Emotional Transition Of Leadership
September 14, 2023
Teamwork – What Do You Need To Know
November 14, 2023
Emotional Transition Of Leadership
September 14, 2023
Teamwork – What Do You Need To Know
November 14, 2023

Leadership, Culture and Teamwork are all significant factors in the pursuit of organisational performance. Correspondingly, they are also very much the recent buzz words inside the business community… And now we have another:

Engagement.

Once again, I see individuals, leaders, teams and organisations turning themselves inside and out to make people feel good about themselves, what they do, where they work and why they need to do what they should.

I believe engagement is a shared process. Regardless of what you do, how you do it and the reasons why, there will be times when someone around you is uninterested, disengaged, unhappy and focused on something else. For any number of reasons, I doubt there will be too much you can do to get them back into the fold. Therefore, engagement becomes their responsibility.

Of course, you or others can do things to help them through this time, but ultimately, the individual needs to take some responsibility for themselves and not just sit there with a silver platter, knife and fork and wait to be fed.

But what about when it is your responsibility? What about when you are part of a team, or you are a leader, what are the elements that you should be across to help the levels of interest, commitment, diligence and engagement?

What are some of the critical characteristics towards engagement that you need to check, refine and update constantly?

1. Purpose
Do they feel that what they are doing has a genuine purpose? Do they think they are contributing in a significant and meaningful way? Do they feel part of the success that is being attained?

Now, the thing here is to realise that they don’t need to have the highest profile job or pay to have a purpose. They need to realise that the role they play is important. They need to know what they do matters.

2. Respect
Do they share the respect of their peers, and if not, why? It is one thing to have the respect of your boss, but it is equally if not more important to know that your peers see you as an integral part of what is going on and what you do and how you do it is important to them.

3. Perception
How do they see themself, and how do they think others see them? If they see themselves or feel that those around them see them as pawns or tools to be used, abused and discarded at will, they will not be into what is being done.

In the end, we should all know we are dispensable, but at the same time, we should know that we are not just seen as something that helps generate a result.

4. Time, opportunity and space
They need the big three for all sorts of reasons: To do things, work things out, and get the required results.

No doubt, time is a crucial ingredient that cannot be wasted, but at the same time, people sometimes require it and the opportunity to work things out for themselves. So, awareness becomes vital so you know when to help and when to step back and give them the time, opportunity and space they require.

5. Define success
There will be your definition of success, and there will be theirs. The key is for you to understand theirs and for them to understand yours. This way, regardless of whether you judge success in the same way or come at it from different angles, you both know that what is being done can and will lead to mutual benefit and end up delivering what you both want, and it will be delivered at the same time.

But, like many things, the five points above do not guarantee engagement. The one thing I do know is that with them…

The Journey Continues!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *