Impact of Relational Leadership on Employee Engagement: Basis for Action Plan

Abstract

This study examines the influence of relational leadership on employee engagement in six companies within Jiangsu Province, China. The research includes 156 participants, representing diverse organizational backgrounds. The study uncovers valuable demographic insights, highlighting the importance of age diversity, gender balance, employee retention, and department-specific training for workforce planning and talent development. The findings emphasize strong support for visionary, empowering, inclusive, caring, and ethical leadership attributes. Relational leadership significantly impacts productivity, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivation, workplace relationships, autonomy, and empowerment, emphasizing the role of trust, support, collaboration, and emotional connection. The proposed action plan, rooted in relational leadership, aims to enhance employee engagement by fostering collaboration, well-being, commitment, motivation, relationships, and autonomy. Recommendations focus on creating age-diverse teams, recognizing long-serving employees, customizing training programs, investing in leadership development, and implementing the relational leadership action plan.