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!

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?

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.

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 – it’s a way of being.

There is no start.  No implementation planning committee.  It’s going to end when the last Kudos bar is gone. 

There is just you (and me!) and the way in which we choose to show up in the world.  Simple.  Hardly easy.

To incorporate recognition into your way of being there needs to be a commitment.  Every commitment starts with a belief.  A belief that it’s going to make a difference.  Think about that diet or workout program. To change my current habits, or way of being, I need to have a belief that going to the gym is going to make a difference.  Out of that belief grows commitment. So, do you believe recognition makes a difference in employee satisfaction? How about employee performance? (Hint:  the research says yes!)

I know, you’re thinking “people stop going to the gym everyday and fall back into old habits.”  You’re right, they do.  I do. This is due to my own BELIEF that this (working out) isn’t really going to make a difference. I lose my belief long before my commitment. This lack of belief, then, shows up in me sleeping in, driving thru, and not getting out to exercise. 

If you want to make a difference in the lives of those you work (and live) with, be different. It’s not any more you have to add to the to-do list.  It’s about your way of being. 

A simple thank you. A new and exciting work assignment. A time to spend with the kids. It’s the simple things that we can do every day to recognize.

What ways can you recognize someone today?

We make meaning of the language we use. 

The words we use don’t have meaning, it’s how the situations occurs to us that creates this meaning.  This might be why there can be so much miscommunication when information is announced.  This of all the elements that shape the way in which we hear the actual words said.  

When an organization, or individuals, have a high level of trust things occur in a way that is very different when trust isn’t present. The same words can be said and we can leave with very different interpretations depending on our level of trust with the sender of the message.  

So, in essence, what’s not said is equally as important.  Trust is something that is not said, and provides a thick filter for us to hear this message.   

The key here, is are you present to this filter?  Do you have the awareness in place on how language occurs differently for each of us?  When you do, you can better communicate with others because you know how things occur might be different for different individuals.   

Addressing the unsaid is one of a number of steps we can do to increase our performance. It’s easier to talk about it once you bring it to the surface, isn’t it?  The other choice is to make your own meaning of the unsaid and be unclear.  Doesnt’s clear expectations = better performance?  

Zaffron and Logan state, “…articulating the unsaid creates the room to say something new.” It allows us to use language to create something new as well. Within here lies the increase to our performance. 

What are you creating?