To clarify what these lists are showing... the first box lists the items that are most highly correlated with overall engagement for "all employees" - that is, everybody who completed the survey across more than 150 companies. In the middle box, we looked at the same correlations, but we only included employees who had overall engagement scores that placed them in the top 20% of all survey respondents. In the third box, we included just the top 10% of employees.

The first thing to note is that the three lists are more similar than they are different. The themes of fairness, respect, teamwork, values, etc. are important to everybody, including the most engaged employees. For the sake of brevity and clarity, we have only listed the top ten items on each list, but where there are differences that are not highlighted, the items generally fell just outside the top ten.

However, the highlighted items are distinct to the most engaged employees. These items are well below the top ten drivers of employee engagement. To confirm this finding, we included the third list, which indicates that accountability and empowerment become even more important as we narrow our focus.

Lastly, the prominence of the Personal Expression item for the most engaged employees is worth noting since it is at the top of second and third lists. This same item is still in the top ten for all employees, so it is an important driver of engagement for all employees, but it does appear to have a potentially more important role for the most engaged employees. We have chosen not to focus on this area because the result is less conclusive and distinct than the differences noted within engagement and accountability.

(Research Note: We also looked at engagement drivers for the top 5% (most engaged) employees. Accountability and Empowerment rise to the top two positions on this list. This suggests that the trend continues, but the statistics are less reliable because the group size is smaller, and because it is likely to contain a higher percentage of "outliers" - people who gave unusually high scores on the survey without really answering the questions in a thoughtful manner. Therefore, we have not included these findings.)

We make an assumption when we look at the most engaged employees - we assume that these employees are, by and large, also top performers. This assumption is supported by the survey questions that stand out among these groups. Top performers want to be empowered so they can perform at their best, and they want to see themselves and others held accountable for achieving results.

On the other hand, in companies that do not empower employees or hold people accountable, it is reasonable to assume that some of the most talented employees would be more likely to be disengaged.

For companies that are interested in driving engagement to the highest levels, our research indicates that the way to do this is by empowering employees and by making sure that all employees are held accountable for achieving results. Moreover, these areas are important for attracting, retaining, and motivating the most talented employees. People who value empowerment and accountability will be discouraged in companies that do not promote and support these things. By contrast, poor performers might enjoy the safe haven of a company that does not demand accountability. These are employees who might have high levels of "satisfaction", but they are likely to be adding little or no value, and even worse, discouraging the talented people around them.

Empowerment, autonomy, and accountability must be addressed from several angles in order to be effective:

• Formal company policies, procedures, and processes should foster empowerment and autonomy where possible and appropriate, and they should require accountability at every step and at every level.
• The company culture needs to support empowerment and accountability. This can start with formal processes and policies, but the actions, communications, and signals sent by management need to engrain these things in the culture of the organization.
• Managers at all levels are where the rubber meets the road. Individual managers will have the biggest day-to-day impact on their employees in these areas. The organization needs to provide the framework and support that managers need. Then, it is ultimately up to each employee's manager to dictate the level of autonomy that employees have, and to define goals and hold all employees accountable for achieving results.