Managers can engage their workers by seeing them as whole people and having courageous conversations that will build trust and see what is really going on. Having a high-quality relationship with the leader was found to be a more important driver of work engagement than was inspirational leadership behavior. A key finding of the study was that leader–member exchange (LMX) contributed more to worker engagement than did transformational leadership.

A conclusion reached in the study was that a better relation-ship with the leader will cause followers to reciprocate with higher levels of emotional investment in the job. Another illustrative way in which leaders can facilitate engagement among employees is to provide them feedback on the progress they are making with their work. Leaders can also enhance employee engagement by discussing career advancement opportunities with them. The perception of advancement opportunities is an accepted way of facilitating worker engagement including loyalty.

A promising new understanding of how leaders influence subordinates to become engaged is through the energy people derive from a positive relationship with their leader. A series of three studies showed that the relational energy workers derive from their relationship with their leader prompts them to become more work engaged.