Associate Professor Concordia University Wisconsin
Abstract: Abstract Organizations are starting to take notice that the workforce isn’t about lumping a group of people together as one entity with identical requirements and goals. Instead, they have started recognizing that every person is an individual, with unique needs, backgrounds, cultures, and aspirations. Human resource development professionals look at ways to unleash human expertise and potential (Swanson & Holton, 2009), and “for HRD to stay relevant and critical, the core foundations of HRD should be discussed, debated, and theories verified for accuracy through theory development” (Hurtienne et al., 2017, p. 17). The goal of this paper is to recognize equity leadership as a new concept that has the potential to further HRD discussions. Provo (2000) recognizes the value in human capital as something that can increase organizational performance; therefore, it is of the utmost importance to contemplate individual needs when leading organizations. As we seek to grow and develop employees, thus increasing human capital, we should consider individual employee needs as a means of increasing connection and employee engagement (EE) within organizations. “EE should be viewed as a process that will require nurturing and ongoing interactions with employees” (Hurtienne et al., 2021, p. 15). The interactions with the potential to increase EE can be described through social exchange theory (SET). “SET argues that obligations are generated through a series of interactions between parties who are in a state of reciprocal interdependence” (Saks, 2006, p. 603), meaning there is a give and take between leaders and employees. Leaders can use this opportunity to connect with employees and learn more about individual needs. Equity leadership proposes looking at individual employee needs through the ERG Theory of Motivation (Alderfer, 1969) and taking employee needs into consideration in order to effectively lead individuals. Alderfer (1969) defines human needs in three categories: existence, relatedness, and growth. Leaders can learn about employee needs in each category by having one-on-one conversations that focus on individual employee needs and how they might be met. As leaders work on developing relationships, a focus on employee needs could further help to foster engagement and increase human capital. Equity leadership identifies the personal and professional needs of individual employees in order to support and encourage them to reach their fullest potential in their organization. This nuanced theory of leadership encourages evolving from the factory model of expectations to a model that considers the unique needs of each individual in an organization in order to increase engagement, human capital, and organizational gains. Keywords: leadership, employee engagement, equity
References Alderfer, C.P. (1969). An empirical test of a new theory of human needs. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 4(2), 142-175. Hurtienne, M, Ljubenko, B., & Hurtienne, L. (2017). Theoretical foundations of human resource development: Conceptual visual expansion. Peer-reviewed paper presented at the Academy of Human Resource Development Conference - 2017, San Antonio, TX, USA Hurtienne, M., Hurtienne, L., & Kempen, M. (2021). Employee engagement: Emerging insight of the millennial manufacturing workforce. Human Resource Development Quarterly. DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21453 Provo, J. (2000). Measuring Human Capital. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 2(1), 76–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/152342230000200107 Saks, A. M., & Rotman, J. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21, 600–619. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-06-2018-0034 Swanson, R.A. and Holton, E.F. III, (2009), Foundation of Human Resource Development, (2nd ed.), Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, CA.
