As a frontline leader, you're often in the eye of the storm, navigating the challenges of managing teams, executing projects, and meeting objectives. Yet, amid these duties, one underlying factor determines your success: trust. Trust isn't merely about dependability or reliability; it delves much deeper into the psyche of leadership. At its core, it's about authenticity—being a leader who is genuine, relatable, and transparent. 

When it comes to motivating frontline employees, managers and leaders often find themselves facing a perplexing challenge. The traditional rewards — bonuses, promotions, and the like — might appear effective on the surface, but their influence can be fleeting. This is especially true for industries where employees often switch jobs for even a seemingly small hourly pay bump. More so, how can leaders and managers who do not have decision-making power over pay make an impact on employee engagement and retention?

Organizations who have made frontline employee engagement a strategic priority are reaping the rewards.

The numbers don’t lie: Frontline managers have a major impact on business success.

The impact that frontline managers have on an organization’s overall performance and results is significant, especially when you consider that, nationwide, they are directly responsible for 8 out of 10 employees in the workforce. Yet, in many organizations managers on the frontline feel undervalued, underdeveloped, and overworked; and their levels of engagement show it. Gallup research has found that only 35% of managers are engaged, meaning they are enthusiastic about and committed to their work, their people, and the organization. 

In his book, “Built to Last”, Jim Collins talks about how highly visionary companies do not oppress themselves with what he calls the “Tyranny of OR” – the reluctance to accept two seemingly contradictory forces or ideas at the same time.  The “Tyranny of OR” pushes people to believe that things must be either A or B, but not both.  Instead of being oppressed by the “Tyranny of OR”, highly visionary companies liberate themselves with what he refers to as the “Genius of AND” – the ability to embrace both extremes of a number of dimensions at the same time.  Instead of choosing between A OR B, they figure out a way to have both A AND B.

The terms “management” and “leadership” are often interchanged. In fact, many people view them as basically the same thing.  Yet, when you look at the “what” and the “how” of managing vs. leading, there are some clear distinctions between them.   Here are a few of the notable differences: 

 It’s not surprising in this highly competitive labor market that the top concern facing CEO’s in organizations that employ large numbers of frontline employees is their ability to hire and retain staff. As a result, employee engagement has become a key strategic initiative with leaders and managers at all levels devoting more of their time and focus to create a positive and engaging experience for employees. Being more intentional about what leaders and managers need to do to drive higher engagement levels, represents a needed and critical step forward.