Tony Schwartz is featured on this video from leading@google. Tony Schwartz along with Jim Loehr wrote The Power of Full Engagement. I encourage you to watch this video and learn to manage or master your energy for engagement.

Here is a short description of the video from the Google site:

Demand is relentlessly rising. Our capacity is not keeping pace. The traditional solution to higher demand has been to invest more time. Unfortunately, time is finite, and most of us have no hours left to invest. Energy, however, can be systematically expanded — and it can also be regularly renewed. To operate at our best, we need four energy sources: physical (quantity), emotional (quality), mental (focus), and the energy of the human spirit (purpose). This talk will focus on the role of energy in fueling sustainable high performance, and in motivating others.

Click here if the video does not load in this window.

The Olympics started today.

I encourage you to visit the Official Olympic website and view some of the 1 or 2 minute quick videos from the personal trainer section. Although the advice is based on Olympic performance I believe most of what these athletes offer can be used by any of us who want to engage more fully in our own performances.

Some of the topics for tips include:

• How do you hang on to the fun side of things?
• How do you make sure you do a good job?
• How do you maintain your sense of fair play?
• Why is teamwork important?

Click here to go this special section of the site and enjoy the Olympics.

Blessing White has done an exceptional job of reporting on the State of Engagement 2008.

Here are a few tidbits from the Blessing White State of Engagement  2008 – North America Report:

• Fewer than 1 in 3 employees is fully engaged.
• 19% are disengaged.
• 85% of engaged employees plan to stay with their employer and focus on their contributions.
• Opportunities to use talent and career development and training heighten work satisfaction.
• Only about half of employees trust their senior leadership while about 75% trust their manager.
• Bad managers are the third most common reason people leave their employer.

The comprehensive report also includes 10 tips to engage your team, including:

• Hire engage-able team members.
• Earn trust every day.
• Remember that feedback is a gift.

Click here to get a copy of this excellent report. There are also reports for Asia, Germany, etc.

10 Days with Keith Johnstone

I participated in a 10 day improvisation course with Keith Johnstone in Calgary Alberta at the end of July. Keith Johnstone is a master of improvisation and one of the top teachers I have ever worked with in any subject. The course was engaging, interesting, informative, practical, and trans-formative. I have yet to sort out all of the lessons that I have taken away from the 10 days that apply to employee engagement but there are many.

Click here to read a personal/professional journal of my thoughts during the course.

Here are a few of the immediate things I took away and will work at integrating.

What comes next? To be able to ask the question of ourselves and others: What comes next? If you do something to change the relationship with employees, what comes next? If you start to pay closer attention – what comes next? If you downsize about 15% of your staff – what comes next? We learned during the course to work at making what comes next positive for the other person while also making space for them to give a positive no.

Be average. So often we try so hard that we get in our own way. Don’t be oblivious to the obvious.

Have fun and show people that you are enjoying yourself. Make your eyes big and let people see your teeth. You don’t have to take a FISH! course or be false but if you are not engaged, how can you expect anyone else to be engaged with you. Let the people at work know that you are happy to work with them.

Be willing and able and ready to fail. Try things and see how they work. You learn from failure so don’t avert your eyes – see what occurs during and after failure and use that to learn.

Are you growing or are you fixed? Is you mind set on growth or is it fixed? Keith did not talk about Carol Dweck’s work but I often thought about it during the course. Click here to see a great one page PDF handout contrasting the fixed versus growth mindset. I believe the growth mindset greatly contributes to more engagement in our work.

Age does not disengage. Keith is 75 years old and often taught 6 hours a day. I have fully learned that age does not disengage! As I reflect more on what I learned I will offer some more insights and actions that can foster engagement at work.

Hostmanship is a reprint of a great concept from April 24, 2007. When hostmanship occurs I think there is both employee engagement and customer engagement. Read the article to learn more and learn where you can get additional resources on this topic.

Service is no longer good enough. Hostmanship has raised the level of how we approach work to a new level of caring, involvement, pride, profit, and engagement. Are you ready to engage in hostmanship or are you so complacent that you will be left behind?

Hostmanship is the art of making people feel welcome. The concept is outlined in a short book by Jan Gunnarsson and Olle Blohm.hostmanship website: