and the principles driving worker productivity. Now, he discusses strategies small businesses can follow to keep their teams on task, along with the importance of an “all-in” work culture.
Key Takeaways
1. An “all-in” culture is a work environment in which employees feel that their efforts matter and are celebrated.
2. Celebrating employee engagement with gratitude is a recurring theme in the stories of many successful organizations.
3. To encourage productivity, managers must lead by example, enable their workers through proper training and be a source of energy for their teams.
4. Hybrid or flexible work schedules may increase employee engagement if a business team’s synergy is struggling due to remote jobs.
5. Giving workers a purpose, such as contributing to a social cause, is a critical solution to low employee engagement.
"What employees are looking for, is they're looking for empathy, they're looking for the empathetic leader, and that's a huge shift." — Chester Elton