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Employee Engagement: People Artists Add Vibrant Interpersonal Color to Work

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Employee Engagement Through People Artisty

I encourage you to read the full post including such statement as:

Why do we need people artistry when we already have human resources?
People artistry is our plea to focus on the person, not a human resource. People are not resources that should just be managed; they are people we work with every day. People artistry doesn’t reside in a specific department or area of the business; it needs to touch every person from co-workers and people we manage, to cleaning staff and security guards. We trust that after reading “People Artists,” you’ll personalize your approach to work. Think of being a people artist as your way to repay the debt to someone who brought out the best in you.

To read the full article, click here.

David Zinger is a global employee engagement expert and employee engagement speaker.

Employee Engagement 3 Word Theme for 2014/2015: Engage, Engage, Engage

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Engage Logo David Zinger

History of the 3-word theme. I first read about the 3 word theme from Chris Brogan. I have been using a 3-word theme for my work for six years and will be entering year seven in 10 days. Previous themes included:

  1. In 2009 my theme was: authentic, connect, engage
  2. In 2010 my theme was: engage, mobilize, produce.
  3. In 2011 my theme was: engage, educate, enliven.
  4. In 2012 my theme was: stop, focus, and finish.
  5. In 2012/2013 my theme was: discern, invite, engage
  6. In 2013/2014 my theme was spark, grow, write

Benefits of a 3 word theme. A three word theme is succinct, easy to remember and leverage as a tool for work. It offers a quick guide and evaluation for work completed. It is a nice reflection tool for work and progress. It is also a great planning tool to get a tighter focus on the year ahead while offering flexibility in how those 3 themes are actualized.

3-Word Theme for 2013/2014. My new 3-word working theme is: engage, engage, engage. I know, this is the same word used three times. In my mind, the repetition adds emphasis. Also, this is the last year I will construct a three word theme. After this year I will reduce and simplify to a one word theme.  Engage, engage, engage will govern my work from September 1, 2014  to August 31, 2015.

Why I chose engage, engage, engage. I have spent the proverbial 10,000 hours towards expertise on engagement over the past 10 years. It has been my primary focus and frequently my exclusive focus over this time. I am much fonder of the word engage, a quick verb to initiate action, than the longer noun of engagement that seems more passive and removed. During the year ahead I plan to engage myself fully in my work, I want to help others engage fully in their work, and I want to expand the depth and breadth of engage in our workplaces and our wellbeing. Using just one word three times is easier to remember and provides a more succinct focus for my efforts. So engage along with me, the best is yet to be.

A sample of engage projects for 2014/2015

  • I will engage fully in thousands of fifteen minute periods of work.
  • I will be presenting  in Singapore on employee engagement
  • I will be speaking and conducting a Master Class on engagement in Dubai in December
  • I am creating a virtual three week intensive course on engagement in conjunction with a university for February 2015
  • I will continue to write about engagement at this site, further refining the term and practices.
  • I am in the midst of writing a twelve part series on the Halogen blog on the wheel of engagement
  • I plan to unite people in Manitoba interested in engagement/engage into a community of support and practice
  • There will be many more projects, tasks, and endeavors that embrace the theme of engage.

How to Write Your Own Three Word Theme. I encourage you to compose and act on your own 3-word theme for work. Here are 9 steps to create and apply your own unique 3 word theme:

  1. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. Take time to mull over 3 words that are personally meaningful.
  2. The process of doing this may be of equal value to the outcome.
  3. View a number of other people’s 3-word themes by clicking here.
  4. Voice your intended 3-word theme to other people to get their impressions and input.
  5. Once you find the 3-words that fit for you for the year ahead declare them to both other people and yourself.
  6. Create an image for your theme to keep it in focus for the year ahead.
  7. Leverage the 3-words to contemplate more focused and productive work.
  8. Apply the 3-word theme as your internal work GPS.
  9. Use the 3-words to evaluate your work.
David Zinger is an employee engagement speaker and expert.

Employee Engagement: Engage!

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Engage!

How did engage become engagement? If you are a rugby fan could you  imagine the scrum starting with “crouch, touch, pause, engagement.” Engagement does not work to start action. Don’t freeze up your work with engagement. We don’t engagement at work.  We engage. Engage today and you will find that engagement takes care of itself.

Employee Engagement and the 3-Word Theme: Discern, Invite, Engage

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David Zinger’s 3 word theme for 2012/2013

History of the 3-word theme. I first heard of the 3 word theme from Chris Brogan. I have been using a 3-word theme for my work for four years and will be entering year five this month.  Previous themes were:

  1. In 2009 my theme was: authentic, connect, engage
  2. In 2010 my theme was: engage, mobilize, produce.
  3. In 2011 my theme was: engage, educate, enliven.
  4. In 2012 my theme was: stop, focus, and finish.

Benefits of a 3 word theme. A three word theme is succinct and easy to remember and leverage as a tool for work. It offers a quick guide and evaluation for work completed. It is a nice reflection tool for work and progress. It is also a great planning tool to get a tighter focus on the year ahead while offering flexibility in how those 3 themes are actualized.

2012/2013  3-Word Theme. My new 3-word working theme is: discern, invite, and engage. These 3 words will govern my work from September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2013.

Discern. This word will guide me to distinguish what is important from what is unimportant. I will exercise more judgement with my social media time. I will ensure I know my audiences better for presentations. I will look at all the information I encounter with much more discernment. Overall, I look forward to being more discerning in the coming year.

Invite. I don’t impose, I invite. I don’t like being told what to do but I am always open to an invitation. I will ensure that I extend more invitations during 2012/13. I will invite my audiences to take action. I will invite my readers to engage with me and take action. I will invite new clients to engage with me and invite old clients to re-engage. I love the idea of inviting and inviting more into my life with full discernment.

Engage. Engagement is a noun while engage is a verb. This will be the fourth year out of five that engage has been one of my key 3 words. My close alliance with engage is what sustains me in my work in employee engagement, engaging management, and engaged leadership. I love the final word to start a rugby scrum, “engage.” Engage is a word that strongly invites both connection and action.

DIE? You may have noticed that this year’s 3-word theme create the acronym “DIE.” This is deliberate on my part. Embedded within discernment is to let unimportant projects and activities die – to separate the wheat from the chaff. Being more invitational in my work will require that I accept that many invitations will die or not be accepted. As powerful as engage is, we can only engage for so long without letting our engagement die to allow for change, rest, recovery, and rejuvenation.

Invitation. I invite you with a sense of discernment to engage in writing and acting on your own 3-word theme for work. Here are 9 steps to create and apply your own unique 3 word theme.

  1. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. Take time to mull over 3 words that are personally meaningful.
  2. The process of doing this may be of equal value to the outcome.
  3. View a number of other people’s 3-word themes by clicking here.
  4. Voice your intended 3-word theme to other people to get their impressions and input.
  5. Once you find the 3-words that fit for you for the year ahead declare them to both other people and yourself.
  6. Make an image for your theme to keep it in focus for the year ahead.
  7. Leverage the 3-words to contemplate more focused and productive work.
  8. Apply the 3-word theme as your internal work GPS.
  9. Use the 3-words to evaluate your work.
David Zinger is an work engagement expert who will be operating with a full sense of discernment, invitation, and engagement for the coming year. To access his services and workshops email him at david@davidzinger.com