The 3 Pillars of Employee Engagement According

What makes one team go above and beyond while another just does the bare minimum?

This simple question sits at the heart of leadership. In many organizations, engagement is explained through motivation, recognition, or pay.

Yet, as Patrick Lencioni reminds us, engagement cannot be commanded, it must be cultivated. It’s built on three deeply human needs: to be known, to be useful, and to be able to measure oneself. When these needs are fulfilled, people don’t just show up for work, they invest themselves.

Being Known: Stepping Out of Anonymity

The first pillar, being known, responds to a fundamental human need : the need to feel seen, recognized, and understood. It’s not just about being valued for performance or skills, but for who we are as people.

Anonymity is a subtle form of disengagement. When someone feels interchangeable, unseen, or unheard, their connection weakens. Conversely, when they feel known and valued, their sense of belonging grows.

For leaders, this means showing genuine interest in team members. It’s about small, consistent actions: asking simple, human questions, listening attentively, showing curiosity without intrusion, and above all, demonstrating real empathy, the kind that connects rather than evaluates.

This pillar requires consistency. Recognition is not a task to check off; it’s a habit to develop. True attention, shown repeatedly, builds trust and strengthens commitment.

Being Useful: Reconnecting With Purpose

The second pillar, being useful, touches on a universal need : the need to feel that one’s work matters. As Lencioni puts it: I need to be needed.

An engaged employee understands who benefits from their work and why it matters. When this sense of relevance fades, meaning disappears, and with it, motivation.

Supporting this pillar means helping each team member connect their role to a concrete outcome. It starts with clear, grounding questions:

• Who am I helping?

• How does my work make someone else’s day better?

• What difference do I make for my colleagues, clients, or organization?

• When people can see the impact of what they do, their tasks regain purpose.

Leaders play a vital role by linking daily actions to team goals, recognizing the value of each contribution, and celebrating visible progress, no matter how small. When teams understand their usefulness, they rediscover motivation, and pride in their work.

Being Able to Measure Oneself: Regaining Control

The third pillar, being able to measure oneself, is about having clear signs of progress. When someone doesn’t know if they’re improving or falling behind, motivation quickly fades. Employees need to see their progress for themselves, without depending on their manager’s opinion or mood.

Lencioni puts it plainly: “My success doesn’t depend on the opinion or whims of another person.” Leaders can nourish this need by co-creating simple, visible indicators with their teams.

These benchmarks should be meaningful, concrete, and connected to both individual and collective goals. The goal isn’t control — it’s clarity.

These measures give employees a sense of ownership over their success and allow them to say: “I can see that I’m moving forward.” When progress is visible, motivation becomes self-sustaining. The measure itself becomes a source of autonomy and pride, not stress.

Two Questions to Move Forward

These three pillars offer both a framework and a compass for action. Two simple questions can help leaders move from reflection to practice:

• Which of these three needs is the least fulfilled in your team?

• What small action could you take this week to strengthen it?

These questions invite leaders to practise conscious leadership, one rooted in presence, curiosity, and coherence. They remind us that lasting change rarely comes from big reforms, but from small, consistent gestures.

Three Traps to Avoid (and How to Overcome Them)

Trap 1: Believing you know your team just because you see them every day

Risk: Missing subtle signs of exhaustion or disengagement.

Tip: Ask a real question: “How are you — really?”

Impact: More authentic relationships and conversations that prevent rather than repair.

Trap 2: Assuming people naturally know how their work contributes

Risk: They end up seeing their tasks as disconnected from the mission.

Tip: Connect each team goal to a real person who benefits from it.

Impact: Employees rediscover meaning and see the value of their work.

Trap 3: Confusing measurement with control

Risk: Creating dashboards that discourage rather than motivate.

Tip: Co-create simple benchmarks that the team chooses together.

Impact: Measurement becomes a source of pride and ownership, not anxiety.

In Summary

Engagement doesn’t come from incentives or slogans. It grows from relationships, meaning, and recognition.

When employees feel known, useful, and able to measure their progress, they don’t just work; they commit, they contribute, and they grow. And that’s where the real strength of a team, and its leader, begins.