Engagement is a subtle KPI of the health of your organization’s culture.
As a leader, it is your duty to have the emotional intelligence to be attuned to engagement levels and dig until you get to the root cause. When employees smile sparingly, rarely express enthusiasm or passion, take little initiative, or avoid giving feedback, you can’t explain it away as having hired mild-mannered, boring people. Observe those same people in their personal lives and you’ll see the opposite of all those qualities.
The non-verbal communication is there, and it is louder than any words can say. It is your job as a friend or peer to recognize it and dig for answers. And managers need to do the same and solve for it.