How Servant Leadership Accelerates Employee Engagement

How Servant Leadership Accelerates Employee Engagement and Performance

Posted September 6, 2024

In leadership, management, Rick Conlow, Servant leadership

Servant Leadership accelerates employee engagement and performance. With low employee engagement in most companies, how do Servant Leadership companies achieve this? Bottom-line, their executives care.

In contrast, other Executives tend to lead with their head. In other words, business is about profits, data, numbers, products, margins, and technology. This leads to only 23% of employees engaged at work or to 77% of all global employee disengaged. This equates to a $9 Trillion loss or 9% cost to the global GDP.

Servant Leaders believe business is about people-first. Then, all those other things which, of course, are important. Servant Leaders lead with their heart. Unfortunately, this confounds leaders by the millions because their focus is on millions and billions of dollars. Servant Leaders know when you focus on people-first, creating a positive trusting relationship with them, their engagement and performance soars. Consequently, business results soar. This is too elegant for the C-suite.

Let us be truthful here, if the C-Suite does not buy into Servant Leadership, it will not happen. Managers in isolated departments or divisions will do it and excel. But the company will not, and their employee engagement will be mediocre at best.

Why Do Companies Fail at Employee Engagement?

Here are the ten solid reasons companies fail at employee engagement.

5 Reasons Companies Fail at Employee Engagement

Lack of Leadership Support: Executives view employee engagement initiatives as HR tasks rather than leadership priorities. When top management does not actively participate or champion these efforts, they fail to take root.
Poor Communication: Companies often fail to clearly communicate goals, expectations, and the purpose behind engagement efforts. Without transparency, employees may feel disconnected and undervalued.
Lack of Recognition and Appreciation: Employees who do not feel recognized for their hard work tend to disengage. When appreciation is not built into the culture, motivation, and productivity drop.
Failure to Act on Feedback: Organizations may gather employee feedback but fail to make meaningful changes. This leads to a sense of futility among staff, who may stop sharing their opinions if they do not see any results.
Micromanagement and Lack of Autonomy: Employees often disengage when they feel micromanaged or lack control over their work. When companies do not trust their workforce, it stifles creativity and ownership.

5 Additional Reasons Companies Fail at Employee Engagement

Toxic Work Culture: A work environment marked by favoritism, gossip, or bullying can destroy engagement efforts. Employees need to feel safe, respected, and part of a positive, inclusive culture.
Inadequate Career Development Opportunities: If employees feel stuck or see no clear path for growth, they lose interest in contributing meaningfully. Companies that fail to invest in professional development or succession planning often experience higher turnover.
Misalignment with Values and Purpose: Employees are more engaged when they feel connected to the company’s mission. When there is a disconnect between company actions and its stated values, employees can become disengaged.
Burnout and Poor Work-Life Balance: If employees feel overworked or undervalued, they become disengaged. Without promoting work-life balance and mental health, companies risk employee burnout.
Inconsistent Implementation: Engagement strategies can fail when they are not applied across all departments or teams. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely works, and tailoring engagement efforts is crucial for success.

7 Companies that Excel at Servant Leadership and Employee Engagement

4 Employee Servant Leadership and Employee Engagement Leaders

TD Industries: Construction and Facilities Services

The company consistently ranks among Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.”
Turnover rates decreased, and employee engagement scores surged as employees felt empowered and supported in their growth.
Increased customer satisfaction and retention due to more motivated and engaged employees.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest has one of the lowest turnover rates in the airline industry.
High employee satisfaction is directly correlated with outstanding customer service, contributing to the airline’s profitability.
The company has built a reputation for having a fun, supportive work culture, leading to higher employee engagement and customer loyalty.

WD-40 Company: Consumer Goods (manufacturing and selling lubricants)

Over 90% of employees report being engaged and feeling like their voices matter.
The company’s market value increased significantly as employee engagement led to greater innovation and productivity.
WD-40 has received multiple workplace culture awards, further enhancing its reputation and employee retention rates.

Synovus Financial: Banking

Employee engagement scores rose dramatically after the implementation of Servant Leadership principles.
Increased employee loyalty reduced turnover, while higher engagement led to better customer service.
The bank saw improved financial performance due to the dedication and enthusiasm of a more engaged workforce.

3 More Servant Leadership and Employee Engagement Leaders

The Container Store: Retail

The company consistently ranks among the best workplaces due to its highly engaged employees.
Employee retention and loyalty remain strong, reducing hiring and training costs.
The elevated level of engagement directly contributes to the company’s strong sales performance and customer loyalty.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen: Fast Food

Employee engagement rose significantly, leading to better customer service and increased sales.
Franchise owners also reported higher satisfaction and collaboration with corporate, leading to faster expansion and profitability.
The company experienced a turnaround, with profits and stock price soaring during Bachelder’s tenure.

Marriott International: Hospitality

Marriott consistently receives high employee engagement scores.
This engagement translates to higher customer satisfaction and repeat business, contributing to Marriott’s long-term success.
The company has low employee turnover rates for the hospitality industry, saving costs on recruitment and training while maintaining a resolute workforce.

Research on the Bottom-line Payoff of Servant Leadership

Sipe **& Frick study (authors of the 7 Pillars of Servant Leadership 2009-2019 results of a ten-year period)**

Stocks from the top five hundred public companies averaged an 8 percent pre-tax return. Eleven companies in Collin’s Good to Great averaged a 17.5 percent return.
The servant-led companies’ returns averaged 24.2 percent!
Good to Great companies did beat the average companies as did Servant led organizations. However, Servant Led companies beat the Good to Great Companies and did more than twice as well as other companies.

Research by Hoch, Bommer, Dulebohn & Wu 2016

Showed an additional 12% gain in outcomes beyond other studies.

The University of Illinois at Chicago Business School 2015

Conducted a study at national restaurant chain. It demonstrated that the stores with servant leaders gained 6 percent higher job performance, 8 percent increase in positive customer service ratings, and 50 percent higher staff retention rate.

Give and Take, Research 2013

Adam Grant, management researcher and professor at the Wharton School of Business, shows in his book Give and Take that Servant Leaders are more productive and more highly regarded by employees.

Research by Schaubroeck, Lam, and Peng 2011

Found servant leadership at the team level gained 10% in performance.

Pulling It All Together

In summary, companies and leaders that apply Servant Leadership boost employee engagement by:

Encouraging personal development and job satisfaction. On-going training and career development is a norm.
Empowering employees through trust and autonomy. Executives lead the way. Employees complete feedback surveys regularly to rate management and the company. Real action planning takes place on problems to improve needed areas.
Enhancing team collaboration. All managers and employees learn the company values and how to engage them through teamwork and development. This includes team projects on key objectives and team social activities after work.
Communication throughout the organization is clear and specifically designed to be positive and open. For example: quarterly updates on company results, one on one performance discussions monthly.
Companies apply formal and informal recognition programs. One company gives recognition cards-worth dollars–for outstanding service to customers. In addition, managers learn how to praise progress in positive uplifting ways.

In conclusion, when leaders prioritize serving and supporting their teams, it creates a ripple effect. It not only benefits employees but also improves the organization’s bottom-line, increasing employee retention, productivity, engagement, and profits. Servant Leadership companies do not execute these strategies as programs but as a way of doing business.

Also, add to or develop your skills as a Servant Leader. Go here: 21 Servant Leadership Training Lessons.

Furthermore, the world desperately needs leaders that have empathy and care. Join the revolution in leadership thought and practice that elevates people first through Servant Leadership on LinkedIn: ServantLeadership@RickConlowInternational

Finally, do you want to accelerate your leadership success and learn more about Servant Leadership? Go here for Rick’s newest book, The Dynamics of Servant Leadership: Inspire Your Team to Achieve Extraordinary Goals!

Note: ChatGPT research applied.

Rick Conlow

Rick Conlow is the CEO & Founder of Rick Conlow International, a leadership consulting, training and coaching firm. RCI partners with organizations to dramatically increase employee engagement, customer loyalty and sales through Servant Leadership. He has helped over 200 companies such as Target, Costco, Andersen Windows, Spectrum, Northern Power, Meijer, Carpet King, International Truck, John Deere, Lowes Financial, and Canadian Linen improve customer loyalty, increase sales and add profits. Rick has been a general manager, vice president, training director, program director, and national sales trainer. He has authored 22 books including the best selling Superstar Leadership Model, and The 5 Dynamics of Servant Leadership.

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