Enough already. Stop trying to engage your employees. Firm leaders can’t do anything to “engage” them if they don’t want to or know how to engage themselves. The only thing leaders can do is to create an engaging environment and then equip employees to connect their values and motivational drivers to the firm’s vision and values. This is how to create engaged employees.

Nurturing employee engagement

Every professional aspires to make a meaningful impact through their work. The drive to learn, grow and achieve is the foundation of a fulfilling career. The professionals in your firm, particularly the younger and aspiring workforce, are no different. They seek opportunities to reach their potential, and it’s the firm’s responsibility to provide the resources, experiences and guidance that enable them to thrive.

Employee engagement is a critical indicator of success in this regard. Engaged employees exhibit higher productivity, job satisfaction and retention rates — outcomes well-documented in research. Consequently, many organizations now employ engagement surveys as a standard practice.

Despite this focus, Gallup reports a troubling trend: employee engagement has steadily declined from a peak of 36% in 2020 to 30% in early 2024. This drop has coincided with reduced productivity and increased dissatisfaction, giving rise to concepts like “quiet quitting.”

To address this, leaders must move beyond surface-level initiatives such as expanded benefits or flexible schedules. They must answer a more fundamental question: How can we create sustainable engagement that aligns individual aspirations with organizational goals?

Beyond basic engagement

Engagement is not an incidental outcome — it requires intentional effort. Leaders must align employees’ personal goals with the organization’s vision and values, fostering a dynamic where employees pursue meaningful aspirations while the firm reaps the benefits of their enthusiasm and dedication.

While perks like new titles or remote work options may provide short-term morale boosts, they rarely address the deeper needs that sustain engagement. To make a lasting impact, firms must focus on cultivating a sense of fulfillment in their workforce.

The changing workforce

Supporting today’s workforce presents unique challenges. Traditional development methods often fall short in resonating with younger employees, many of whom were raised in environments that emphasized structured support and consistent encouragement.

Consider an employee like Johnnie. Throughout his upbringing, Johnnie’s success was closely supported — coaches helped him excel in sports, tutors guided him in academics, and extracurricular lessons nurtured his talents. These efforts demonstrated care and reinforced his belief that external support is often necessary for success.

As Johnnie enters the workforce, he brings this expectation with him, asking: Does my firm care enough about my success to provide the same level of support? This is one reason why younger employees tend to be more open to professional training and coaching than previous generations. In fact, forward-thinking firms are responding by incorporating coaching into benefits packages, enhancing their ability to attract and retain top talent.

However, challenges extend beyond providing support expectations. Prolonged screen time has left many younger employees with underdeveloped social skills and shorter attention spans. They may struggle to navigate workplace dynamics effectively or maintain focus on tasks that don’t immediately engage them.

This dual challenge — reliance on structured support and a diminished capacity for sustained attention — complicates efforts to foster engagement. Young employees often expect rapid advancement and recognition; without it, they may quit and leave; or worse, quit and stay.

Teaching self-engagement

While leaders play a critical role in fostering an engaging environment, employees must also learn to engage themselves. Engagement is a shared responsibility: organizations provide opportunities, but employees must take the initiative to leverage them.

Leaders can support this by helping employees uncover their intrinsic drivers. What motivates them? What are their priorities? Too often, employees lack clarity about their own goals, so they default to requests for raises or promotions that fail to address their deeper aspirations.

Designing inspiring career paths

The study of motivation dates back to ancient philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle and continues to evolve today. Modern research highlights four fundamental drives that influence engagement in the workplace. These drivers are universal yet unique to each individual in terms of priority and intensity.

Addressing these drives requires deliberate effort:

1. The drive to learn. Employees seek mastery and growth. They want to build both technical and professional skills.

   • Are managers framing assignments as opportunities for development?
   • Are employees receiving constructive feedback and recognition for their progress?
   • Do they view their work as stepping stones toward their goals?

2. The drive to achieve. Employees need autonomy and meaningful accomplishments that resonate with their personal values.

   • Are employees given ownership of their projects and held accountable for them?
   • Are managers aware of what drives individual employees and helping them align their work accordingly?
   • Is there clarity about what achievement and success look like?

3. The drive to bond. Humans are social beings who thrive on connection. Employees want to feel valued and part of a team.

   • Are managers fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual respect?
   • Do employees feel appreciated by their peers and leaders?
   • Are employees asked about how connected they feel to the team?

4. The drive to pursue purpose: Employees want to align their work with a greater sense of meaning.

   • Are leaders helping employees connect their work to the organization’s mission and vision?
   • Are employees able to see how their work contributes to their personal and professional purpose?
   • Do they believe they are a part of something larger and more meaningful that makes a difference?

A framework for sustained engagement

To equip employees to self-engage, firms should adopt different strategies:

1. Individual awareness
   Help employees understand the four motivational drives and identify their unique priorities. Guide them to see the connections between who they are and their aspirations with the opportunities the firm provides them.

2. Supportive environment
   Create a workplace culture that encourages employees to pursue and satisfy their drivers.

   • Leaders frequently discuss motivation and engagement in firmwide communications.
   • Managers know how to actively support their teams with guidance, feedback and encouragement.

3. Regular check-ins
   Encourage employees to monitor their satisfaction with their motivational drivers and discuss adjustments with their managers.

   • Assess their current state of fulfillment in these drivers.
   • Monitor progress and movement over time.
   • React and intervene early when there are signs of disengagement.

This is a different way of conducting check-ins and reviews because the focus is on employees’ responsibility to engage themselves. The firm is ready to guide and support them in their pursuits, rather than attempting to persuade employees to conform solely to the firm’s goals and expectations. It requires a rewiring of thinking, leading and managing, but will provide a culture of engagement.

By creating an environment that nurtures these drivers and empowers employees to activate them, firms can cultivate a self-engaged workforce. Employees who are intrinsically motivated will positively impact productivity, morale and retention, contributing to a culture of lasting engagement where both individuals and organizations thrive.