The Importance of Leadership in Times of Change

The best leaders are able to provide opportunities for growth by aligning employees’ individual interests with the group’s purpose, which is why the importance of leadership is a matter that should be discussed in any organization.

This stems from, first and foremost, the understanding of their employees. Talent Academy recognises the importance of the employee experience within a company, and our main focus is to tackle the possible leadership setbacks to increase eNPS, collaborator satisfaction and reduce turnover.

Through our self-knowledge and people analytics tools, we improve leadership through the promotion of professional development with engagement, connection, and purpose.

Why should leaders care about the employee experience?

Before thinking about achieving a goal, one must firstly deal with boosting employee engagement. Disengaged employees create drawbacks in organizations, whilst corporations with high engagement noticeably excel.

By focussing on present work, individuals consequently boost productivity and the company is one step closer to achieving the intended end. Even if tasks get robotically and enthusiastically executed when employees follow instructions, the results are not beneficial in the long run, which is why motivation and ambition are essential.

Is there such a thing as the “best type of leader” profile?

Motivation through providing monetary rewards (paycheck), a mechanical and simplistic manner of somewhat aligning interests to the objective, handles human beings like automated machines rather than considering their complex nature.

Humans respond to “love, prestige, independence, achievement and group membership”, and when these are disregarded in a company, they do not input maximum efficiency into tasks.

A whooping global 84% of employees are just “coming to work” rather than being fully committed, states a July 2018 ADPRI study. This is why having a military-style leader whose motivating device is reward and punishment is not effective.

For the contemporary leadership role, being sensitive, looking for issues that interfere in people’s lives, and knowing how to deal with problems in a simple manner is fundamental, and reflects directly on the team’s engagement.

Studies by Talent Academy

Studies by Talent Academy found that these features are brought into the work environment through a more natural manner by people with Creative Personality, which are individuals that, despite being apt in solving problems in a practical manner, also show empathy and compassion for others and possess multiple interests, tend to be curious, and embrace new ideas.

However, many of the qualities important to leadership can be developed, so there is no ideal or definite profile that leaders should always aim to mirror.

Pragmatists, being naturally logical, have much to contribute to the leadership role in relation to technical teams, for instance, which require analytical leadership. It is important that one does not create a negative view of any type of profile or personality, as all of them are essential for building diverse teams rich in cognitive skills.

People with the same characteristics and abilities will have the same perception of scenarios and will reach very similar results. Consequently, not only are innovation and diversity within organizations absent, but the team is also negatively affected, as there is no enriching exchange of experiences and lessons between people.

What factors affect employee engagement and how can I, as a leader, improve them?

Worker disengagement may be due to a wide array of causes, ranging from lack of flexibility to stagnation, poor communication to inadequate pay. The point is, all of these are intertwined to leadership style, since leaders are directly related to employee engagement, having up to 70% of influence in organizational results.

Thus, the engagement of employees is also related to external factors and not only individual motivation of the team. A leader should develop relationships with people in the corporation, but the employees should also have a positive relationship between themselves, as being in a team increases productivity.

According to a 2018 ADP Research Institute study, employees in a team are “2.3 times more likely to be fully engaged than those who are not”. This can be confirmed through the discrepancies between team and non-team companies seen across countries: in the United States 11% non-team employees are fully engaged, versus the 19% of team employees that are fully engaged.

Another factor, also related to teamwork, that also leads to disengagement is companies only measuring performance on an individual level. If employees notice that a system rewards egoism rather than collaboration, it may lead to finding shortcuts, such as spreading out their workload over a longer period of time rather than taking up new tasks. This mentality can be reversed if leaders promote shared values and purpose, rewarding team output instead.

This is why Talent Academy analyzes every employee’s mapped profile, examining their personal motivations and interests, and relates it to the entire team’s overall purpose, understanding the need for diversity of profiles with various areas of strength within a company.

How has the pandemic affected the workplace?

The pandemic has changed most, if not all, sectors of society, and the corporate world is no exception. The impact is noticeable and has led to a divergence in output, given that, as mentioned previously in this article, relations and wellbeing are hugely important factors for humans in their everyday workplace.

According to the report State of the Global Workplace by Gallup researched in 142 countries, employee engagement fell from 22% in 2019 to 20% in 2020 – revealing a direct reflection of the pandemic.

This is also noticed by the employees themselves, with more than 80% of respondents of a survey by American management consulting company McKinsey & Company stating that the early wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their daily work lives.

Of course, every person’s experiences differ, but in their study, they found that employees working remotely are more engaged than those in inflexible non-remote jobs.

With life beginning to return to normalcy in 2021, and the possibility of both online and on-site work, there is an opportunity for companies to improve the employee experience by respecting individual differences, listening to the workforce’s needs, and being more dynamic, whilst adapting to the changing landscape.

Technological and analytical advancements allow leaders to better understand the support that their fellow employees require, and build a foundation of trust with them. Being an empathetic and present leader is critical during this time.

Since each person is impacted differently by the COVID crisis, with some having difficulties and some having prosperous gains, seek to tailor individual ways to help them have the best employee experience possible and improve their wellbeing.

By Rafaella Liaw

Contact Talent Academy

growth@talentacademy.us