Few management styles are more effective than people in leadership positions serving those who are on their team; simply put; serving those you lead. Listening sincerely to concerns from your team and then acting on the information builds confidence and trust, and oh, by the way, helps the business get better too. This concept of serving others can provide one of the most powerful engagement strategies deployed by any organization. People become invested in people and organizations that are invested in them. Seems the golden rule (treating others the way you would like to treated) works for leaders too. As Simon Sinek says, “be the leader you wish you had”, and work hard to serve those you lead.

Generally, we all share a particular affinity to be a part of some greater community cause or some greater purpose. That purpose can manifest itself in different ways, such as maybe helping with a local charitable organization like a homeless shelter, or maybe it’s helping a local family in need, or maybe…..well, you get the idea. Whatever the situation, working as a team to find ways to help others in need can create engagement within the workplace. Maybe find a local cause that your supply chain can participate in as a team-building exercise. What a great win-win for the business and community. By championing worthy causes within the local communities your business serves, you can create a compelling, engaging purpose that unifies the team, and most importantly, makes a small part of the world a little better place.

Work hard, but play hard too

We all like winning much more than losing, no surprise here, and equally not surprising is winning is hard work. So after spending energy and resources to deliver those great results for the business, don’t forget to celebrate with your team too. Building a winning environment will increase the success proposition, and of the aforementioned actions will certainly build employee engagement. Not only is celebrating successes an engaging strategy, it also helps to reinforce a winning culture, creating that wonderful self-fulfilling prophecy we all aspire to create as leaders. When you reach this type of organizational nirvana, recognizing and celebrating it can cause the business to just get better and better; what a wonderful environment to help to create, and what fun too.

Putting it all together

So as you endeavor to build world-class supply chain teams through employee engagement you might want to consider a few fundamental concepts such as the art of effective communication. Remember, communication can be practiced either verbally or by a written note. As long as it is sincere and genuine, it will be effective and appreciated. Additionally, don’t underestimate the significance of leading your team with a servant mentality. Demonstrating you care enough to lead with humility by serving your team is not only a powerful statement itself; it will build engagement and loyalty. We all have an innate need to be a part of something great, something that transcends ourselves as individuals. Giving back and doing so as a team can be incredibly rewarding, can benefit others, and all the while, building an engaging team. Creating lasting organizational value is hard work and as such can be quiet stressful and should be recognized. Just remember as your team surmounts its business challenges, don’t forget to celebrate along the way, as it is very important in building not only employee engagement within your organization, but it’s also important to building the type of culture we all desire to be a part of.