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.

If Employees Aren't Growing, Performance Isn't Either

By Cathie Leimbach • June 9, 2026
Most leaders want better performance. They want employees who take ownership, solve problems, adapt to change, and consistently deliver results. Yet Gallup reports that only 31% of employees are engaged at work. That means nearly 7 out of 10 employees are not fully applying their talents, effort, and initiative to their roles. The question leaders should be asking isn't simply: "Why aren't employees performing?" It's: "Are we developing people to perform at their best?" Gallup's latest research suggests many organizations may be falling behind. Nearly 6 in 10 CHROs say employee development is one of the areas where their organization struggles most. At the same time, fewer than half of U.S. employees have participated in training or education to build new skills for their current job. That gap creates risk. As AI, technology, customer expectations, and job responsibilities continue to evolve, employees cannot meet changing expectations with outdated skills. The impact is especially significant among high performers. Gallup found that organizations providing fewer development opportunities are more likely to lose their best people. The good news is that development doesn't require expensive programs or lengthy workshops. It starts with leaders who consistently: • Connect strengths to daily work • Clarify expectations • Provide meaningful feedback • Coach performance • Hold growth-focused conversations  One of the most effective ways leaders can support employee development is through regular 1-on-1 meetings with each direct report. These conversations create opportunities to coach, remove obstacles, align priorities, and discuss growth before problems become bigger issues. For practical ideas, read our resource: 5 Factors in Successful 1-on-1s . Organizations that thrive won't simply expect more from employees. They'll develop people so they can contribute more. Because when employees grow, performance grows with them.

Culture Is Built in Conversations

By Cathie Leimbach • June 2, 2026
Most leaders want stronger culture. Less silo thinking. Better accountability. More ownership. Healthier teamwork. Higher engagement. But culture rarely changes because of posters, slogans, or mission statements. It changes through thousands of conversations leaders have every week. That’s one reason Jim Brown’s book, The Imperfect CEO , stands out. Rather than focusing on leadership image, the book centers on the real work of building trust-centered organizations. Shari Seckler, CEO of PenFinancial Credit Union, wrote:  “This book shows why collaboration and culture aren't soft – they're the backbone of lasting success.” Marc Jeffreys, President of Revision University, described it this way: “Jim Brown’s framework helps leaders foster environments where trust grows, purpose strengthens, and teams move forward together.” In our Conversational Management work, we consistently see that culture is shaped by how leaders handle everyday moments: difficult feedback missed expectations recognition conflict coaching conversations accountability discussions collaborative decision-making Employees usually decide whether they trust leadership based on these interactions far more than company messaging. That’s why books like The Imperfect CEO matter. They remind leaders that organizational health is not built through perfection. It is built through clarity, humility, consistency, and meaningful conversations repeated over time. If you lead people, this book deserves your attention. Order your copy today.