When the term employee engagement is mentioned, it is often thought about in terms of employees at lower levels of an organization. Employee engagement for those at higher levels isn’t often discussed.

There is a general feeling that people higher up in the organization are making so much money or have achieved that vice-president-or-higher title and should just be happy and have nothing to complain about.

The truth is: Leaders at higher levels of an organization can become disengaged, too.

In my 20 years of being a leader in human resources and providing executive-level leadership coaching in my own business, I have observed two consistent reasons leaders in high-level positions become disengaged:

Their motivation shifts.

A leader who was once driven by power and achievement begins to recognize that they long for making an impact and having a purpose.

That is a major shift because power and achievement are what got them where they are. It has been their identity and what the company has come to rely upon. Changing that means doing an about-face with those who have trusted them to do what the company needs.