Engaged Leadership: Building a Culture to Overcome Employee Disengagement, 2nd Edition

Motivational Leadership

The vision of the organization has been established. You've encouraged your engaged employees to influence those who are disengaged. Employees know how they contribute to the success of the organization and are driven by consequences that will inspire them to be successful. You've prepared them for the improvements that will come as a result of your enhanced vision, and you're keeping them informed of their progress. A culture of employee engagement is developing.

As this culture takes shape, some employees will choose to leave. They may not like the new direction, there may be too much change, or their values simply don't work with the new vision. It's expected some employees will leave for those reasons, as well as other legitimate reasons. Some leave for more money, while some simply move away. Some choose to leave the workforce to raise children, while some want to follow their entrepreneurial inclinations.

These are all acceptable reasons to lose an employee. But the vast majority of employees don't leave for those reasons. In fact, the vast majority don't leave companies. They leave bosses. They were unhappy with how they were treated, or they didn't feel their work was appreciated. In a nutshell, they left because they weren't motivated to stay.

Seldom will an employee say they're leaving because of a lack of motivation. Any time a friend or colleague ...