A Thoughtful Tip on Sustaining Employee Engagement

Our Internet Influenced Brains Conspire Against Full Engagement

Nicholas Carr wrote an intriguing book on What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. I think he was right.

The printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In stark contrast, the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is that of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption — and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection.

The proof is in the quotation. The nugget referred to above was scanned from the dust jacket of the book rather than an engaged reading of the actual book, which offers support of Carr’s point! Could our Internet fueled brains also be one of the sources of the challenge to engage more fully with all our work?

Deep read. I will continue to use the Internet and I will now embark upon a deeper reading of a specific book. I plan to spend the next 6 months in a deeper read of Lisa Haneberg’s, The ASTD Management Development Handbook. I am using this specific book to ease into deeper reading as it was edited by Lisa and had 37 contributors. I contributed a chapter too so that will make it a little easier. I believe in the power of small bets and wins to contribute to a greater sense of engagement and motivation.

Method. I will be more deliberate as I read. I will concentrate more, slow down to contemplate, and ensure that I reflect upon what I am reading. I will transform each chapter into a lesson and use it to enhance my knowledge and offer guidance to others who wish to develop their management approach.

Reflection. I wonder if it may be possible to have an impact on overall work engagement with various tasks by changing my brain through a more deliberate engagement with one specific book. Do we need to discover and uncover ways to help all employees be able to sustain longer and stronger engagement with their various work tasks?

David Zinger is a global employee engagement expert. He founded and hosts the 5200+ member Employee Engagement Network. David is currently using the10 block Pyramid of Employee Engagement with organizations and individuals to increase their levels of engagement. As David is fond of saying, “full engagement is less than 10 blocks away.”