The Role of Leadership in Driving Employee Engagement

 

The Role of Leadership in Driving Employee Engagement

Leadership serves as the key element which determines the level of employee engagement that organizations achieve. The engagement framework exists through HR policies and reward systems and organizational structures and through leadership behavior actual employee experiences emerge from these systems. Leaders establish the essential elements of psychological safety and meaningfulness and support which Kahn (1990) identified as essential for employee engagement. Engagement develops through leadership functions which operate as strategic tools that organizations use to implement and sustain their engagement initiatives.

Transformational leadership remains the most effective method for increasing employee engagement in organizations. Bass (1985) describes transformational leaders who motivate followers by showing them an appealing vision while providing them with intellectual challenges and delivering customized support. The leadership style develops internal motivation through its strong connection to Herzberg's (1959) recognition and achievement motivational factors. The research demonstrates that transformational leadership directly enhances employee engagement through its impact on trust building and empowerment and the atmosphere of organizational support which employees perceive (Saks, 2006). Transformational leaders build motivation through their establishment of significant objectives while they create chances for participation and innovation by their guidance to their followers.

The leadership style of transactional leadership employs performance-based rewards and corrective measures to control employee behavior while maintaining performance standards (Burns, 1978). The transactional system provides organizations with advantages which maintain operational effectiveness and establishes employee roles yet it falls short of achieving the dedication needed for employees to reach maximum engagement levels. The practice of transactional leadership cannot be completely disregarded because it possesses valuable functions. The performance-based sectors need clear expectations and defined rewards to achieve their goals through engagement development. The research indicates that leadership effectiveness requires contextual evaluation because it does not operate as an absolute method.

The leadership behavior of an organization determines whether employee engagement creates a continuous competitive edge for the organization according to the strategic HRM perspective. Engaged employees become essential organizational resources because they represent highly valuable resources which organizations cannot duplicate according to the Resource-Based View (Barney, 1991). The leadership practice of continuous authentic leadership establishes requirements for employees to achieve their engagement goals yet this practice fails to deliver authentic organizational engagement. Microsoft has transformed its leadership development process by using growth mindsets and inclusive leadership methods to enhance international team engagement at its global offices. The leadership philosophy of an organization operates in accordance with its organizational culture through these particular methods.

The evaluation of leadership effectiveness needs to take global contexts into account when assessing its impact. The cultural dimensions of a society determine how people expect authority figures to act and how they want to take part in activities. High power-distance cultures accept directive leadership as valid and reassuring while low power-distance cultures foster better engagement through participative leadership (Hofstede, 2001). The acceptance of particular leadership methods depends on three main factors which include institutional differences and labor market conditions and socio-economic background. The assumption that transformational leadership exists across all multinational organizations faces a major challenge. 

The current focus on inspirational leadership may work to hide the fundamental structural limitations which exist within an organization. The financial pressures and digital surveillance systems and shareholder expectations of the organization restrict leaders from choosing employee wellbeing as their main concern. The organization demonstrates engagement through its language yet the conflicting elements of operational processes create doubt about the real intentions which managers want to achieve.

The role of leadership establishes the fundamental path which leads employees to use their extra working time in delivering their maximum performance at their jobs. Engagement leadership needs to achieve context-specific results which must match the strategic goals of the organization through its process of establishing employees into their roles from whom workers receive direct guidance.

Reference List

Barney, J. (1991) ‘Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage’, Journal of Management, 17(1), pp. 99–120.

Bass, B.M. (1985) Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. New York: Free Press.

Burns, J.M. (1978) Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.

Herzberg, F. (1959) The Motivation to Work. 2nd edn. New York: Wiley.

Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. 2nd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Kahn, W.A. (1990) ‘Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work’, Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), pp. 692–724.

Saks, A.M. (2006) ‘Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(7), pp. 600–619.