BELONGING AND LEADERSHIP ENGAGEMENT

 The coursework for my EdD in Organizational Leadership covered the usual aspects of leadership traits, styles, and theories of leader/follower interactions. I came to see that, no matter the styles or theories involved, the key to successful and sustainable leadership was in the ability to increase the level of member engagement. While researching and writing my dissertation, I realized that the Six Critical Elements of  a Sense of Belonging could be incorporated into leadership engagement to reach increasing levels of member commitment and loyalty. Relating the Six Critical Elements to leadership produced the following Four Levels of Leadership Engagement. It must be remembered that each Critical Element of a Sense of Belonging needs to remain effective for the subsequent engagement level to be achieved.

Transactional Leadership Engagement

This is the basic action of an individual or entity exchanging something they possess that another values for something the other possesses that they need. An has employer has money and needs a job done - an employee can do the job and needs money.  The engagement involves only the First and Second Critical Elements of a Sense of Belonging. Both parties see a desired and available relationship through employment and both parties want to assume roles as employer and employee.

This brings about a very limited depth of engagement based only on the needs and resources of those engaged in the transaction. A person of greater skill may displace the employee or a company offering more money may displace the employer. 

Transformational Leadership Engagement

In its most positive light, transformational leadership leads to the advancement of the organization and the development of the individuals involved.  Transformational leadership brings the concepts of individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation into the relationship. The role is now connecting to the identity of the person and the image of the organization. This would bring us to the Third Critical Element of Belonging:  Belief that the role aligns with the person’s beliefs, values, or goals. Engagement is increased as the individual does not feel a personal conflict in identifying with the organization and the organization sees value in the contributions of the individual beyond the basic exchange.  Bernard Banks, associate dean for leadership development and inclusion, and a clinical professor of management at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, says that "Bringing diverse perspectives to bear and integrating them into your problem-solving process can really yield better outcomes than when you have a group of people who all possess the same perspectives and backgrounds, trying to address that complex challenge.” 

Transpositional Leadership Engagement

The opportunity for greater engagement that begins with Transformational Leadership is more fully realized through Transpositional Leadership. Transpositional Leadership is a concept  I created to move engagement to utilizing the Fourth Critical Element:  Belief that the role constructs or maintains self-identity by contributing to self-esteem, continuity, distinctiveness, (social) belonging, efficacy, or meaning. Transformational Leadership provides a first step in connecting the individual's personal/professional development to the mutual benefit of the organization. Transpositional Leadership moves the engagement further by connecting the relationship to how the person achieves a desired self-identity. This may be through recognition they receive by being part of a prestigious organization or that their role enables them to make significant contributions to the success of an organization they value. In either case, their self-identity becomes tied to their engagement. 

Transpositional Leadership is achieved when individuals are asked to help solve critical problems or create new opportunities -  when they become the "leader" in advancing the organization toward its goal.  Since the organization's values align with their personal values, when the problem is solved or the opportunity is created, the individual's self-identity is strengthened. This is a level of engagement that is not easily dissolved. An employee may go to another company and get the same salary (transactional), and may find another company that aligns with their beliefs, values or goals (transformational),  but it becomes harder to leave a company where the employee has a role that integrally maintains or constructs his self-identity.

Transcendental Leadership Engagement

In applying the Six Critical Elements to Leadership,  the highest level of engagement is Transcendental Leadership. The essence is to go beyond both the individual contributions and the organizational resources and build the relationship on their mutual beliefs, values, and goals. If the previous levels of engagement have been successful in developing the relationship, the individual now sees their role as a path to personal fulfillment of purpose for their life (see Ikigai). This can create an extremely high level of commitment for non-profits, but should be a strong consideration of for profit organizations as well.

Critical Elements 5 and 6 Must Develop at Every Level

At each level of engagement, Sense of Belonging Critical Elements 5 and 6 must be present as appropriate to the role and the expressed expectations of both the employer and employee. From the beginning of the individual's relationship to the company or organization, roles and expectations must be defined and fulfilled. (See Belonging and Recruitment and Belonging and Retention.)

Critical Element #5: Interactions with the referent that remain within the individual’s expected parameters of the role relationship.  

In each progressive stage of engagement, both the leader and the member will have expectations of parameters or boundaries that define the roles they play. The relationship must remain within these boundaries. Whether these expectations were assumed as part of the roles or were created by initial formal or informal commitments, their fulfillment  becomes the foundation of trust in the relationship. If trust is lost, the belief that this relationship can be a path to personal fulfillment is lost.

Critical Element #6: Interactions with the referent that are consistently and continually effective in meeting the individual’s expectations of the relationship.    

Honest and open communication is vital to maintaining an engagement level built on mutual beliefs, values, and goals. Neither ourselves nor our environments remain the same. If there comes a time when the  relationship is no longer effective in building or maintaining the desired self-identity, the sense of belonging is lost and expectations for personal future success are no longer merged with future organizational success. At this point, roles may need to be redefined or it may be time to move on to another desired relationship.

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