Encouraging discretionary effort should be a primary objective in any employee engagement strategy, writes Paul O'Donnell.
“Discretionary effort” is the contribution an employee chooses to make over and above what is expected of them in their role. It comes in the form of unseen effort, but can boost a team’s performance, sometimes yielding an otherwise unattainable result.
While good management, clear goals and effective systems enable satisfactory output from employees, the door to a person's discretionary effort is locked from within.
Once unlocked, however, it can help teams to deliver on better customer service, higher sales, repeat business, more profit and improved shareholder value.
Here are four leadership behaviours that can help managers tap into and leverage employees' discretionary efforts.
Invite employees to disagree
Listen to your employees' contributions by asking them to qualify their suggestions and re-work thoughts and proposals where gaps arise.
Leaders may be worried that this will create tension. In fact, it reduces tension, as it allows employees’ thoughts and ideas to emerge more freely.
Allow your employees to influence
Allowing your team members to realise their potential can be a powerful force. Coaching them in how to interact with and lead others on a task or project offers high-value learning. By making them feel valued, your team’s responsibilities and commitment are given room to grow.
Resist the impulse to solve problems
Ninety percent of a solution implemented correctly is better than the full solution executed poorly, and a leader's primary objective should always be to ensure the best outcome.
This is achieved when the leader does not directly undertake a task, but instead coaches others so that they can take the lead on a project without direct input.
It also leaves the leader free to explore ideas from other team members, which can help to enhance performance and output.
Strengths-based approach to leadership
Too often in formal feedback meetings the focus is on how to address performance gaps. A strengths-based culture seeks to align employees to tasks and projects based on their skillsets, helping to build their confidence.
Instead of assigning work, ask your team who wants to take on different aspects of a project. As their self-belief grows, encourage them to take on additional tasks that require similar competencies so that they can widen their skillset.
Ultimately, this is all about leaders demonstrating growth and respect. Engagement is a positive for any organisation, though it comes in many forms.
Being transparent, encouraging respectful debate, and providing opportunities for personal learning and growth can all help to boost performance.
Paul O'Donnell is CEO of HRM Search Partners.