Meaning: Work has purpose beyond the job or task itself. Leaders help create meaning by sharing a strategic perspective with direct reports, helping individuals align what is important to them personally to the work they do.

Autonomy: The power to shape your environment in ways that allow you to perform at your best. Leaders directly impact the level of autonomy on their teams through clear expectations, delegation and empowerment.

Growth: Being stretched and challenged in ways that result in personal and professional progress. Leaders can help others grow by balancing employees’ desires to gain experience for the future with the business need to perform well at their current jobs.

Impact: Seeing positive, effective, and worthwhile outcomes and results from work. Leaders help employees see the impact of their work by establishing clear direction, recognizing and rewarding strong contributions, and providing feedback as to progress.

Connection: The sense of belonging to something beyond yourself. Leaders influence connection through personal relationships, encouraging teamwork and collaboration, and helping to cultivate the organization’s culture on their teams.

Fundamentals: Some competencies relevant to engagement do not specifically tie to any one ENGAGEMENT MAGIC® key. These competencies tend to span several or all ENGAGEMENT MAGIC® keys. These include communication, stress management, personal engagement, and trust.