Managers can easily find themselves prioritizing business targets while overlooking how their teams feel.
Today’s leaders must be empathetic, communicative, and assertive. This is easier said than done, however.
Below is an overview of the vital role managers play in their employees’ engagement and productivity, as well as five actionable strategies for becoming a better manager.
Why is Effective Management Important?
When employees are engaged, organizational outcomes improve. Engaged employees know what’s expected of them at work, feel cared for and included, and are eager to learn and grow.
In short, they’re actively involved with their organizations, and enthusiastic about their role.
According to research from Gallup, managers are directly responsible for approximately 70% of the variance in employee engagement.
Gallup’s research shows that higher levels of engagement result in:
- 78% lower absenteeism
- 21% lower turnover
- 23% higher profitability
- 18% higher productivity in sales
- 10% higher customer loyalty
To become a more effective manager, it’s important to begin by understanding what factors have the biggest impact on employee motivation and engagement.
What do Employees Expect from Management?
Gallup shows that there are five key drivers of employee engagement:
- Purpose
- Development
- Ongoing conversations
- A focus on strengths
- Caring managers
Here’s an overview of each of these elements in greater detail:
Employees Want Purposeful Work
According to McKinsey, 70% of employees’ sense of purpose is strongly influenced by work.
Further, when employees say their work helps fulfill their purpose, the outcomes they report are between 2x to 5x higher than unfulfilled team members.
Despite this, 63% of employees want more opportunities to complete purposeful work.
Employees Want Development Opportunities
PWC reported in 2024 that approximately 28% of employees are planning on finding a new job in the new year—which is a higher number than in the “Great Resignation.”
While salary is definitely an important factor, it’s important to consider that today’s employees are after more than a paycheck.
When employees are provided with sufficient upskilling opportunities, they’re almost 2x less likely to be seeking employment elsewhere.
Employees Want Psychological Safety
Psychological safety is the ability to take interpersonal risks without fear of punishment. This is vital for open communication.
According to research from the Boston Consulting Group, employees who feel psychologically safe are:
- 3.9x more likely to stay with the company
- 3.3x more confident they’ll reach their potential
- 3.2x more likely to feel valued and respected
- 2.7x happier
- 2.1x more motivated
Ultimately, psychologically safe employees feel stronger inclusion.
Employees Want to be Appreciated
According to Gallup, appreciation is a low-cost high-impact way to increase engagement.
Further, the most memorable appreciation comes from their manager—even more impactful than appreciation that comes from executive leadership.
When employees feel unappreciated, they’re more than 2x more likely to seek employment elsewhere.
Employees Want Caring Managers
In a recent study, MIT Sloan Management Review discovered toxic culture is by far the strongest predictor of attrition and is 10x more important than compensation in predicting turnover.
Ultimately, employees want to feel cared for by their supervisors. If they feel like they’re being micromanaged or disrespected, they’re significantly more likely to be on the lookout for another position.
5 Ways to Become a Better Manager
Now that you’re aware of what employees are seeking in a manager, it’s vital to take practical steps to fulfill their needs.
Below are five ways to improve your management.
1. Take Time to Get to Know Your Employees
While there are several management principles that can be applied fairly universally, one of the best things you can do is ask your employees what they need from you.
Stress-free and informal conversations with your employees will make them feel like you care about them as people.
Getting to know your employees personally can help them feel more comfortable opening up and sharing their interests and strengths as well as their struggles.
It’s important that managers tailor work expectations and processes to employees’ needs and learning styles for the best outcome possible on both sides.
2. Communicate With Candor and Compassion
Candor can be uncomfortable, but it’s absolutely essential to effective management.
While you need to prioritize empathy in your communication, your team needs feedback to succeed.
“There’s a tendency to think that people don’t want feedback or they don’t like it or they’ll push back…” says Harvard Business School Professor and Teamraderie Advisor Amy Edmondson.
The problem with this mindset, she argues, is that when there’s a lack of feedback, people will fill that vacuum.
“With the absence of feedback, they spend way too much time wondering where they stand and ‘What do people think?’” says Edmondson. “And that gets in the way of their commitment to—and ingenuity around—doing the job well.”
Consider the following scenario: You’re frustrated with one of your employee’s lack of engagement during meetings. If you don’t engage in conversation with the employee about this issue, it’ll persist—and they might not have any clue there’s a problem.
In that situation, bringing it up months later or waiting until a performance review can cause your employees to wonder whether there’s anything else they’re doing wrong that they’re not aware of. This can create fear, which is the last thing you want.
Additionally, it’s possible that there’s a good reason your team member isn’t engaged—perhaps they’re overloaded with meetings or don’t understand why they’re needed at that meeting.
Ultimately, your team members need to know how they’re performing to feel safe. This is why candor is such a vital component of psychological safety.
3. Request Feedback and Take Action
While giving effective feedback through open communication is critical, it’s just as important to request feedback from your team.
Research from Gartner reveals that nearly half of employees don’t think their managers take feedback seriously. Only one-third of employees actually have confidence that their feedback will go anywhere.
There are two ways you can demonstrate that you value your employees’ feedback:
- Take direct action: If the idea has merit, explore it. Thank your team member for their contribution and take steps to implement their feedback.
- Find common ground: If you disagree with the feedback, express sincere appreciation anyway and try to find an area in which you agree while explaining why you have a different understanding.
In both situations, it’s vital to ensure that you’re genuinely thanking your team for their feedback.
If someone feels like their opinions are considered unintelligent or they’ll be punished for expressing their ideas, they’re not likely to speak up. This is why requesting and acting upon feedback is vital to cultivating psychological safety.
4. Cultivate Ownership, Not Blame
As a manager, it’s important to keep your team accountable. However, punishing employees isn’t the right way to go about doing this.
This is why Edmondson defines accountability as “psychological ownership.”
“Accountability is about inspiring people to do their very best to make progress,” says Edmondson. “It’s about being accountable for your part in achieving ambitious goals and accountable to each other. A kind of willingness to really show up, do your best, be honest, be engaged.”
When holding team members accountable, it’s important to ensure that you’re both clear on the goal of accountability: Restoration and improvement, not blame.
5. Take Care of Yourself
There’s often a much bigger emphasis on employee mental well-being than manager well-being, but managers struggle too.
Research shows that over 50% of managers feel burned out—which is greater than the number of employees who are burned out. It’s important to ensure you’re taking care of your mental well-being as well as your team’s.
If your company offers a generous vacation policy, don’t neglect it. If they offer wellness benefits, take advantage of them. The best way to support your employees’ mental health is to lead by example.
Take Your First Steps Towards Better Management
Learning how to become a better manager takes time. Leadership requires a willingness to encourage and build up those around you while accomplishing important work.
Take your first steps toward meaningful team connection through Teamraderie’s curated team experiences.
Teamraderie can help you take meaningful action to improve team dynamics through curated virtual expert-led workshops.
Click here to explore our extensive list of experiences.
