It can be a hard task for managers to figure out what is the best way to lead a team. Should they focus on engagement or should they try to improve an individual employee’s performance?

A recent Gallup poll set out to answer this exact question. After speaking to more than 8,000 people about their managers and their manager’s leadership style, Gallup found out that high-performance managers strike a balance between both.

These managers are not only engagement-focused and performance-oriented but they are also strengths-based. A recent article in the Gallup Business Journal emphasises that managers wishing to get the best out of their employees need to incorporate all three of these areas into their leadership style.

The negative effects of failing to do so includes alienating team members, damaging performance and lowering engagement.

The Gallup article identified ways in which managers can enhance their own performance and subsequently their team’s. Firstly, a manager should sit down individually with their employees to identify goals and set targets to create an engaging work environment for employees.

The Gallup poll found that people who sat down with their managers to set performance-related goals were 17 times more engaged than people who didn’t.

Checking in with staff to see how they are progressing is also key. Employees who felt their managers were involved in what they were working on were seven times more likely to be engaged than disengaged.

Once the goals are set, it is important to hold employees accountable if they fail to meet their objectives or congratulate them on a job well done. This influenced engagement for 69 per cent of respondents.

Focusing on employee engagement as well as performance can also motivate and energise a team. According to Gallup, workgroups with high levels of engagement have 21 per cent higher productivity and 22 per cent higher profitability levels than workgroups with low levels of engagement.

Incorporating HRMS into your workplace can help your business take a more people-focused approach, while also setting individual goals and identifying how these targets can be reached.