If you want to boost employee engagement, consider going back to the basics. Begin by answering this question: What promises should I make to the people I am responsible for leading?  

Here are promises you might consider making:

• I promise to provide clear instructions about what I expect and what constitutes good performance.
• I promise to provide the training, resources and encouragement you need to achieve good performance.
• I promise to cultivate a culture of connection where colleagues respect, encourage and support one another so that everyone can do their best work.
• I promise to get to know you, including your career aspirations, and, when possible, place you in a role and give you opportunities to learn and grow in ways that will help you advance toward your career aspirations.
• I promise I will keep you informed about matters that affect you or matters that are important to you, including matters that affect your performance, and that I will seek and consider your ideas and opinions when possible.
• I promise to advocate for fair compensation, benefits and consideration for promotions.

Which of the promises should you make to the people you are responsible for leading? What promises should you make that are not represented above?

How are you doing on delivering the promises? If you are not delivering them, what actions can you take to deliver on them?  

Beware of making promises you can’t keep, otherwise you’ll end up with lower levels of employee engagement. But if you will communicate and deliver on promises that show those you lead that you value them as individuals and want them to be able to perform well, you’ll see employee engagement rise.  

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‍Michael Lee Stallard is a thought leader, speaker and leading expert on how human connection in workplace cultures affects the health and performance of individuals and organizations. In addition to Fired Up or Burned Out, he is the primary author of Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy and Understanding at Work.