Leadership... It's not for Wimps!

Many people believe that leadership is about being the biggest or most powerful. A leader is interpreted as someone who sets the direction in an effort to influence people to follow that direction. How they set the direction and influence people depends on a variety of factors.
There are different leadership styles and leaders carry out their roles in a variety of ways. These examples would include: autocratic, democratic, participatory, laissez-faire, etc.
The leadership style depends on the situation and the organization.
There are many theories about leadership. Examples include: Servant leader, democratic leader, principle-centered leader, group-man theory, great-man theory, traits theory, visionary leader, total leader and situational leader.
Employee engagement is essential in promoting a productive work environment and retention. It has been proven that engaged employees do a better job. It is important to have engaged leaders in order to support this type of environment. Leadership training is at the heart of why employees want to come to work. This is usually why they stay. It's about work environments and their supervisor. Employees don't leave their jobs, they leave their bosses. Employees want to come to a place where they feel they have a purpose, are doing worthwhile work and can truly make a difference. They want to feel engaged, recognized and appreciated.
The Manager or Supervisor holds the key to high employee retention. Results of turnover include:
High turnover rates incur costs that cannot be measured.
The average employee turnover is 14.4% annually, according to the Bureau of National Affairs. Turnover rates are on the rise and vary among different industries
The result of high turnover creates an affect on employee morale and increased job stress for the remaining employees that are burdened with the distribution of the departed employee's workload.
Replacement costs for a departing employee are estimated at one-third of their salary. Even at minimum wage, the cost to replace an employee is $3700.
Often, there is future turnover for employees that leave to join their friends.
The cost to replace a registered nurse is 1.2-1.3 times their salary.

What can be done to drive employee engagement? The top priority action item is "Rounding for Outcomes." Purposeful rounding and talking to staff is essential. Asking questions such as, "What is working well today?", "Is there anyone that we should recognize?", "Is there anything that we could do better?", "Do you have the tools and equipment to do your job?" When leaders round, it is key for the leader to recognize the employee's needs. The most important thing that can be done is to build a relationship with the staff.
Leadership Development is essential in increasing employee engagement and producing an environment for productive employees to work.

References:
"Hardwiring Excellence" by Quint Studer
"Free Management Library"
"Employee Retention Strategies"