In his recent article Stop Trying to Engage Your Employees, Guy Gage suggested 3 different strategies to equip employees to self-engage: creating individual awareness, providing a supportive environment, and performing regular check-ins. This is where managers play a key role. As a manager, you have the most direct impact on your team. I challenge you to make it count.

My First Manager’s Influence

As I think back on my career, my first manager played a key role in my development. At that time, regularly scheduled one-on-ones were not yet a common practice, yet she made sure to check in on me regularly. I was scheduled on several of her engagements, which may have made it easier for her, but it wasn’t always just about the work assignments. She would ask how I was doing, personally and professionally. She genuinely cared about me, as a person. I was fresh out of college, newly married, studying for the CPA exam, and it was a lot. Everything felt new and different and like uncharted territory. Yet the support that she provided, helped me navigate my way through it.

The Manager’s Role in the Employee’s Experience

According to a recent article by Gallup: “The employee experience begins and ends with the manager. To be more exact, an employee’s conversations with their manager define their employee experience.” This was true for me. Whether I had a technical question, a scheduling conflict, or a personal matter, I left every conversation with her feeling more connected to her, the firm, and the work I was doing.

Lessons Learned

Later, as a manager myself, I thought about my own experience. Were there times staff came into my office and I wanted to put up my hand and say “not now”, absolutely! But I had learned first-hand what it looked like and felt like to lead well. I urge you, Managers, to connect with your team on a relational level more regularly. It is easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of the season and make every conversation about the work itself. However, with a little extra time and effort, those relational conversations are the ones that matter most.