Re-Energizing Employee Engagement Using Combo Leadership

Employee engagement is really a means to an end, and organizations that want to drive high levels of business success, need motivated and engaged employees to get there. A number of studies have shown definite links between employee engagement and financial success in organizations. However, employee engagement is ultimately an individual choice. It is entirely a personal decision on the part of an employee on whether to stretch himself (or herself) and offer an outstanding performance or to contribute at a minimum level, or be dysfunctional. The likelihood of employees remaining engaged and productive is more when the environment is relatively happy and stress free. At times of crisis however, the environment within the organization takes a turn for the worse, and it is during crisis period that leadership comes under stress. This paper analyses leadership and employee engagement and offers suggestions for better leadership strategies. This paper also introduces “Combo Leadership” as a possible strategy of customized leadership intervention, to reduce possible negativism in the organizational environment, in a situation where an external leader, brought in as a Change Agent in an ailing organization, causes the environment to not remain condusive to Employee Engagement, due to predominance in “Task Orientation” at the cost of “People Orientation”. Combo Leadership proactively utilizes existing trust on an anchor and positive grapevine as means of establishing confidence within the organization, and thereby re-energizing employee engagement in the face of leadership crisis.