This morning I spoke to about 75 business owners and executives in Utah. They are all part of a networking company that seeks to build business through fostering stronger relationships.
The subject they asked me to speak on was employee engagement. That may be an unfamiliar term, but employee engagement is the measure of those people that are willing to go the extra mile for a project or a coworker. It represents those that apply extra effort even when no one is watching because they take pride in their work and their organization. On the level of heart and soul, they feel a sense of purpose in their work.
Now, according to that definition, how many of you would define yourself as being engaged in your work?
And how many of your people would be defined as engaged?
I believe that engagement is the process of aligning purpose with profession. When we feel like our profession falls in line with our purpose, then our work becomes our play. We no longer need discipline, because we have devotion.
Your purpose lies at the center of your talents, your passions, and your values.
Your talents are the natural gifts and abilities that you possess. Each of us has talents. In what areas do you easily excel? What can you be the best in the world at? There are over six billion people living on the earth today. Billions more have lived before, and yet not one of us has the same fingerprints, personality or looks exactly the same. We are all unique, with talents, gifts and potential. It is our job to recognize those talents and use them to better our life and the lives of those around us.
Passions are felt in the form of energy, liveliness, and strong emotion. What wakes you up in the morning? What would you do for free? What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Values are the principles by which we live our lives. Principles such as: honesty, cleanliness, respect, hard work, love, freedom, progress, or service. When we live by our values we feel good about the work we are doing and the service we are providing.
When you can align your work with your purpose, magic begins to happen. Not only are you more effective and productive, but you can contribute greatly to those around you.
2 Responses
Great concept – employee engagement! What you have said can equally apply to being self-employed. Such a good question: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Loving your work is a great motivator.
Nice post. Too many leaders think employee engagement is driven by vacation schedule, # of foosball tables, flatscreen TV’s in the breakroom, and company picnics. I think you’ve done a nice job dissecting what truly makes engaged employees.
At Brand Integrity Employee engagement is a state we believe companies are constantly striving to get to. Simply put, it is the result of employees understanding the company’s strategy , how to bring it to life behaviorally in their day-to-day job, being held accountable for helping achieve the company goals/objectives and therefore willing to give that extra bit of discretionary effort everyday.