A Leadership Initiative to Enhance Employee Engagement amongst Engineers at a Gold Mining Plant in South Africa

Abstract

Abstract--Employee engagement mainly consists of three dimensions, namely emotional engagement, cognitive engagement and physical engagement. The aim of the current research was to determine whether a leadership initiative such as a leadership orientation workshop had a positive influence on the engagement of engineers at a gold mining plant in South Africa. A qualitative research method was utilized by conducting group interviews with engineers. Six focus group interviews with engineers from the plant were conducted. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The narrative data was broken down into smaller units, coded and named according to the content represented. The recurring themes were then categorized and described. Categories such as bottom-up leadership, transformational leadership, charismatic leadership, authentic leadership, change leadership, mind-set training, values, strategic alignment, two-way feedback, recognition, trust, diversity, safety, relationships, job profiles, performance management and career development were identified. The charismatic leadership style of the plant manager and his commitment to engaging the engineers were strong themes throughout the research. The importance of enabling managers to become leaders was also clear. The overall perceptions were that the leadership workshop initiated employee engagement amongst the engineers.