Your Employees Want Much More Than a Paycheck

Cathie Leimbach • September 21, 2021

Most managers are facing similar challenges in the workplace. These include:

  • Increased absenteeism
  • Lower productivity
  • High turnover
  • Unresolved conflicts among team members
  • Unproductive meetings
  • Unmet deadlines
  • Decreased quality and customer service

 

Research shows that these issues are costing organizations between 450 Billion and 500 Billion Dollars annually. These patterns occur because 65% of employees are disengaged, showing up (or not), uninvested in their job, their team, or the company that employees them. 

 

If it feels discouraging, you are not alone. The way to turn these negative trends around is found in another interesting statistic. 70% of the variance in the overall employee engagement score is because of their manager. 

 

Your employees want much more than a paycheck. They want their job to have an impact, connect to a purpose in their work beyond just the job, and feel that they are providing value. A survey by the Energy Project reaching more than 12,000 employees from various industries found that 50% lack a level of meaning and significance at work. 

 

Your employees also want to understand how their job connects to their purpose and mission. If members of your team feel recognized and appreciated, they will open up about what they want from their work. Their manager is the one person who can connect their purpose to its goals and objectives.  And then support them, so they bring their best selves to work every day.

 

Effective management increases employee engagement. It starts with ensuring that every person the manager supervises understands why and how their job is vital to the organization.

 

Managers are one of the most important assets a company has in reaching its goals and fulfilling its mission.  Here are the actions each manager can learn to implement consistently to make a difference with engagement and productivity:

  • Understand and explain how each employee's job:

- is essential to the organization

- contributes to the work group's success

- connects to the organization's mission

  • Schedule routine conversations with each employee to discuss job importance
  • Explain job importance with new full time and temporary hires
  • Take the time to understand each employee's work and integrate their input into decisions that will impact their job – they know their job and how to do it efficiently and better than anyone else
  • Spend one-on-one time with each direct report to understand their personal goals and mission. Support them to link these to their job responsibilities and the organizational mission
  • Explain the reasons why changes are being made to processes or procedures
  • Express appreciation for good work and continue to keep the company's mission front and center for each employee

 

When managers are trained in these management practices and implement them, the employees they lead are more engaged, clear about how they are contributing to the company, and enthusiastic because they can see the connection between their values and personal mission and the work they are doing.

 

This win-win scenario is worth the investment of time and resources for additional management training.  It will lead to more productivity, decreased turnover and absenteeism, better morale, improved quality work, happier customers, and increased profit.

The Leadership Problem Most Companies Don’t Address

By Cathie Leimbach • May 19, 2026
Many organizations assume their biggest challenges are rapidly changing technology, customer retention, and employee initiative. But quite often, the root cause is people leadership problems. That’s one reason The Imperfect CEO by Jim Brown is so timely. Releasing today, May 19, the book explores how leaders build healthier organizations not by pretending to have all the answers, but by creating cultures grounded in trust, clarity, accountability, and meaningful conversations. Brian Besanceney, Chair, Board of Orlando Health, Inc., described the book this way: “Through vivid stories, real-world examples, and a model grounded in collaborative culture, Jim Brown gives leaders permission to wrestle honestly with the generational divides, misaligned targets, and cultural fractures that can too often sabotage high-potential organizations.” Greg Apple, CEO of Amgine.ai, connected the book to leadership beyond business alone: “In a fast-moving company, culture is everything. Jim Brown’s principles have helped our team lead with greater clarity and alignment. The Imperfect CEO distills those lessons brilliantly. Every leader should read it.” What stands out to me is how closely this book aligns with the principles behind Conversational Management. Healthy cultures are rarely built through policies alone. They are built through the quality of everyday leadership conversations — how expectations are clarified, how accountability is handled, how feedback is delivered, and how trust is strengthened over time. That’s why leadership development cannot stay theoretical. Culture changes conversation by conversation.  The Imperfect CEO is an easy-to-read business fable that illustrates common people leadership challenges and provides suggestions for overcoming them. Order your copy today and start building healthier leadership conversations inside your organization.

Why Some Companies Attract More Job Applicants Than They Need

By Cathie Leimbach • May 12, 2026
Chick-fil-A restaurants often receive far more job applications than they have openings. This is not luck. It is leadership. People apply where they believe they will be treated well. At Chick-fil-A, employees experience respectful communication, clear expectations, and leaders who support their success. That reputation spreads quickly through word of mouth. Leaders in these restaurants do simple things well. They ask questions before they assume. They listen to employees. They provide encouragement and clear direction. They notice good work and address problems in a helpful way. As a result, employees feel valued. They enjoy coming to work. They tell others. That is what attracts more applicants. Many organizations focus only on hiring. Strong organizations focus on how people are treated after they are hired. When leaders create a workplace where people feel respected, supported, and clear on what success looks like, something powerful happens: People stay. People perform. And more people want to join. This is what leadership really is. Would you like to see several leadership and culture practices Chick-fil-A uses to attract and keep quality employees? Click here to view: How Chick-fil-A Attracts Quality Applicants