Simple. Because leadership hasn’t.
According to GALLUP, managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement. Yet many leaders continue doing the same things, expecting different results. That’s not just ineffective, it’s textbook insanity.
Here are three Wicked Truths behind stagnant engagement scores:
- Accountability Avoidance: Getting leaders to admit that low engagement is their responsibility is tough. Excuses abound, and finger-pointing is the default. Without self-awareness, nothing changes. And if nothing changes…nothing changes.
- Results Over Relationships: Most leaders are rewarded for outcomes, not for how they achieve them. This creates a culture where engagement is optional (and often ignored) in favor of short-term performance.
- Disconnected Development: Traditional leadership training sharpens core skills but rarely teaches leaders how to link and sync those skills in ways that foster engagement and drive sustainable results.
So What’s the Fix?
- Build Self-Awareness: Leaders must go beyond DISC profiles and 360 evaluations. They need to own their engagement scores and understand what those scores reveal about their leadership.
- Redefine Performance Metrics: Leadership evaluations should reflect not just what was achieved, but how it was achieved, including the engagement levels of the teams they lead.
- Train for Connection, Not Just Competence: Provide coaching that helps leaders integrate their skills in ways that inspire, empower, and engage. That’s how you build momentum that lasts.
Sounds simple? It’s not. If it were, engagement scores would be soaring. Instead, many leaders shrug, disengagement festers, and consultants keep writing blogs like this one.
And that’s the Wicked Truth.