Leadership skills the need for the Top Management to Engage, Empathise and Encourage the workforce

According to John Kotter “Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there.”  Effective leaders not only regulate the future of the organization but also act as enablers of change in the system. Understanding employee’s motivation and soliciting their involvement in achieving the goal of the organization is the greatest quality of a leader. Empathizing, Engaging and Encouraging are the tools of involvement.  Empathy is often misunderstood with sympathy. It is a vital leadership competency for the success of the organization. Being empathetic is an ability to understand the needs of others and be mindful of their emotions and feelings. Putting oneself in someone else’s shoes help in experiencing the situation from their perspectives and increasing trustworthy interpersonal relationship and performance. Research evidence also supports to the fact that empathy in the workplace is positively related to job accomplishment. An empathetic leader with emotional connect can communicate at a different level with employees. It goes beyond professional relationship and develops long term bonding with them.  Daniel Goleman in his book “Emotional Intelligence” also emphasized on empathy. According to him, without empathy and effective relationship, smartness cannot be useful for organizational effectiveness. There are many examples where business leaders have truly embodied empathy as an integral part of their leadership behaviour. One such great example is Indian born Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft Corporation. The topmost companies having empathetic culture and scored highest in empathy index last many years are Facebook, Microsoft, Johnson and Johnson, Netflix, Southwest Airlines, LinkedIn, Unilever etc. Social media giant Facebook has been consistently ranked higher in creating an empathy culture. To cite few of the best practices across the world FMCG giant Procter and Gamble allows three months off periodically without pay but with continued benefit allowing employees to take time for personal needs. The innovative electric vehicle company Tesla as a part of its policy pays hundred percent of the direct plan cost for employee health plans.

Even if, there is no doubt that empathy is a critical driver of success for leaders across sectors and some companies are following it but, from DDI (Development Dimensions International) study, it is found out that only 40 % business leaders show strong empathy skills, which is alarming.

Engaging employees for better participation and overall performance is the need of the hour. Gone are those days when leaders used their supremacy to control employees for performance.  Its time now to create two-way commitment and communication between an organization and its members through trust and integrity. These are two pillars of employee engagement. Mental and emotional connection employees feel towards their job, peers, and organization, is defined as employee engagement. So engaged people go extra miles to work for the organization which is reflected through (OCB) organizational Citizenship Behaviour. Even if, organizations have understood the importance more now, but it dates back to 2004 when Gallup found strong linkage between employee engagement, customer loyalty, business growth, profit and organizational effectiveness. Gallup’s meta-analysis also present strong evidence that highly engaged work groups within companies outperform groups with lower employee engagement levels. Leaders orchestrate employee engagement in the organization by creating a culture of engagement. Developing a clear set of company values and inspiring people to be aligned with it, is the base of engagement in the workplace. Employees feel to be connected when they realise the existence of strong recognition programmes like promoting platforms of gratitude and appreciation, which gives them satisfaction of achieving milestones. Taking care of employee’s personal challenges and be realistic about promises made to them help in spreading positivity in the organization and develop commitment, loyalty, and ownership in them.

Being able to engage, having empathy should also be associated with the power of encouraging employees for better performance. It is possible by setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) goals for the employees. Clarifying the expectations, holding team members accountable and empowering them to do their best work for them. Open communication, continuous feedback system and positive work environment create transparency in the system and fosters encouragement. Employees feel happy when they get concrete feedback and specific action plans to be implemented. Support from their seniors in their career planning and opportunities of growth in the system encourage them more to be productive. Innovations and creativity are the requirements of the present situation. Employees should be allowed to make mistakes and encouraged to collaborate with peers to be successful in the organization.

Now last two years since Covid 19 is in pictures one question invariably comes can a leader who primarily managing his team members virtually can engage them and create a sustainable organisation without compromising profitability and employee wellness? There are different applications of AI which can actually map engagement level of employees and then using multiple tools such as gamification, using different digital platforms like social media.    

All said and done, the current VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complex and Ambiguous) world has created more challenges for leaders. They need to scan the environment and take actions to bring sustainability in the system. But at the same time, Empathizing, Engaging and Encouraging should not be compromised.  Sustainable employee performance is possible through cognitive readiness of leaders. They should be equipped with intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal preparedness to handle people in different situations to have sustainable performance. Understanding employee’s strength and areas of improvement, finding out ways and means for sustenance and growth is the continuous process. Creating sustainable performance in the organization is the responsibility of the leaders. They should have concerted attention towards helping people grow and remain energized at workplace, which is possible through sustainable work culture. As pointed out in the article “Creating sustainable performance” by Gretchen, Spreitzer and Christine Porath, in Harvard Business Review, thriving is the most important factor that supports sustainable individual and organizational performance. Thriving workforce is one where people are not only satisfied and productive but also engaged in creating meaningful future for themselves and for the organization.  Drafting and crating of this striving organization is the challenge for leaders but not impossible.

About the authors:

Dr Sarit Prava Das is Dean Academics & Professor HRM, ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai and Dr Snigdharani Mishra is HoD & Professor HRM, ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha