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Entrepreneur
6 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Here's What Most Leaders Get Wrong About Employee Engagement
While you're throwing money at perks and bonuses, your best employees are leaving because they're starving for something no paycheck can buy: purpose. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Only 21% of employees worldwide are engaged at work. Let that sink in. In today's workforce, more than half of employees (62%) feel disconnected from their work, while 17% report being actively disengaged. This isn't a motivation problem — it's a meaning problem. And it signals a critical opportunity for leaders to rethink how we create environments where people can thrive. Here's what's striking: It's not just about pay. Or perks. Or even flexible hours. According to the latest State of the Global Workplace report, 50% of employees are watching for or actively seeking a new job, and meaningful work is consistently among the top factors driving these decisions. This is where most leaders get it wrong. In today's workforce, culture is no longer a bonus — it's a baseline. The modern employee is asking: Does this work matter? Do I matter? If the answer isn't clear, they're already halfway out the door. Related: The Key to Employee Engagement Is Purpose. Here's Why — and How to Foster It in Your Workplace. The leadership clarity gap The disconnect between what leaders think drives engagement and what actually does is staggering. Research reveals that while most executives believe their organizations provide clear purpose, only about a third of employees experience that purpose in their daily work. This perception gap explains why so many well-intentioned engagement initiatives fail. In my own leadership journey, I've found that clarity isn't just a nice-to-have — it's everything. Leadership isn't about charisma or command; it's about being deeply grounded in your own values and purpose. When that happens, people don't need to be pushed, they're naturally pulled toward something meaningful. The manager connection Here's what I see too often: managers who want to lead well but were never given the tools. According to Gallup, 70% of team engagement comes down to the manager, but most have never had real training. So instead of leading with purpose, they're left guessing. And when managers are unclear, so are their teams. That's not just a statistic; it's a signal that we've prioritized the wrong things. If we want people to stay, grow, and contribute at a high level, we need to start by equipping the people we expect to lead them. From transactional to transformational The shift from transactional to transformational leadership doesn't require a radical overhaul, it starts with small, consistent actions grounded in purpose. I've seen teams change dramatically simply because a leader started having honest conversations, listening more deeply or sharing the "why" behind the work. The data reflects this: Employees who have meaningful check-ins with their managers are nearly four times more likely to be engaged. Those who feel their opinions matter are far more likely to bring their full selves to the work. But at the core, it's not about stats — it's about connection. Transactional leadership keeps people compliant. Purpose-driven leadership makes them come alive. Related: Workers Are Disengaged. Here's How Employers Can Win Them Back. Beyond the quarterly cycle One of the most revealing insights from my work with leadership teams is that engagement isn't primarily driven by compensation or even work conditions. The real differentiator is leadership clarity, the extent to which employees understand how their work contributes to something larger than themselves. This explains why so many well-compensated professionals still feel disconnected from their work. It's not about the paycheck; it's about the purpose. And purpose isn't something you can manufacture with team-building exercises or mission statements on the wall. It emerges from authentic leadership that connects daily tasks to meaningful outcomes. The path forward So, what does this mean for you? If you're a leader still relying on perks, pizza parties and performance bonuses to drive engagement, it's time to rethink your approach. Ask yourself: Do your people know why their work matters? Do they feel seen and heard? Do you? Purpose isn't a perk. It's your leadership advantage, the one thing competitors can't replicate. And in a world where disengagement is the default, leaders who get this right will be the ones who win. As workplace research makes clear, the great workplace shift isn't about resignation or quiet quitting. It's about purpose seeking its proper place. Leaders who recognize and respond to this fundamental human need won't just retain their teams, they'll unleash their full potential. Related: 5 Ways Employee Engagement Makes Your Company More Competitive The ripple effect Here's what happens when you get this right: Engaged employees don't just stay longer, they become your strongest advocates. They refer top talent, go the extra mile without being asked and create the kind of culture that competitors can't poach or replicate. I've watched organizations transform not through expensive restructures or flashy initiatives, but through leaders who finally understood that their people weren't looking for more benefits. They were looking for more meaning. The companies thriving in today's market aren't the ones with the best perks packages. They're the ones where Monday morning feels different because people wake up knowing their work matters. Where managers have real conversations instead of checking boxes. Where purpose isn't a poster on the wall, but a living, breathing part of how decisions get made. Every day you delay this shift, you're not just losing talent. You're losing the battle for the future of work itself. The leaders who act now, who choose connection over control and purpose over process, won't just survive the engagement crisis — they'll use it as their competitive advantage while everyone else is still wondering why their people keep leaving.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Four Pillars Essential To Work After Retirement
The colonnade and arches on the Stamford University campus, a 19th century building, Stanford ... More University, California, 1943. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) It is hard for many people to know when to retire. While I believe there is a shelf life for leaders, most of us struggle with letting go. Unless there is an early retirement incentive package with a deadline, there is often not a definite date to retire. For my monthly podcast 'Becoming a Sage,' I interviewed Dave Ulrich, the Rensis Likert Professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. He is the author of The Why of Work. We talked about how retirees miss the social aspect of working. His experience has informed him that 'retirees miss the people more than the work.' Yet even if we don't miss our day jobs, retirement can be uncomfortable because we often don't know what to do next. Ulrich described it this way: 'We thought the 60s and 70s would be an age of certainty, but it is an age of absolute uncertainty. The 20s are more certainty because you have a pattern of college, work, and life patterns.' He continued, 'Most [retired] The key is to be pulled into something meaningful rather than feel pushed out. The question becomes: What are we being pulled into? Since retirement and how we spend our time is personalized, it takes time and intentional thought to figure out what's next. In The Why of Work, Urich describes four Bs or pillars of why people work. Retirees, he argues, would be smart to know these pillars so they can replace them outside of work. We are not retiring from life, but we are moving onto something else. After you leave your career, you must go somewhere, but where are you going? Where will you belong, and what will you believe? Through my work, I've learned that fulfilling the next phase of life is not about being smart or having a lot of money. It is about being intentional with how you allocate your resources of time, energy, and money. And the most precious resource is time and where we put our attention. Several tools have helped me decide how to spend my time and attention. First, I evaluated my values to help me create a personal mission statement which I use as a sieve. When I am asked to do something that requires my time and attention, I drop the ideas into my 'sieve.' If they fit my values and mission statement, I am likely to agree to do them. If not, the sieve is there to block them. Second, I look for role models. I seek out people who are living a life in ways that is attractive to me. Then I ask myself, 'What is it about how they are spending their resources that interests me?' I may or may not know these role models, but I can learn a lot through observation. Urich said he has learned to stop chasing the uncertainty to focus on about what he is certain. He is certain, for instance, that he is 'committed to learning to grow.' His personal mission statement is: 'Learning that creates value for others.' He does this through his consulting, teaching, and writing. Then he asked me about what I was certain. I told him we were soul mates as my personal mission statement is: Continue to learn and share what I am learning with others. I do this through writing, a monthly podcast and newsletter, teaching, workshops, speaking, and coaching. I am certain about continuing to learn and grow. This requires me to be curious, proactive, and engaged. At heart, I am a seeker who learns by asking questions of others. For most of my life, I've been fortunate to have mentors and Sages from whom I have learned and I want to continue this pattern. When I asked Ulrich for his definition of legacy, he responded, 'Legacy is about certainty. Find certainty for yourself. Help people discover their certainty.' After people leave their jobs, Urich advises them to: Be safe. Become. Belong. Believe. In every presentation, he ends with this question: What is the best year of your life? His answer: If you follow the four Bs, the next 12 months will be the best.
