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In 2024, Gallup announced that the low involvement of employees costs American corporations estimated USD 1.9 trill in lost performance. The message is clear: the way you engage your team, it isn’t just about morale-performance, retention and long-term growth.
At the starting of my profession, I didn’t think much about the involvement of employees. To be honest, I didn’t expect my employers either. My way of pondering was easy: work hard, provide results, earn, and promotion. It was a closed contract. Time and effort in exchange for money and power. It was the 90s and it was considered normal, especially in the world of sales of corporate software.
There is a famous Z line Crazy people Where Don Draper responds to the subordinate request for recognition: “That’s what money is for.” It reflects a way of pondering of leadership – results related to relationships, control control.
For years I experienced this fashion of pondering.
But with time, when I got up through the ranks and led larger teams, I began to note something: I was now not motivated with money. During my years in the Citrix Motto, based on our Director General Mark Templeton, it happened: “Work hard, play hard, get results and have fun.” I desired to enjoy work, learn something recent, feel valued and laughing with teammates. And although I all the time gave 100% – even when these items were missing – I began to understand that not everyone was connected in the same way. They shouldn’t be either.
Turning point
My first role in Getabstract was a game changer. Suddenly I was responsible not only for the results, but for culture. We sold a product that gave corporations access to over 14,000 chosen summaries of business books, including the best pondering about leadership and organizational effectiveness. People like Simon Sinek, Lisa McLeod, Ken Blanchard, Mark Miller, Stephen Mr Covey and many others have develop into regular voices in our work and conversations.
In addition, our clients, mainly (offices) Chros in large corporations, introduce our solution to their amazing organizations. Customers, culture and colleagues are becoming an amazing content, becomes my version of advanced research in the field of human behavior at work.
Thanks to this, something clicked: the best leaders not only result in results; They lead with the goal, meaning and service.
I became intellectually interesting. I began testing what I studied – leading with gratitude, leveling the goal, creating a space for constructive feedback and growth. And results? Employees appeared with greater passion. Customers noticed energy. Sales grew. There was a profit.
What began as a theory has modified into practice. Practice turned into faith. Faith turned into who I was as a leader.
Commitment is a business strategy
Too many leaders still consider the engagement as “pretty”-beautiful skills or HR indicator, which does not connect directly with the results of the lower. I know because I was one of them once.
But here’s what I learned: the commitment is not fluffy. This is a strategic business development lever.
When employees feel seen, heard, challenged and appreciated, they convey something that I call discretionary effort – additional energy and initiative that can not be bought, only inspired. And when you create a value outside of salary – by recognizing, goal, learning and belonging – people are not still looking for other people. Another way of pondering: commitment is what makes people actually wait for Monday.
As MD Rafi said, the founder and general director of Bison Life, in an interview: “We began to treat culture as a product – something to design, build and iteration. It was no longer about maintaining people. It was about helping in development, taking over property and a sense of necessary for the mission.”
The involved teams innovate more. They sell more. Stay longer. They attract great talent. They treat the company as the owner. This is not only the right thing; It’s a clever thing.
Investing in profession development is not only good for morale – this is a measurable business advantage. AND 2025 Report From LinkedIn Learning stated that corporations with strong internal mobility and development programs experience greater commitment, more internal promotions and stronger leadership pipelines. Since 88% of the organization cites detention as a key problem, supporting employee development has develop into the highest priority for leaders who wish to stop their best people.
Glazing wheel of authentic leadership
Today, my team and I train leaders because of the same evolution. At the starting we help them see that commitment is the driving force of performance. Then I encourage them to try – lead with a greater goal, invest in their people and build a culture of significance. They often see an immediate elevator. People answer.
And then something wonderful happens: they start to love the way they feel; Good! Not only business results, but energy, connection and personal achievement that result from good guidance.
What began as an experiment becomes a habit. A brand new leadership style appears – one that is not only effective, but authentic. And this authenticity creates the flywheel of trust, passion and performance. We see all of it the time in the great corporations we work with.
Restaurant Brands International (RBI), mother company Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes and FireHouse Subs, prioritizely cares for a culture that cares for members of its team so that it might probably translate into great customer experiences and business performance. Jeff Housman, the most important officer of People & Services RBI, emphasizes this mixture: “Our culture is based on hardworking, good people who care about themselves and the guests we serve. When our team members feel supported and valued, they bring the same care to every customer interaction, creating a series of positiveness that drives our success.”
Freeman, one of the world -leading live and brand corporations in the world, is an example of this approach. Recognized twice as a winner of the best jobs in 2024 and 2025 among large employers, Freeman’s involvement in settling goal and innovation in culture brought him many awards, including awards for leadership, flexibility of skilled life in addition to purpose and values.
The chairwoman of the board Carrie Freeman Parsons gives this ethos, stating: “This is my whole life experience, events connect people in a way that leaves them more inspired, better informed and better prepared for what he is lying.” This model based on values was well known as a catalyst for employee involvement and long-term retention-showing how the goal, when it is embedded in day by day operations, can shape a resistant and motivated working force.
If you are a leader who has still got stuck in an old way of pondering – if you think: “There is money for this” – I encourage you to try something recent. Lead with the goal. Start with why. See how people react. See what is happening to your culture, clients and company.
You could also be surprised how great he feels. And much more surprised by the results.