What if the engagement problem in your team isn’t really an engagement problem at all?

When people become disengaged, it’s easy to look outward - workload, culture, generational differences, competing priorities or the people themselves. But sometimes the more useful question for a leader is:

How might I be contributing to this?

In this episode of Leading You, I’m joined by executive coach, speaker, facilitator and author Kylie Paatsch to explore why connection sits at the heart of strong leadership, employee engagement and high-performing teams.

Kylie shares a confronting moment from her own leadership career when she discovered members of her team had deliberately gone to lunch without her and spent the time expressing their frustrations about her leadership. Painful as it was, it prompted her to examine her own contribution, seek feedback and change the way she led.

We explore why leaders can mistake proximity for genuine connection. Regular meetings, emails, Teams calls and constant communication can create the impression that relationships are strong, when the real question is whether your people feel understood, valued and able to be honest with you.

Kylie also shares her practical Know, Show, Grow framework from her book The Connection Effect, designed to help leaders better understand their people, demonstrate that understanding through their behaviour and invest in their development.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why engagement is an outcome and connection is one of the things that fuels it
• How your leadership may be contributing to team disengagement
• Why proximity and communication don’t necessarily create connection
• How to ask for feedback without becoming defensive
• Why protecting one-on-one time matters
• Kylie’s Know, Show, Grow framework
• Why connection is a leadership skill that can be developed

Timestamps

00:00 Own Your Leadership
00:22 Meet Julie and Kylie
01:54 The Bathroom Moment
07:52 Why Leaders Miss It
10:53 Engagement vs Connection
15:35 The Feedback Conversation
19:48 Protect One-on-Ones
22:09 Know, Show, Grow Model
25:33 Show and Model Care
28:44 Grow Your People
30:24 Wrap Up and Next Steps
31:02 Ratings and Farewell

Links:

Learn more about my group coaching program here
Get the Clarity Compass here

Connect with Julie:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-hyde/
Instagram: @juliehydeleads
Website: https://juliehyde.com.au

Connect with Kylie:
Website: https://kyliepaatsch.com.au/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kyliepaatsch
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kyliepaatschleadership