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In 2024, Gallup reported that low worker engagement is costing U.S. corporations an estimated $1.9 trillion in misplaced productiveness. The message is obvious: The way you interact your crew is not nearly morale — it is about efficiency, retention and long-term progress.
Early in my profession, I did not suppose a lot about employee engagement. To be sincere, I did not count on a lot from my employers both. My mindset was easy: Work arduous, ship outcomes, receives a commission, get promoted. That was the implicit contract. Effort and time in trade for cash and energy. It was the Nineties, and that was thought of regular, particularly on the planet of enterprise software program gross sales.
There is a well-known line from Mad Males the place Don Draper responds to a subordinate’s request for appreciation with: “That is what the cash is for.” It captures a sure mindset of management — outcomes over relationships, management over connection.
I lived that mindset for years.
However over time, as I rose via the ranks and led bigger groups, I began to note one thing: I used to be not motivated simply by cash. Throughout my years at Citrix, the motto, per our CEO Mark Templeton, turned: “Work arduous, play arduous, get outcomes and have enjoyable doing it.” I needed to benefit from the work, be taught one thing new, really feel valued and snigger with my teammates. And although I at all times gave 100% — even when these issues have been lacking — I started to understand that not everyone seems to be wired the identical. Nor ought to they be.
Associated: Top 10 Employee Engagement Strategies That Matter
The turning level
My first CEO position at getAbstract was a sport changer. Immediately, I used to be accountable not only for outcomes, however for culture. We offered a product that gave corporations entry to over 14,000 curated enterprise e-book summaries, together with the perfect considering on management and organizational effectiveness. Folks like Simon Sinek, Lisa McLeod, Ken Blanchard, Mark Miller, Stephen M.R. Covey and lots of extra have change into common voices in our work and conversations.
As well as, our purchasers, principally (workplaces of the) CHROs at giant firms, put our answer to work inside their unbelievable organizations. Being surrounded by wonderful content material, clients, cultures and colleagues turns into my model of a sophisticated examine in human habits at work.
By this, one thing clicked: One of the best leaders do not simply lead for outcomes; they lead with purpose, which means and repair.
I turned intellectually curious. I started testing what I used to be studying — main with gratitude, aligning round function, creating area for constructive feedback and progress. And the outcomes? Workers confirmed up with extra ardour. Clients seen the power. Gross sales grew. Revenue adopted.
What began as idea changed into observe. Apply changed into perception. Perception changed into who I’m as a frontrunner.
Associated: The Key to Employee Engagement Is Purpose. Here’s Why — and How to Foster It in Your Workplace.
Engagement is a enterprise technique
Too many leaders nonetheless consider engagement as a “nice-to-have” — a smooth talent or HR metric that does not instantly hook up with the underside line. I do know as a result of I was one among them.
However here is what I’ve discovered: Engagement shouldn’t be fluff. It is a strategic lever for enterprise progress.
When workers really feel seen, heard, challenged and appreciated, they bring about what I name discretionary effort — that further power and initiative that may’t be purchased, solely impressed. And while you create worth past wage — via recognition, function, studying and belonging — folks aren’t consistently trying elsewhere for extra. One other means to consider it: Engagement is what makes folks truly stay up for Monday.
As MD Rafi, founder and CEO of Bison Life, informed me in an interview: “We began treating tradition like a product — one thing to design, construct and iterate. It was not about holding folks comfortable. It was about serving to them develop, take possession and really feel important to the mission.”
Engaged groups innovate extra. They promote extra. They keep longer. They appeal to nice expertise. They deal with the corporate like an owner would. It isn’t simply the precise factor to do; it is the sensible factor to do.
Investing in profession improvement is not simply good for morale — it is a measurable enterprise benefit. A 2025 report from LinkedIn Studying discovered that corporations with robust inside mobility and progress packages expertise greater engagement, extra inside promotions and stronger management pipelines. With 88% of organizations now citing retention as a crucial concern, supporting worker improvement has change into a prime precedence for leaders who need to maintain their greatest folks.
The flywheel of genuine management
Right now, my crew and I coach leaders via this similar evolution. At first, we assist them see that engagement is a driver of efficiency. Then I encourage them to attempt it — lead with extra function, invest in their people and construct a tradition of which means. They typically see an instantaneous elevate. Folks reply.
After which one thing great occurs: They begin to like the best way it makes them really feel; good! Not simply the enterprise outcomes, however the power, connection and private achievement that come from main effectively.
What started as an experiment turns into a behavior. A brand new management type emerges — one which’s not simply efficient however genuine. And that authenticity creates a flywheel of belief, ardour and efficiency. We see this on a regular basis at nice corporations we work with.
Restaurant Manufacturers Worldwide (RBI), the father or mother firm of Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, prioritizes a tradition that cares for its crew members so it could actually translate into nice customer experiences and enterprise efficiency. Jeff Housman, RBI’s Chief Folks & Providers Officer, emphasizes this connection: “Our tradition is constructed round hard-working, good individuals who care deeply about one another and the visitors we serve. When our crew members really feel supported and valued, they bring about that very same care to each buyer interplay, making a cycle of positivity that drives our success.”
Freeman, one of many world’s main dwell occasion and model expertise corporations, exemplifies this method. Acknowledged twice as a Prime Workplaces USA winner in 2024 and 2025 amongst giant employers, Freeman’s dedication to embedding function and innovation into its tradition has earned it a number of awards, together with honors for Management, Work-Life Flexibility and Function & Values.
Chair of the Board Carrie Freeman Parsons captures this ethos, stating, “It has been my lifelong expertise that occasions join folks in ways in which depart them extra impressed, higher knowledgeable and higher ready for what lies forward.” This values-driven mannequin has been widely known as a catalyst for worker engagement and long-term retention — demonstrating how function, when embedded into day by day operations, can form a resilient and motivated workforce.
Associated: 6 Employee Engagement Tips for Strong Retention
When you’re a frontrunner who’s nonetheless caught within the previous mindset — when you’re considering, “That is what the cash is for” — I encourage you to attempt one thing new. Lead with function. Begin with why. See how folks reply. Watch what occurs to your tradition, your clients and your organization.
You could be shocked by how nice it feels. And much more shocked by the outcomes.
