Stop saying "Managing." Say "Coaching."

According to a recent study, only 20% of employees are engaged in their work. This exposes some major flaws in the current mentality governing HOW employees are engaged.

A study conducted by Gallup revealed a startling truth: only "20% of full-time employees worldwide are engaged in their work." This statistic prompts a crucial question about global productivity. What could be achieved if employee engagement were raised to 50% or even 80%? While these figures might be difficult to fathom, they shed light on significant shortcomings in the prevailing approach to fostering employee engagement.

Only 20% of full-time employees worldwide are engaged in their work.

When CEOs and managers seek to enhance employee engagement, their strategies often gravitate towards reward-based systems. Traditionally, perks like free meals, raffles, and office coffee machines have been the go-to options. Although these measures can bring some immediate improvements and motivate staff, they frequently provide only fleeting boosts to morale. The real challenge lies in sustaining high employee engagement over the long haul. Jim Clifton, the chairman and CEO of Gallup, aptly states, "there is little to no connection between these activities (providing perks) and mental health outcomes (reduced stress and burnout), let alone connections to customers and shareholders."

Typically, the responsibility of maintaining employee engagement rests on the shoulders of company managers. Yet, as evidenced above, the existing approaches fall short of their desired effectiveness. Notably, Gallup's research also reveals that managers tend to experience higher stress and burnout compared to their subordinates. This raises a vital question: How can a company elevate employee engagement without overwhelming its managers?

The solution hinges on redefining the manager's role and refining their training. Upon studying the practices of the most successful managers, Gallup found that they excel in coaching rather than merely directing. It's a concept of elegant simplicity that carries profound implications. Just as every accomplished sports team thrives under the guidance of an exceptional coach who knows how to keep players engaged, so too should managers embrace the role of developers. Clifton aptly points out that managers must learn to "cultivate individuals in the same way a winning coach nurtures exceptional players and teams in sports—by leveraging their strengths and mitigating their weaknesses." With this insight, the question remains: How can this pivotal shift be successfully enacted?

Key Takeaways

Gallup leaves us with 5 advice points on how to do it:

1. Embrace the "learn and grow" mentality that the workforce is yearning for.
2. Make it known that you are changing company culture. Let employees know that you want to move from "administrating teams" to "coaching teams."
3. Define the change precisely. Develop a "culture mission statement" to give employees a clear picture of how they're going to be managed.
4. Center questions and conversations around "goals". This keeps employees focused on what they are trying to accomplish and how their current performance stacks up against their desired outcome.
5. Know that you are going to have to coach your managers on how to be coaches. This sounds silly, but just because you announce the fact that you are changing mentalities from directing to coaching, doesn't mean that your current managers know the difference. Plan on helping them develop a coaching mentality and giving them the tools to maintain it.

Empower your managers to become effective coaches. A good coach needs to stay continually engaged with their employees, drawing out their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses. If you're looking for an application to facilitate engagement, request a demo from our friends at Performance Scoring. Performance Scoring has a dynamic performance engagement and meeting management app helps managers keep track of how their employees are doing and how they are stacking up against the goals set for them.

Coaching may not be easy, but it's the key to successful employee engagement.