Written by Jordon Jones, L&D Manager
Every leader wants a high-performing team, but not every leader knows how to get there. It’s not something that happens by accident, and it doesn’t simply take hold overnight either. It’s an intentional process of leaders learning exactly how to drive employee performance and how to set the conditions for those drivers to be fully enabled over time. In this blog we’re going to explore what that looks like with practical tips, insights, and actions you can take to create healthy environments for your people to thrive.
Performance is more than financials
Often when leaders hear the word ‘performance,’ they automatically think of revenue and profitability. While these are undoubtedly major metrics of business strategy – after all, strong finances are essential in keeping organizations afloat – it’s a bit superficial to say an organization is performing well simply because it earns a lot of money. In reality, people are the heartbeat of any successful company, and it’s the culmination of their individual performances that drives that monetary success.
Having read Simon Sinek’s book, The Infinite Game, it did a great job of detailing the way to long-term vitality for businesses and leaders using an ‘infinite mindset’ – focusing people on continuous long-range outcomes, rather than short-term (finite) wins. He explains that financial success is not strictly based on commercial performance, but rather a consequence of achieving more significant metrics. For example, the ability to weather economic downturns while continuing to thrive and resonate with their customer base, and importantly, maintain strength in engagement and commitment of their people.
This is where a critical element of employee engagement comes into play. Leaders need to be skilled in articulating the company’s definitive purpose in society, and in finding effective ways to rally their people behind that purpose. Organizations can change rapidly which makes it even more important for leaders to focus on building momentum by showing employees how they connect to that bigger picture. Without this quality, leaders are more likely to feel stuck when asking themselves, “How can I drive employee performance?”
4 leadership habits for driving employee performance
The good news is it is possible for leaders to connect the dots between individual and organizational performance by creating various habits in their leadership behavior. Follow these steps not only to improve the relationships between managers and their teams, but to simultaneously boost employee engagement and performance:
1. Frequently reflect on the organization’s purpose. Or, your team’s purpose, if you’re a first-line manager. Regularly (think monthly or at least quarterly) ask yourself these fundamental questions:
- What is our purpose?
- How effectively are we serving that purpose? and
- What strategic priorities will enable us to serve that purpose better?
2. Create links between purpose and strategy. Whenever there are changes which affect your answers to any of the questions above, act on it. Talk to other leaders and figure out what needs to pivot. Use questions like these to guide your next steps:
- Do existing objectives and key results (OKRs) need to be modified?
- Are new initiatives and projects warranted?
- Do current priorities need to adjust course or pace?
- Who else needs to be looped in here to confirm any changes in direction?
3. Communicate vision and progress. People’s motivation to perform is affected by leadership’s transparency about where the ship is sailing, why it’s heading that way, and how they contribute to the journey. So tell them, frequently. Record videos, send updates, use whatever communication methods culturally work in your organization. Don’t wait for the next all-hands meetings to keep people engaged; use those channels proactively. The frequency of seeing progress – and understanding how individual actions are contributing to that progress – has a massive effect on people feeling momentum in the business. And subsequently, the extent to which they feel inspired to make their own impact on that journey.
4. Focus on effective team dynamics and active contributions. Performance optimizes when people work together, not against each other. Silos disconnect individuals from organizational performance due to the potential for projects to bear limited relevance or even run counter to company direction. Crucially, collaboration flourishes when you invite input from people in the right ways. Not by asking them to decide what they should be working on, but by empowering them with decisions around how they contribute on a personal level. Additionally, solicit their opinions on the staff engagement initiatives they would like to see to strengthen those team dynamics. Let them voice their opinions, test ideas, make mistakes, and invest in their skills all while reminding them about how these choices, in their own unique context, matter in the grand scheme of the business.
Key drivers of employee engagement
If the practices detailed above sound intuitively like important habits you want to create, it will probably come as no surprise to you that research shows employee engagement and performance are tightly correlated. Organizations thrive when a greater percentage of their people deeply care about what they do in their work, compared to disengaged staff who are often contributing less, collaborating poorly, and ultimately leaving sooner.
Unfortunately, it seems many organizations continue to fall short in terms of the key drivers of employee engagement. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workforce 2025 report, a lack of employee engagement and performance was a cost to the global economy in 2024 through lost productivity in the magnitude of $438 billion. It’s a big deal that is ultimately affecting your organization’s bottom line.
So, what are these key drivers of employee engagement and how can we as leaders and organizations influence them? Organizational psychology research points to a few consistent themes, such as:
- Trust in leadership – Employees want to feel that those in upper management have their best interest at heart. They want decision makers to remember the impacts of the directives that are put into policy and the importance of transparency and honest communication. From staff engagement initiatives to benefits and salaries, senior leaders owe it to their workforce to be intentional with every move they make in order to create this environment of trust.
- Psychological safety – Nothing can create employee disengagement more quickly than feeling shamed, stifled, or even punished for speaking up or sharing your opinion in the workplace. Employees want an environment where they feel safe to express themselves without judgment or consequences.
- Opportunities for growth – When employees feel supported in their unique learning journeys, they’re more likely to stay motivated and contribute at a high level. This encompasses everything from providing ample opportunities for them to hone their existing skills, learn new ones, and have a career pathway with a clear trajectory and future with the organization.
- Meaningful work – In a recent survey by Deloitte, 92% of millennials and 89% of Gen Z said that finding meaning in their work was important to their job satisfaction and overall well-being. When I read that statistic, it reads as “nearly all” of those surveyed said that they want to be in a role where they feel a sense of purpose and accomplishment.
- Strong employee-manager relationships – When you have a manager who encourages, advocates for, and mentors you, you’re a lot more likely to not only show up to work, but enjoy the time you spend there. Alternatively, if your manager is a bottleneck, micromanages, or hinders your ability to perform, your level of engagement will naturally be lagging or even non-existent.
These are all powerful initiatives to focus on when addressing how to drive employee performance and motivation at the individual level. Organizations that not only prioritize these but put time and effort into staff engagement initiatives – like personalized learning pathways, coaching programs, leadership training, and recognition systems – are well-equipped to retain talent and establish a healthy environment where their people can thrive.
Employee performance requires effective engagement
Ultimately, driving performance to achieve business results doesn’t mean pushing people harder; it’s about engaging with them smarter. When you have the right staff engagement initiatives in place, the positive effects multiply over time and scale into cultures where people feel seen, heard, and empowered to grow. By aligning organizational purpose with career development and combining strategy with empathy for individual needs, organizations can unlock the full potential of their people and indeed, see this organically translate into financial success.
About the author: Jordon Jones is Talogy’s global lead for internal learning and performance initiatives. His background in business psychology and talent management consultancy stretches over 15 years, working with clients ranging across industries and geographies before becoming a strategic partner within the People team at Talogy. Jordon’s personal mission is to provide meaningful learning experiences that enable people to have a positive impact in their careers and the organizations where they work.
