When the leaders of your construction company are disengaged, the entire team suffers. This not only increases turnover rate, but also negatively impacts company morale, work quality, and – ultimately – your bottom line. Making sure your management is engaged should be a top priority for your company.
It is often said that great people do not leave jobs, they leave managers. If your leaders are unhappy or disengaged, this dissatisfaction will eventually trickle down and affect their teams. However, the opposite is also true. If your managers are happy and engaged, that energy will also become apparent in their teams.
How can you foster happiness and engagement in your leadership?
- Create autonomy – When hiring or promoting people within your organization, the ultimate goal is to bring someone on who is capable of doing the work. Micromanaging your staff implies that you do not believe that they are adept or have the self-discipline to do their jobs effectively. Allow your leaders to manage themselves and encourage them to allow their teams to do the same. Be available for questions or feedback, but do not spend your day constantly checking in on productivity.
- Make mental health a priority – In today’s always-on world, many employees – particularly those in leadership positions – never truly leave the job. When a manager is checking email in the evenings and on weekends, their teams tend to do the same or at least feel the anxiety pass on to them. Having walking meetings outside, encouraging taking breaks, and eating lunch away from the desk is a great start. Encourage employees to actually use their vacation days.
- Invest in personal and professional development – Leaders and teams are stronger when they leverage individual talents for a common goal. One-size-fits-all training programs do not support this notion. Take the time to sit with each leader and set personalized learning goals for the year, then invest in programs that will help them excel. Encourage leaders to do the same with their teams. Whenever someone participates in a training program, have them present two or three key concepts that can help the full group.
Investing in the happiness and engagement of your leadership team has a cumulative effect throughout the entire organization. The end result will be more engaged employees, less absenteeism, and stronger retention rates.
Photo by Szilvia Basso on Unsplash
