Only a Third of the Workforce is Engaged. Here’s 4 Ways Effective Leaders Have Made Their Employees Matter

According to a recent Gallup Poll, only 31% of the workforce reports being “engaged” at work. It’s a ten-year low that reflects that much of today’s workforce has trouble understanding what is expected of them, and they don’t receive high levels of encouragement at work. To put it plainly, in our disengaged society, it’s not about salary, promotions or perks. People want to matter.

In the past, people were highly driven by the highest salary and best benefits in a position, but today’s workforce is focused on feeling appreciated and making a true impact at work. In fact, 70% of high performers would take a pay cut to work for someone who highly values their work and 30% of people actually leave their jobs because they don’t feel challenged.

Employee Engagement Drives Success

In today’s world, measuring for success is straightforward. We track revenue, we analyze efficiency, and we optimize for market share, productivity and growth. We all just assume that if the numbers look good, leadership must be working. But when was the last time you asked yourself if your people feel like they really matter?

Believe it or not, 71% of executives agree that high employee engagement is the number one driver of success. Companies with a thriving corporate culture grow revenue four times faster than their competitors, and 84% of employees feel more motivated when recognized for their work.

The Best Leaders Build Corporate Cultures Around Significance

If these are the statistics, why are so many companies ignoring them? Why are so many leaders losing great people over something that they could easily fix? Because here’s something I have learned, the greatest leaders aren’t just masters of execution, they are architects of significance. They build companies where people didn’t just work. They belong.

Here’s 4 Ways Effective Leaders Have Built Cultures to Make Employees Matter:

1. Recognize Contributions and Celebrate Wins
   Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, didn’t have a fancy degree, but a lot of her success was her ability to make people feel like they mattered from day one. She personally called her first customers, she celebrated small wins, and she created a company culture where people didn’t just work, they felt connected to something bigger.

   Under leaders like Sarah, people take initiative, contribute beyond their job descriptions, will stay after work to get a project done, and they stick around for the long haul.

2. Focus on Growth Mindset
   By the time Satya Nadella took over Microsoft in 2014, the company was a shell of what it used to be. From an outsider’s view, the company was stagnant, employees were siloed, and innovation was slow. But Nadella had vision and knew he could transform the culture and become what they once were. He focused on just one thing—growth mindset.

   That one thing shifted the culture from “know it all” to “learn it all.” He made curiosity, learning and team development central to Microsoft’s culture. Guess what happened? Microsoft’s stock tripled, innovation skyrocketed and employees were engaged again because they truly believed in what they were doing.

3. Give Your Employees an Equal Voice
   Ed Catmull at Pixar introduced a system called Brain Trust. No matter who you were— a senior director or a junior animator, everyone had an equal voice. Everyone’s ideas mattered because the company was hoping to not just make movies, but to create masterpieces. This created a culture where everyone felt seen, valued and heard.

   On the flip side, if your employees don’t feed heard, they simply stop speaking up. They figure, why bother? It’s a sure way to lose your best people not because they dislike their job, but because they feel like their voice doesn’t matter.

4. Create a Sense of Ownership
   People don’t just want a paycheck and a job title. They want to know that what they do now will lead somewhere in the future. Howard Schulz, the former CEO of Starbucks understood this. He didn’t just build a coffee company, he built a community. His baristas were called partners, not employees. They even received stock options and full education reimbursement through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan.

Starbucks became one of the most successful brands in history because when people feel like they matter, they show up differently.

If you’re leading a team, it’s time to step up and really ask yourself the important question, do your employees feel valued? Think about the leaders that shaped your career, your confidence and your life. What did you admire? I think you’ll find it wasn’t the KPI’s, or their results. They  made you believe in yourself. You mattered. People don’t quit jobs, they quit bad leaders. Be the leader that they will stay for.

Written by John R. Miles.
Have you read?
Most Powerful Currencies In The World.
The world’s largest cities by population.
Most Innovative Countries in the World.
Countries by Average Wealth per Person.
Countries with the Highest Age Dependency Ratio.