PrimeFocus™ Mini-Assessment: Complete the Self-Assessment
Change-Readiness Indicator: Complete the Assessment
Author: Primeast
Date: 07/30/2016
In the ultra-competitive economic environment in which we exist, an engaged workforce will become energized to move toward the common goal. It is not viable for leaders to coerce engagement – a more subtle approach is required to win the hearts and minds of the people that will ultimately drive organizational success.
By employing an influencing leadership style, the leader will engage employees to take action willingly and with energy. The question is how to engage an influencing leadership style to engage employees?
An engaged workforce raises the bar on multiple spheres of a business. Productivity and quality improves, and these are drivers of greater profitability.
The 2015 Walden University study “Leadership Strategies to Influence Employee Engagement in Health Care” identifies four leadership strategies that energize employee engagement – strategies that are equally relevant in all business sectors:
In other words, the leader needs to encourage greater interaction in the social environment, gain trust through meeting the expectations of his or her employees, and ultimately, encourage joint ownership of the responsibility of decision making. To meet these objectives, an influencing leadership style is a powerful technique.
Employees follow the influential leader because they want to do so, and not because they have to do so. It is not an obligation, but instead becomes a desire – a passion – to work toward the collective goal collaboratively. Indeed, passion is a key trait of the influential leader. Passion motivates and inspires, and helps rally a team to action. Six other traits of an influencing leadership style are:
Leadership today is the art of influencing others to achieve a collective result that could not be gained by individual action. Instruction is no longer a leadership solution. Strong leaders create an environment of desire and passion, a feeling in their people of the want to follow and not an obligation to follow.
Influential leaders instinctively know what needs to be done and think proactively. They are forward thinkers, seeing not problems but opportunities. They encourage engagement, collaboration, and improvement as they energize their employees’ ownership of the collective goals.
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