Daydreaming for better Engagement

Is it possible to have people be more engaged by asking them to daydream?

Give these next question some thought, or better yet let yourself day dream a bit…

  • What does your ideal day at work look like?
  • Envision it as if you leaped out of bed thinking “I get to go to work today!”
  • What are you doing?
  • With who?
  • Where is this ideal work taking place?
  • How does this work feed your values?
  • What is it about the work that provides you energy?

Engage yourself in the simple act of day dreaming about your ideal work.  The power of visualization works for athletes and execs – it can work for you too.

Find yourself a comfy chair. Give yourself 10-minutes.  Think of it as a stay-cation.  And allow yourself to be in the dream.  Put your limiting beliefs aside, and dream. After day dreaming, ask yourself, “what are the nuggets from your dream that you can start to attain TODAY?”

I conducted a workshop on Career Exploration today and invited participants to day dream. One participant’s dream revolved around being a Writer.  And then the list of limitations unfolded on why that couldn’t happen.  As she looked for permission to throw the dream away, I asked her how might writing show up more in her work today? This dream gave her energy, the limitations filled her with fear.  Being able to weave nuggets of your dream into your daily work might just give you the boost to become more engaged.

It might even give you the courage to jump into the pool with both feet and DO something about your dream.  So, I say dream!

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Freedom to Dream

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) has been used in organizational change efforts for a number of years now.  Can you use AI for Employee Engagement?

Here’s the 6 Fundamentals, as outlined by Whitney & Trosten-Blooms, that I believe have staying power with creating employee engagement that produces results.

  • Freedom to Be Known in Relationship
  • Freedom to be Heard
  • Freedom to Dream in Community
  • Freedom to Choose to Contribute
  • Freedom to Act with Support
  • Freedom to be Positive

Here’s what managers and supervisors can do to leverage this approach without being Pollyanna.

Freedom to Be Known in Relationship – where are there opportunities to see your employees outside of their job or role?  What kinds of conversations can you create build relationships with your staff? Humans are a connected-species. Sure, work defines us, but it doesn’t have to completely define who we are. We find connection and relationship through conversation. Harness the potential for relationship with your staff that models the type of relationships that allows them to connect fully to you and your organization. 

Freedom to be Heard – this involves your curiosity, empathy and compassion. How do you let your staff be heard? Open-door. One-on-one’s. Asking vs. Telling. When people are being heard, they open themselves up. This openness fosters employees to bring their complete capabilities to your organization.

Freedom to Dream in Community – this is about the vision. How connected is your staff to your vision? The vision of the organization? Do they have a clear line of sight on how they contribute to that vision? 

Freedom to Choose to Contribute -  this is key! With choice comes empowerment. How do you foster this contribution to projects, tasks, assignments? (Hint: Asking vs. Telling)

Freedom to Act with Support – when “people know that others care about their work and are anxious to cooperate” they build trust, achieve results and delight with surprise. How do you support your staff to take on new challenges? How do you treat mistakes? Easy to own up to, or catch me in you can mentality. Your trust and support is key to increased performance.

Freedom to Be Positive – we get more of what we focus our intention on. What conversations are you creating?  Threats, Weaknesses or Opportunities, Aspirations. Which do you want more of in your organization?  Focus the conversation on that!

Choose one Freedom to try on this week.  Focus some effort and intention on this one freedom.  What results to you want to achieve?

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Why is Employee Development More Critical Today Than Ever

Sure, as a manager it might be easy to believe that your HIPOs aren’t going anywhere because there aren’t any jobs.  This attitude is just what drives the HIPO out the door. Creating their own opportunities. For competitors. Or themselves.

Couple that with people who are completely disengaged staying longer – remember, there aren’t any jobs to be had – and we have a serious breeding ground for a serious retention problem.   

So, how can you create everyday development opportunities for your team? Try the following:

  • Running a team meeting
  • Leading a high-profile project
  • Teaching or training new staff
  • Job-swap or rotation
  • Being a mentor/coach to a struggling team or employee

Find the everyday things that can benefit the organization and the individuals need for growth and development. It doesn’t take them away from the office, and you aren’t paying an outside vendor to supply any of the opportunities.

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Recognition isn’t a program; it’s a way of being.

Been reading about employee engagement, retention and recognition and it got me thinking.  All too often, I think organizations get it wrong. Groups come together, conduct surveys and wheel out the treasure chest of recognition.  This has a shelf-life of about 3 weeks, and that’s if people really work at it. 

In the times of budget crunches and work force reductions, I doubt too many managers have extra cash – or time – to be doing recognition programs.  And if programs had been in place you and I both know that these are the first programs to feel the purse strings tighten.

Try this on…Recognition isn’t a program Read the rest of this entry »

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