Every employee brings two things to work each day: their skills and their humanity. The problem is that organizations often recognize one while overlooking the other. Long before employees care about strategy, goals, or performance metrics, they want to know something much more fundamental: Do I matter here?
I've found that participation rises when leaders answer that question with their actions rather than their words.
I saw this firsthand with the housekeepers at the Golden Nugget. Management had become so focused on productivity that they rarely acknowledged the good work being done every day. Morale was low, absenteeism was high, and turnover remained a constant challenge. When leaders began making a conscious effort to recognize employees for what they were doing right, the atmosphere changed. Performance improved, trust grew, and employees became more invested in their work.
Another lesson came when employees seemed to be sleepwalking through performance and service standards. Management responded with a simple requirement: managers had to explain why whenever they issued directions or introduced new policies. We even told employees that if a manager couldn't explain the reason behind a request, they had the right to challenge it.
On the surface, it sounded a little like planned insubordination. In reality, it was a lesson in respect.
By catching employees doing things right, we acknowledged their value. By requiring leaders to explain the "why," we treated employees as thinking adults whose understanding mattered. Both forced managers to become more engaged in their own leadership responsibilities and created better conversations throughout the organization. Morale improved, performance increased, and employees became more committed to the standards they were being asked to uphold.
When hiring or promoting leaders, don't be shy about discussing these expectations. Technical competence matters, but leadership is fundamentally about people. Make it clear that respect, communication, and engagement are not optional leadership traits; they are part of the job. Just as importantly, model those behaviors yourself. Too often, managers are expected to demonstrate principles they do not see practiced by their own leaders.
When respect starts at the top, it has a much better chance of cascading throughout the organization. When leaders consistently do that, participation stops being something they have to demand and becomes something people willingly give. That's a difference every leader can make today.
Pamela Stroko: HCM Thought Leader and HCM Principal Analyst affiliated with 3Sixty Insights.
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