The big idea
People give their best when leaders ignite what already moves them: meaning, belonging, growth and the chance to contribute.
In 60 seconds
- Hygiene factors like pay stop dissatisfaction; motivators like growth, recognition and achievement build engagement.
- Only about one in five employees worldwide is engaged, and top-quartile teams are 23% more profitable than bottom-quartile teams.
- The drivers are manageable: leaders move engagement through the 12 C’s, one conversation at a time.
Do this: rate yourself on the 12 C’s Engagement Check and practice your weakest cluster with your team this week.
How engagement works
Employee motivation
The roles of inspiration and engagement.
A human-centered leadership approach.Lane Morris, PhD & Jules Morris, PhD
The Creative Alliances System
Engagement is a goal, fueled by Creative Climate.
How this topic fits the Creative Alliances System
- Goals: Engagement. Engagement is one of the six goals around Excellence: head, heart and hands committed to the work.
- Bonds that fuel it. Creative Climate (trust, psychological safety, rapport and transparency) fuels Engagement and Experience.
- Core Conditions. Meaning, belonging, growth and contribution are the intrinsic motivations human-centered leaders ignite.
- Where it connects. Work/Life Harmony covers Flourish; Performance Communication covers the feedback and recognition that keep engagement alive.
Text version of this diagram
- Goals: Engagement is one of the six goals around Excellence. It takes the color of the bond that fuels it.
- Bonds: Creative Climate (trust, safety, rapport and transparency) fuels Engagement and Experience.
- Core Conditions such as meaning, belonging and growth are what human-centered leaders ignite.
Defining human-centered leadership
The process of inspiring and mobilizing people to co-creatively tackle tough challenges and do things that matter.
What leadership is, in Lane’s words.
Human-centered leadership
It ignites intrinsic motivation.
- ConnectionHelps people feel like they belong.
- PurposeUnderstands people and their needs.
- MeaningfulnessRecognizes worth and value.
- ContributionHelps people want to contribute.
- OpportunityHelps people see possibilities.
This session
Inspiration, engagement and how to ignite them.
Session plan
- What are inspiration and engagement?Definitions, forms and the data.
- Leadership as catalystHow human-centered leadership ignites performance.
- How toDrivers, coaching moves and metrics.
Session objectives
Six questions we’ll answer.
What do motivation and engagement mean?
Motivation and engagement
What are the characteristics of engagement?
Characteristics
What does engagement cost, and what does it return?
The bottom line
What drives employee engagement?
Creating engagement
How can executives foster engagement?
Executive coaching
What metrics measure success?
Measurement
Part 1 · Motivation
Motivation
What does it mean, and how is it defined?
Two classic models: what keeps people from being unhappy, and what moves them to give more.
Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory
Removing the bad isn’t the same as adding the good.
Text version of this diagram
- Extrinsic hygiene factors: pay, working conditions, supervision and coworkers. When they are poor, people are dissatisfied; fixing them removes dissatisfaction.
- Intrinsic motivation factors: personal growth, recognition and achievement. These create satisfaction and motivation.
- Hygiene factors plus motivation factors equal motivation.
- Herzberg’s key idea: satisfaction and dissatisfaction sit on two separate scales, not one.
Meanwhile, on the farm
Fixing pay isn’t the same as motivating.
Text version of this diagram
- Panel 1: the Highland coo boss tosses envelopes in the air: raises for everyone, morale fixed!
- Panel 2: the chestnut horse holds his envelope: thanks, I’m not unhappy anymore…
- Panel 3: …but I’d love work that stretches me.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Needs show up on the job, too.
Text version of this diagram
- Basic physical needs. Off the job: food, water, sex. On the job: working conditions, base salary.
- Safety and security. Off the job: freedom from war and pollution. On the job: safe work, employee benefits, job security.
- Belonging and love. Off the job: family, friends, community groups. On the job: work groups, clients, coworkers, supervisors.
- Esteem (self and others). Off the job: approval of family, friends and community. On the job: recognition, high status, increased responsibilities.
- Self-actualization. Off the job: education, religion, personal growth. On the job: training, advancement, opportunities for growth and creativity.
Ten tips for inspiring employees
Inspire people; don’t just sell them.
- Stop sellingStop selling employees on why they need to perform.
- Purpose, not just profitFocus on purpose.
- Know what ignites themLearn what inspires each person.
- Tap their eagerness to learnLearn what, and learn how.
- Innovate for impact
- RecognizeSignificance plus success.
- Trust in ownershipRespect in accountability.
- Flourishing growthNot just taking responsibility.
- TrustNot just transparency.
- Safety over fearMotivate with safety.
Lane Morris, adapted from Glenn Llopis, Forbes (2013).
Part 2 · Engagement
Engagement
What does it mean, and how is it defined?
Engagement is a goal in the Creative Alliances System, fueled by Creative Climate.
Engagement defined
A heightened emotional and intellectual connection to the job, manager, team or firm that shows up as discretionary effort.
An employee’s connection that behaviorally translates into applying additional discretionary effort.
Engagement defined
The extent to which employees put discretionary effort into their work, in the form of extra time, brainpower and energy.
Towers PerrinWorking Today: Understanding What Drives Employee Engagement (2003)
Engagement: assumptions
People want to work, and they want it to mean something.
People want to work. People want meaningfulness and fulfillment.
Meaning
- inWork: the actual jobs people do.
- ofWork: the impact on something bigger.
- atWork: the location or setting.
work.
Engagement: assumptions
Getting the right things right.
Human resources is about getting the right…
- Right people
- Right attitude
- Right place
- Right thing
- Right time
- Right way
- Right results
On engagement
The current challenge isn’t just about retaining talented people but, more important, about fully engaging them.
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans“From Assets to Investors,” T+D, April 2003
Engagement components
Head, heart and hands.
Three components of engagement
Part 3 · Characteristics
Characteristics of engagement
What does it look like, and are there different forms?
From going the extra mile to checking out.
Characteristics of engagement
Engaged people go the extra mile.
Extra mileGiving extra effort on an ongoing basis.
CaringReally caring about the future of the organization.
PrideTaking pride in the job and the company.
AccomplishmentA sense of personal accomplishment.
InspirationInspired by the organization and coworkers to do their best work.
What engagement is not
Engagement is not an event.
Engagement is not:
Rational enduranceChecked outA one-time event
Engagement is a never-ending process, not a program you run once.
Engagement’s different forms
Most employees are not engaged.
Text version of this diagram
- Engaged (21% worldwide): they say (promote the firm), stay (feel connected) and strive (work with energy and passion).
- Not engaged (62%): checked out, sleepwalking, marking time.
- Actively disengaged (17%): acting out their unhappiness and undermining the firm’s efforts.
Meanwhile, on the farm
Present isn’t the same as engaged.
Text version of this diagram
- Panel 1: the Nubian goat stares at her screen, thinking: is it Friday yet?
- Panel 2: the donkey manager hangs a gold-star award: perfect attendance all year!
- Panel 3: she thinks, here every day; no ideas in months.
Percentage engaged
Engagement is slipping.
Read more: Why Is Employee Engagement So Low? (opens in a new tab)
Text version of this diagram
- U.S.: 31% of employees were engaged in 2024, down from a peak of 36% in 2020; 17% were actively disengaged.
- Worldwide: 21% of employees were engaged in 2024.
Global data (Gallup)
How the world’s employees feel.
Text version of this diagram
- Engagement: 21% engaged, 62% not engaged, 17% actively disengaged.
- Daily emotions (a lot of the previous day): stress 40%, anger 21%, sadness 23%, loneliness 22%.
- Life evaluation: 33% thriving, 58% struggling, 9% suffering.
- Job market: 51% say it’s a good time to find a job; 50% are watching for or actively seeking a new job.
Respect at work
Only about 4 in 10 feel respected.
Text version of this diagram
- Share of U.S. employees who strongly agree they are treated with respect at work: 41% (2019), 44% (2020–21), 37% (2022), 38–40% (2023), 37% (August 2024), matching the record low.
Engagement across industries and job levels
Engagement varies by where and who.
Where you sit shapes how engaged you are.
Nonprofit employees
Highly engaged, in Towers Perrin’s 2003 U.S. study.
Senior executives
Highly engaged, the highest of any job level in the same study.
Towers Perrin, Working Today: Understanding What Drives Employee Engagement (2003).
Connection to culture
The further from the top, the weaker the connection.
Text version of this diagram
- Share who strongly agree they feel connected to their organization’s culture, Q3 2024: leaders 40%, managers 23%, individual contributors 19%.
Part 4 · Bottom line
Bottom line: costs and benefits
What does engagement return, and what does disengagement cost?
Engagement shows up in profit, productivity, safety and health.
Peter Drucker on engagement
Treat employees as assets to be valued, not costs.
Drucker’s view, as summarized by Knowledge at Wharton (2000): sustainable profits come from treating people as valuable resources.
Engagement benefits
Engagement pays off at every level.
- IndividualsSatisfaction, attendance, punctuality, retention, productivity, health and wellness.
- GroupsMorale, cohesion, rapport, customer service.
- CustomersSatisfaction, branding, loyalty.
- CompanyProductivity, revenues, market share, net profits.
Engagement benefits: the evidence
Top-quartile teams beat bottom-quartile teams on everything.
Text version of this diagram
- Business units in the top quartile of engagement, compared with the bottom quartile, show:
- Profitability: 23% higher. Productivity (sales): 18% higher. Customer loyalty: 10% higher.
- Absenteeism: 78% lower. Safety incidents: 63% fewer. Turnover: 21% lower in high-turnover organizations (51% lower in low-turnover ones).
- 736 studies, 183,806 business units and more than 3.3 million employees in 90 countries.
Engagement benefits
Engaged people stay, try harder and feel better.
87%
less likely to leave
Highly engaged employees (Corporate Leadership Council, 2004).
20%
better performance
Engaged employees perform 20% better (Corporate Leadership Council, 2004).
31%
more likely to go above and beyond
Energized, engaged employees (Gartner, 2023).
62%
say work helps their health
Engaged employees who feel their work positively affects their physical health (Gallup, 2005).
Corporate Leadership Council, Driving Performance and Retention Through Employee Engagement (2004); Gartner (2023); Crabtree, Gallup Management Journal (2005).
Cost of disengagement
$10T
lost to low engagement worldwide, about 9% of global GDP
Last year, low engagement cost the world economy approximately $10 trillion in lost productivity.
Gallup, State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report (2025 data).
Photo by @silverkblack on Unsplash
Engagement costs
Disengagement shows up in accidents and absences.
Text version of this diagram
- Safety (Molson Coors): engaged employees were 5 times less likely to have a safety incident and 7 times less likely to have a lost-time incident. Average cost per incident: $63 for engaged employees, $392 for nonengaged.
- Absence (U.S.): actively disengaged workers miss 118.3 million more days a year than engaged workers, including 33.3 million more sick days.
- A five-percentage-point drop in actively disengaged employees would boost U.S. productivity by $79 billion a year.
Part 5 · Creating engagement
Creating engagement
What factors influence and drive engagement?
Most of the drivers are things leaders can manage.
Drivers of engagement
Leaders who care, work that matters.
- Senior management truly interestedLeaders as stewards of employee well-being.
- Meaningful workChallenging, meaningful, stimulating.
- Decision-making inputInput and authority.
- Employee experienceBecomes the customer’s experience.
- Career advancementReal opportunities to grow.
- Energy from the jobWork that reinforces energy.
Drivers of engagement
Trust the character at the top.
- ReputationValues-based reputation as a good employer.
- CollaborationA collaborative work environment.
- TransparencyAccess to information.
- ResourcesExisting and expanded.
- VoiceInput on decisions; leaders listen and act.
- VisionClear vision from senior management.
- TrustIn the character of senior management.
25 drivers of engagement
Many levers, all manageable.
- Nature of job
- Peer support
- Compensation and benefits
- Defined roles
- Product quality
- Employee development
- Manager character
- Customer focus
- Flexible policies
- Total rewards
- Line of sight
- Decision making
- Training for job
- Fairness, equity
- Shared values
- Career growth
- Management competence
- Work/life balance
- Management flexibility
- Autonomy
- Pride in reputation
- Adequate resources
- Clear goals
- Managers active in careers
- Environment and culture
Barriers to engagement
Remove what gets in the way.
Each barrier is a lever. Remove it, and engagement has room to grow.
Drivers of employee engagement
Belonging leads the list.
- BelongingI feel as if I belong at this company.
- Corporate social responsibilityI am proud of this company’s efforts to have a positive impact on the world.
- Career goalsI feel my career goals can be met at this company.
- Confidence in leadershipI have confidence the senior leadership team will make the right decisions.
- Adapting to changeI feel supported in my efforts to adapt to organizational changes.
- Learning and developmentI have good opportunities to learn and develop at this company.
Qualtrics, 2021 Employee Experience Trends report (2020): belonging and CSR were the strongest drivers.
Daily live your espoused values
Values only count when they’re lived.
Integrity, respect, innovation
Do people see them in daily decisions?
Verdict: lived?.Teamwork, excellence, passion
Are they rewarded, or just posted?
Verdict: lived?.Trust, accountability, transparency
Would employees say leaders live them?
Verdict: lived?.
Engagement depends on overall life experiences
Engaged people live better days.
Text version of this diagram
- Stress a lot of the previous day: engaged 34%, not engaged 40%, actively disengaged 54%, unemployed 42%.
- Thriving in life: engaged 50%, not engaged 32%, actively disengaged 17%, unemployed 23%.
- Enjoyment a lot of the previous day: engaged 88%, not engaged 80%, actively disengaged 57%, unemployed 67%.
- Actively disengaged employees report worse days than people who are unemployed.
Employee thriving falling
Half of U.S. employees are thriving, and falling.
Text version of this diagram
- U.S. employees rating their lives, August 2024: 50% thriving (a record low), 45% struggling, 4% suffering.
- Thriving fell again to 48% in 2025.
Part 6 · Executive coaching
Executive coaching
What do employees really want, and what can executives do?
Twelve asks from employees, and the 12 C’s leaders answer them with.
Employees really want engagement
What they ask, and what you do.
| They ask | You | They ask | You |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus me | Expect performance | Equip me | Provide resources |
| Know me | Interact socially | Value me | Seek ideas and input |
| Care about me | Offer flexibility | Grow me | Train and retrain |
| Hear me | Listen attentively | Challenge me | Set stretch points |
| Review me | Give constructive feedback | Point me | Give direction |
| Help me feel proud | Recognize and reward | Forgive me | Learn from mistakes |
Executive coaching
Engagement is built in conversations.
Every ask on the last slide is answered one conversation at a time.
Listen firstHear me, know me, value me.
Then directFocus me, point me, challenge me.
Then growEquip me, grow me, forgive me.
Human-centered leadership: 12 C’s of engagement
Twelve C’s, all around the clock.
Text version of this diagram
- 1. Connection: Relationships.
- 2. Career development: Maturation.
- 3. Clear values and vision: Goals.
- 4. Communicate: Convey.
- 5. Contributions: Mattering.
- 6. Control: Autonomy.
- 7. Collaborate: Teamwork.
- 8. Credibility: Character.
- 9. Compensate: Total rewards.
- 10. Congratulate: Feedback.
- 11. Coaching: Cheer.
- 12. Challenge: Inspiration.
The 12 C’s in action
What leaders do for each C.
| C | What it is | What leaders do |
|---|---|---|
| Connection | Relationships | Support teamwork. |
| Career development | Maturation | Ensure access to developmental opportunities. |
| Clear values and vision | Goals | Provide clear goals and direction. |
| Communicate | Convey | Help employees understand how they influence profits. |
| Contributions | Mattering | Value experience and expertise. |
| Control | Autonomy | Encourage and empower initiative. |
| Collaborate | Teamwork | Build synergies. |
| Credibility | Character | Act with honesty and integrity. |
| Compensate | Total rewards | Recognition, merit, compensation, benefits. |
| Congratulate | Feedback | Provide immediate feedback and reinforcement. |
| Coaching | Cheer | Inspire enthusiastic work. |
| Challenge | Inspiration | Encourage new ideas and new ways. |
Part 7 · Measurement
Measurement and metrics
What helps us measure success?
Measure engagement, then act on what you learn.
Jack and Suzy Welch on engagement
No company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it.
Jack and Suzy WelchWinning (2005), as cited in Vance, SHRM Foundation (2006)
Measurement themes
What to measure.
- Pride in employer
- Satisfaction with employer
- Opportunity to performWell, in challenging work.
- RecognitionAnd positive feedback received.
- Job attitudesSatisfaction, energy, absorption, vigor, efficacy.
- Supervisor supportPersonal support from the supervisor.
- Discretionary effortBeyond the expected.
- Line of sightThe link between job and mission.
- Future growthProspects ahead.
- Intent to stayWith this employer.
Sample items: engagement
Questions an engagement survey asks.
Do I care about the future of the company?
Am I proud to work here?
Do I get a sense of personal accomplishment from my job?
Does my company inspire me to do my best work?
Do I understand how my role relates to company goals?
Am I willing to put in effort beyond what is normally expected?
Meanwhile, on the farm
Measure it, then act on it.
Text version of this diagram
- Panel 1: the tabby cat hands out surveys to the farm crew: survey time!
- Panel 2: the Sebastopol goose holds up last year’s survey: what did we do with last year’s results?
- Panel 3: the cat shows a drawer full of unread surveys: we measured them very carefully.
Engagement metrics
Ten numbers worth tracking.
Percentages and rates to watch.
- Orientation completion
- Entrance interviews
- Employees with a mentor
- Outstanding performers
- First-year turnover
- Absenteeism
- Training hours per employee
- Internal vs. external hires
- Top-performer retention
- Career development plans
Conclusions
Engagement is a process that never ends.
- Engagement is critical
- Relational and environmentalThe issues are about people and place.
- Drivers are manageableLeaders can move them.
- Time and commitmentBuilding engagement never ends.
- Many pathwaysNo one plan fits all.
Inspired and engaged
Recall a time you felt inspired at work.
Inspired, engaged people enjoy their work, do it with high quality and lose track of time in it.
What were you doing?
What made the work so enjoyable?
How did the experience feel?
What did you appreciate about the people you worked with?
What one or two things might you do to foster this for others?
The secrets to motivation
Autonomy, mastery and purpose.
Text version of this diagram
- Autonomy: the urge to direct our own lives.
- Mastery: the desire to get better and better at something that matters.
- Purpose: the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.
Try it: the 12 C’s Engagement Check
Which C’s are you strongest in?
Below this deck, rate how often you practice each of the 12 C’s with your team. See your weakest cluster and one move to strengthen it.
Try it: 12 C’s Engagement Check
Self-check · Employee engagement
12 C’s Engagement Check
Think about your team over the last month. Rate how often you practice each C. See your weakest cluster, and one move to strengthen it.
- 1Rate
- 2See
- 3Practice
Connect and directC’s 1 to 4
I support teamwork and strong working relationships (Connection).
I make sure people can reach developmental opportunities (Career development).
I give clear goals and direction (Clear values and vision).
I help people see how their work influences results (Communicate).
Value and empowerC’s 5 to 8
I value people’s experience and expertise (Contributions).
I encourage and empower initiative (Control).
I build synergies across the team (Collaborate).
I act with honesty and integrity (Credibility).
Reward and inspireC’s 9 to 12
Rewards and recognition reflect real contribution (Compensate).
I give immediate feedback and reinforcement (Congratulate).
I inspire enthusiastic work (Coaching).
I encourage new ideas and new ways (Challenge).
Your engagement picture
Your result builds as you rate.
This is a reflection exercise, not a validated assessment. It is built on Lane Morris’s 12 C’s of engagement. Your answers stay in this browser tab. Nothing is sent or saved.
Go deeper
Back to all Executive Education topics · Related: Operationalizing Human Centered Leadership
Part of Executive Education from the Human Centered Lab: workshops Jules Morris, PhD and Lane Morris, PhD lead for working professionals.
Frequently asked questions
What is employee engagement?
Towers Perrin defined engagement as the extent to which employees put discretionary effort into their work, in the form of extra time, brainpower and energy.
What is the difference between hygiene factors and motivators?
In Herzberg’s theory, hygiene factors such as pay, working conditions and supervision prevent dissatisfaction, while motivators such as achievement, recognition and growth create satisfaction and motivation.
How many employees are engaged?
Gallup found 21% of employees worldwide and 31% in the U.S. were engaged in 2024.
What are the 12 C’s of engagement?
Lane Morris’s 12 C’s: connection, career development, clear values and vision, communicate, contributions, control, collaborate, credibility, compensate, congratulate, coaching and challenge.