Implementing Robust Engagement Plans

Is your leadership's management philosophy stuck in the 1960s? Let's redefine it: Leadership by Being Engaged. The concept of "management by walking around" came from Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard (HP founders) in the 1960s, popularized by Tom Peters in 1982, and gets used today to describe what's missing in #remote work. "The expected benefit: by random sampling of events or employee discussions, managers are more likely to facilitate improvements to the morale, sense of purpose, productivity and and quality... compared to remaining in a specific office area, or the delivery of status reports." The literal concept doesn't work if your managers have people who are working in multiple locations, now the majority case. 60 to 80% of all "enterprise" company managers now have #distributed teams. 100% of Fortune 500 Execs have teams that are #distributed today, according to Atlassian (kudos Molly Sands, PhD). #RTO mandates rooted in this philosophy are trying to return to a world that no longer exists. Leaders need a both/and approach. Get employees together to jump-start #belonging, and build better #culture and #performance by being involved in the digital #collaboration tools that your teams use every day. Let's redefine a philosophy rooted in co-location into one for the #digital age. Four starting points for leaders looking to get digitally engaged: 🔸 Increase transparency. Internal transparency around clear goals and realistic progress against them drives focus on outcomes, and builds trust. 🔸 Get engaged in the work. Execs need to stop saying "Teams/Slack etc are for the kids; you'll find me in email" and get into the tools people use every day to work through account issues, project updates, and problem solving. 🔸 Participate in digital communities. Social forums at work build belonging. That cuts across everything from an Abilities ERG to Sneakerheads. Finding community at work boosts retention; even leaders need to find that. 🔸 Get a reverse mentor. Being available and engaged digitally can feel foreign as a leader, and initially scary to a team. Find a digital native in your organization who can coach you! What's your take? Retire the phrase, or revive an important concept?

𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞. 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐞—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞. I believed leadership meant setting direction and ensuring alignment. But over time—I’ve come to see that real leadership isn’t just about strategy. It’s about 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. That truth has never been more relevant than it is today. For the first time in modern history, 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞. It’s a leadership challenge few of us were trained for. 🔹 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (pre-1946): Still serving on boards; shaped by duty and discipline. 🔹 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 (1946–1964): ~12% of today’s workforce; value stability, loyalty, and legacy. 🔹 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝐗 (1965–1980): ~27%; independent, pragmatic, delivery-focused. 🔹 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 (1981–1996): ~34%; purpose-driven, collaborative, growth-oriented. 🔹 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝐙 (1997–2012): ~27%; inclusive, tech-native, values transparency. 🔹 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚 (post-2012): The emerging workforce—digital-first, fast-learning, entrepreneurial. These differences show up in how we work: → Senior leaders value hierarchy; Gen Z favors flat structures. → Boomers seek recognition; Gen X wants autonomy; Millennials want meaning; Gen Z asks, “𝘞𝘩𝘺?” → Gen Alpha? They're learning, building, and questioning earlier than ever. What feels like friction is often just generational dissonance. In a recent HBR piece, put it well: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.” That’s the shift we need as leaders: From uniformity → to personalization From authority → to empathy From legacy leadership → to 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 leadership I now ask myself not just, “Am I leading well?” but “Am I leading 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺?” Because when we adapt our style—not our standards—we help every generation contribute at their best. Great leadership today means adapting with intention and embracing what makes each generation thrive. 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Connecting individual roles to a broader organizational mission fosters engagement across all generations. 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Recognize and adapt to the preferred communication styles of each generation to enhance collaboration. 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Offering flexibility can address the diverse needs and expectations of a multigenerational team. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: Promote a culture of lifelong learning to support professional development for all age groups. What shift have you made to better lead across generations? #HarveysLeadershipRhythms #ThoughtsWithHarvey #ExecutiveLeadership #TheLeadershipSignal #GenerationalLeadership #LeadershipReflections #LeadWithIntention #MultigenerationalWorkforce #LeadershipCue #Mentorship

One of the most practically important insights in the research on leadership disengagement is also one of the most counterintuitive. Disengaged leaders are not primarily a performance problem. They are primarily a trust problem. This is the finding that shapes how I think about what organizations should do when they identify a leader who has withdrawn. The instinct, understandable, and often well-intentioned, is to clarify expectations, increase oversight, and create more formal accountability mechanisms. Sometimes that is necessary. But if trust between the leader and the organization has already eroded, those interventions often deepen the withdrawal rather than reversing it. The research is consistent on the relationship between trust and decision-making in leadership teams. When trust is high, leaders make decisions more readily, communicate more honestly, and implement with more commitment including decisions they were not fully consulted on. When trust is low, even technically correct decisions generate resistance, and the burden of every choice feels higher, reinforcing the decision fatigue that typically precedes disengagement. This creates a practical priority for any organization responding to leadership withdrawal: before escalating expectations or adding accountability measures, assess the state of the trust relationship. Is the leader receiving clear, honest, developmental feedback? Do they feel that their difficulties are understood rather than judged? Is there a genuine two-way relationship between them and their supervisors or one in which information flows upward and evaluation flows downward? The piece from Getting Smart frames this clearly. Addressing disengagement is not about calling leaders out. It is about creating conditions where re-engagement is possible. That distinction, in my experience, is the difference between an intervention that works and one that accelerates the departure it was trying to prevent. #TrustInLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #OrganisationalTrust #ReEngagement #LeadershipResearch

Small leadership actions have a massive impact on employee engagement and turnover rates, yet they are often underestimated. When leaders take the time to connect with their teams in meaningful ways—through clear communication, recognition, and purposeful support—they ignite a sense of belonging and motivation that drives performance and retention. Research shows that focusing on these small but powerful leadership behaviors can lead to remarkable improvements: Employees with role clarity are 53% more efficient and 27% more effective 📄 https://lnkd.in/eV39kAyK Only 46% of employees strongly know what's expected of them (down from 56% in 2020) 📄 https://lnkd.in/eJrFEZft Regular, authentic recognition fosters employee well-being and loyalty, decreasing costly burnout and absenteeism For leaders, this means that investing in simple, consistent actions like setting clear expectations, showing genuine appreciation, and linking daily work to a larger purpose isn't just "nice to have"—it's essential for building resilient, high-performing teams. In today's fast-changing work environment, where employees face disruption and uncertainty, these leadership micro-steps create the stability and connection needed to thrive. How are you incorporating small leadership actions into your day-to-day? What changes have you seen when you do? The power to boost engagement and reduce turnover is in your hands—one small step at a time. #wellbeing #work #workplacewellbeing #HR #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #leadershipskills #talentdevelopment #workforce #burnout #burnoutprevention #mentalhealth

We tend to attribute motivation to individual mindset — discipline, ambition, resilience. But research tells a different story. A new research by Adam Grant and Marissa Solomon Shandell argues that work is inherently social. The people we compete with, collaborate with, and show up for may be the most underrated driver of our performance. Here are a few insights from the study: Rivalry sharpens focus: Competing against someone with whom you share history is more motivating than abstract competition. In professional sports, teams consistently outperform in playoffs when their closest rival had a strong prior season. Low expectations can be a catalyst: In one study, “underdogs”, those told they weren’t expected to succeed were significantly more likely to reach optimal outcomes in negotiations, driven by the desire to prove others wrong. Helping colleagues pays dividends: A meta-analysis of over 51,000 employees found that time invested in supporting others contributes as much to performance reviews and promotions as individual output quality. Knowing who you serve amplifies effort: In a field experiment, university fundraisers who spent just 10 minutes with a scholarship recipient increased their call time by 142% and raised 171% more funds. Your environment shapes your output: Research at a tech firm found that sitting near a high performer increased a colleague’s productivity by 13% and reduced unresolved tasks by nearly 17%. It is important to recognize that relationships are a performance variable, not just a cultural nuance. Beyond managing your to-do list, be intentional about your who list, the rivals who push you, the people who benefit from your work, and the colleagues you surround yourself with daily.

The best leaders don’t just delegate tasks. They delegate visibility. Some leaders believe their role requires being the face of every meeting, every announcement, every panel, every partnership. But the most impactful leaders know when to take the back seat. Because leadership isn’t proven by how often you take the mic. It’s proven by how confidently your people can speak without you. A true hallmark of leadership is this: You don’t just hold the spotlight. You help others stand in it. And when leaders don’t hoard visibility but develop and distribute it across their teams, something powerful happens: Teams strengthen. Voices diversify. Engagement increases. Innovation expands. And the organization becomes far more resilient than any single leader could ever be alone. If you’re committed to building leaders, not followers, here are a few ways to start: 1️⃣ Identify who’s ready for more visibility. Look for teammates who show initiative, emotional intelligence, and curiosity not just the loudest or the most seasoned. 2️⃣ Create safe practice environments. Internal meetings, cross-functional updates, and low-stakes presentations are perfect training grounds before the higher-stakes moments. 3️⃣ Invest in communication capability, not just competency. Provide coaching, speaker development, storytelling frameworks, and opportunities to rehearse. Confident communication is taught, not assumed. 4️⃣ Let them represent the team in real ways. Pass the mic. Share the panel. Let them give the client update, lead the town hall, or deliver the cross-department briefing. 5️⃣ Don’t just elevate talent, equip them. Visibility without preparation creates anxiety. Visibility with support creates leaders. Because the goal isn’t for you to be the only one who can communicate the mission with clarity and conviction. The goal is to build a team full of people who can. That’s leadership. That’s delegating accountability not just responsibility. That’s how we thrive together. This week inside my Let’s Thrive Together newsletter here on LinkedIn we’re spotlighting a leader that does this so well. Subscribe to join the conversation. Keep leading & keep thriving! ❤️📈 These photos are from our Career Thrivers Rise & Thrive Advancing Women Leaders Intensive, three days of equipping emerging leaders with the communication, confidence, and clarity they need to own their story, speak with influence, and navigate their careers with intention.

According to Gallup’s 2024 Global Workplace Report, global employee engagement declined to 21% and only 23% of employees are actively engaged at work 🙊 Does this narrative sound familiar? Here are some possible causes and what leaders can do about it. 🧳 Clarity is missing: People can’t deliver what they don’t fully understand. Action: Define outcomes, not activities. Frame success in clear, measurable terms. 🧳 Control is mistaken for accountability: Micromanagement kills ownership. Action: Empower. Give people the what and the why and let them own the how. 🧳 Recognition is inconsistent: OC Tanner’s 2024 Global Culture Report found that 37% of employees cite lack of recognition as their top reason for disengagement. Action: Recognise effort as well as outcomes. 🧳 Disconnection is rising: Hybrid and remote work blurred relationships. Without real connection, even good work feels transactional. Action: Build moments of human contact into the rhythm of work. 🧳 Purpose has faded into metrics: When everything becomes a number, meaning gets lost. Action: Help employees see how their contribution connects to impact customers, communities, and one another. People don’t disengage because they want less responsibility. They disengage because they no longer feel seen, trusted, or valued. Leaders who create clarity, autonomy, recognition, connection, and purpose don’t just get more done, they build teams that want to do more. #Leadership #EmployeeEngagement #Empowerment #Motivation #WorkplaceCulture #HumanLeadership #PeopleLeadership #Performance #FutureOfWork

How can we create a multi-generational customer experience strategy? The customer base today is not one generation, it’s five. And each generation brings a different definition of what “experience” means. ● Baby Boomers and Gen X value trust, familiarity, and human interaction. ● Millennials prioritize speed, convenience, and consistency. ● Gen Z demands personalization, purpose, and authenticity. ● Gen Alpha expects immersion, intuition, and instant gratification. So how do you build an ecosystem that works for all? 𝟭. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀 Each generation navigates your brand differently. Don’t build experiences around age, build them around behaviors. Understand what motivates action, what frustrates users, and what they value most. Then build modular journeys adaptable enough to flex between high-touch human support and seamless digital interactions. 𝟮. 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗲. A Gen X who uses WhatsApp to shop has more in common with a GenZ-digital native than you think. Data should reveal how people behave, not just who they are. 𝟯. 𝗕𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘄����𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵. Technology can deliver speed and scale, but emotion creates connection. While Gen Z loves automation, every generation still values empathy. The winning formula is when your AI systems understand intent, and your people understand emotion. 𝟰. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. CX is not a one-time project; it’s a living ecosystem. The moment your data, teams, and technology stop learning your experience stops growing. 𝟱. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. In Saudi Arabia, customer experience is deeply tied to trust, community, and shared progress. Multi-generational strategies thrive when they reflect local values not just global best practices 𝟲. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 
Some customers want a chatbot while others want a person. Some want self-service and others want a relationship. Offer choice and let the customer decide. If your CX strategy focuses on only one of these generations, you’re already losing another. We must as companies connect generations, not divide them, understanding that experience is universal, but the path to it is personal. #CustomerExperience #DigitalTransformation #CX #Customer #business

What if instead of always TALKING about our intergenerational world of work, we actually DID something to help intergenerational teams thrive? 🤔 I'm often pulled into conversations about multigenerational teams and how they're having a hard time functioning. I read about generational mismanagement every. single. day. I see clickbait headlines about how difficult it is to work with Gen Z. I read story after story about how tough it is to navigate differences with older generations. I get stopped after presentations and get messages in my DMs about how people—managers, people leaders, employees, interns, senior leaders—need REAL help. So, instead of constantly talking about intergenerational workplaces and hoping that acknowledgment is enough, let's actually do something to make sure our teams thrive. Here are a few ideas ⬇️ ✅ Reimagine onboarding to focus on employee retention Onboarding processes should involve the utmost transparency and clear communication in order to establish a foundation of trust. Providing regular feedback and communication channels for every employee, new and seasoned, to engage with processes, programs, and decisions is crucial to productive intergenerational work. You could incorporate "Working with" documents, feedback maps, and quarterly/cadence-based norms setting with your team. ✅ Start an intergenerational Employee Resource Group (ERG) I just spoke with a new connection about how she's been steering an intergenerational ERG at her public (!) sector workplace for the past three years. Through a combination of socials and professional development opportunities, team members across all generations are able to share knowledge, learn from each other, understand each other more fully, and participate in meaningful exchanges in a professional setting. More intergenerational ERGs, please! ✅ Adopt channels for reverse mentorship and inclusive leadership structures Establishing a culture where every team member is valued for their unique contributions and insight, regardless of their title, is critical to ensuring an intergenerational team thrives. Consider areas (onboarding, project management/development, professional development) where an individual's strengths lend themselves well to teaching, mentoring, facilitating, or adopting. Ask yourself ➡️ What kinds of built-in mechanisms already exist for this structure to be successful? What needs to change? What can we audit? Intergenerational work isn't going anywhere, so we better DO something about it rather than just surface the same conversations ☕

The hardest lesson I learned while running two online platforms and juggling teams in Accra and Lagos? “I don’t have time” is leadership’s costliest lie. I used to tell myself that regular check-ins could wait until “things calmed down.” They never did. Projects piled up, assumptions multiplied, and motivation wobbled, until I finally built an approach that helped me see (and serve) each person, not just the to-do list. ⫸ 80 % of employees who receive meaningful feedback each week are fully engaged, regardless of where they work. Only 16 % say their last manager conversation hit that mark. ⫸ Engagement isn’t an ad-hoc pep talk. It’s a rhythm. The leaders who select and honor that rhythm drive higher productivity and lower turnover. What I built (and turned into a toolkit) Employee Engagement Toolkit → https://vist.ly/3n5xvjy A plug-and-play Google Sheet Database (fully editable or transferable into your own tools) with: ⇒ One-on-one tracker – prompts, action items, space for follow-up dates. ⇒ Strengths & motivators tracker – so assumptions don’t run the show. ⇒ Recognition & feedback log – because praise that lands is specific and timely. ⇒ Pulse-check dashboard – quick color-coded view of energy, workload, and blockers. ⇒ Conversation starters & coaching cues – to turn “How’s it going?” into dialogue that matters. Think of it as a starter kit you customize to fit your context, nothing complicated or expensive, just a repeatable framework that keeps people (and their work) visible. If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “I’m sure they’ll want X, Y, Z,” without actually confirming it, this toolkit is for you. I built it for a client who wanted to move from reactive firefighting to intentional engagement, and I added it to the Leadership Shop because I wish I had it years ago. Question for you: What’s one small habit you use to keep engagement from slipping through the cracks? - - - - - - - - 👋🏿 Hi, I’m Akua! ⭐ Leadership, Culture & Transformation Advisor and creator of the Leadership Shop. 🗓️ This week, join me as I share a bit more of the behind-the-scenes of my business. Don’t miss my Ask Me Anything LinkedIn Live on Friday, June 6th. See you there!