How close are you looking at employee engagement?

Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them ~ Alan Watts

Here are your 4 steps to look at employee engagement:

1. Take a good look at your own engagement.
2. Take a close look at the engagment of others you work with.
3. Take a look for what can help you become more fully engaged.
4. Look at what you can do for others to foster their engagement.

rosita

Benjamin Zander is a master of engagement. His passion for music and to bring out the best is very inspirational. Read the following statement he makes as he coaches a student:

We are about contribution, that’s what our job is … everyone was clear you contributed passion to the people in this room. Did you do it better than the next violinist, or did he do better than a pianist? I don’t care, because in contribution, there is no better!

Now: Watch a 6 minute video clip of Ben at work.

Can you change your view of employee engagement and performance management into passionate contribution? There is no better.

Picture credit: rosita by http://flickr.com/photos/schaaflicht/346073/

Employee engagement is about engaging now not some future state we must strive towards

To live for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top. ~ Robert M. Pirsig

Engage now, where you are, with what you are doing.

Picture Credit: Seeing is believing … by http://flickr.com/photos/lapidim/105208106/

Do you see relaxation as the opposite of work and effort? Perhaps you believe relaxation is something you do after work? I believe we perform at our best when we relax into work or performance. Our thinking can prohibit engagement or prolong emlpoyee disengagement.

Here is a short paragraph from J. J. Gibbs, Dancing With Your Books: The Zen Way of Studying:

Relaxed Mind, Alert Mind. Relaxation does not mean that the mind goes to sleep. It means to let go to allow the mind to devote its full power to the task at hand. Emptying the mind or letting go is liberation from disquieting thoughts and feelings so our mind’s light can shine directly and exclusively on the present moment, the task at hand. The remaining mid is relaxed by alert. It is taut and ready; poised to deal with whatever present circumstances demand.

The next time you find yourself struggling to stay engaged with your work, take a deep breath, inspire yourself, and relax into your effort.

Picture Credit: Fillmore Snow (11) by http://flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/47910013/

We must make our moments count in employee engagement.

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is

paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. This kind of attention nurtures greater awareness, clarity, and acceptance of present-moment reality. It wakes us up to the fact that our lives unfold only in moments. If we are not fully present for many of those moments, we may not only miss what is most valuable in our lives but also fail to realize the richness and the depth of our possibilities for growth and transformation.

Mindfulness is to engage fully in life and is integral to fully engaging in our work.

Photo Credit: Impermanenceby Josh Bonfili: http://flickr.com/photos/photomofo/364058611/