This might sound obvious, but if you want to build a more engaged workforce you need to, well, engage. That means, whether you are a CEO or a frontline manager, you need to be working hard to connect, face-to-face, with your people. That can mean anything from walking around and making pit stops in offices and cubicles to holding town hall discussions with your teams and staying to answer questions afterward. But most leaders simply can’t make time to sit down with every person in the company, in every office around the world, on a regular basis. It’s mathematically impossible. So what should leaders do instead?

1. who can admit
LEADER
mistakes
Bea

4. That means…………..

6. you need to be working hard to…..

7. connect, face-to-face, with
your people

8. But…

9. most leaders simply can’t make time to sit
down with every person in the company

10. on a regular basis.

11. It’s mathematically
impossible.

18. keep the lines of communication open
and find ways to connect with
associates

20. As powerful as accessibility is—and
without it engagement is impossible—

21. nothing builds engagement more
than being accountable to the
people in your organization.

22. simply have to have the
confidence to own your mistakes

23. and admit when
you’re wrong.

24. Being a leader doesn’t mean
that you’re always right or
that you won’t err

25. What being a leader does
mean is airing the reasons for
why you did something

26. and then making yourself accountable for
the results—even if those you’re
accountable to don’t directly work for you.

27. That’s how you truly sow
the seeds of engagement

28. or the person who admits their
error and then follows up with a
plan to correct it?

29. the person who denies
anything is amiss

30. or the person who admits
their error and then follows up
with a plan to correct it?

31. what if that same person who admits
they made a mistake reaches out to
their team for ideas on how to make
things right?
Better yet,

32. I’ve found that leaders who
show their vulnerability,

33. and admit that they are human

34. foster greater engagement
among their associates

35. our associates deserved to hear the
story of why we made the decision as
much as the board did.

36. When you don’t make the time to
explain why you made your
decision,

37. people will often assume the worst
all on their own: that you’re
detached, dumb, or don’t care

38. But when I made the time to explain
the rationale—that we had in fact put
a lot of thought into it—people finally
understood.

39. Many Apple Hatters told me
how much they appreciated
that I admitted my mistake.

40. They also appreciated that I
explained how I came to make
the decision in the first place

41. That earned me their trust.

43. you need to explain why
decisions were made.

44. That’s how you build
engagement—which also makes
you a stronger leader

45. In short, being accessible, answering
questions, admitting mistakes, and saying
you’re sorry aren’t liabilities

46. They are exactly the tools you can use
to build your credibility and authority to
lead.

47. Thank
You