Are you engaged with what you are doing?

Staff engagement is often a hot topic. How do we keep the people who work for us, and with us, engaged and interested in their career and what they are doing?

But how about you? You won’t be able to engage the people who work with you unless you are engaged with what you are doing first.

Leadership starts with Self Leadership. Engagement starts with Self Engagement.

To look at this, we need to go back to my familiar concept – Think. See. Do.

Think. See. Do.

You’re no doubt doing things every day. Endless task lists. Stressful deadlines. But are you doing the right things?

For this you must take time out to Think. To reflect on what you are doing. To ask yourself some probing questions. To potentially change the way you are thinking.

This thinking may shift the way you See. The way you see yourself, your people, the journey you are on.

You may find that this changes or even revolutionises what you intend to Do.

For more details on this topic, you can read my “Think. See. Do.” blog post here.

Self Engagement and Purpose

This really starts with an examination of Purpose. Why are you doing what you do?

I used to be in a leadership role focused on direct marketing activities. My purpose was to get marketing mail out to people, most of whom did not want to receive it!

I wasn’t engaged with the purpose of my daily activities. The “Why” was not something I engaged with. It was therefore harder to lead a team. So I eventually left and started what I do now in 2007. I am totally engaged with what I do. It has a purpose I 100% connect with and am engaged with.

If your heart is not in something, it is very hard to ask someone else to put their heart into it. People follow our behaviour, not what we say.

You must hold up the mirror and ask yourself that question. If the answer is NO, you need to see if you can find a way to see the purpose differently, in a way that you can engage with. If not, you are in the wrong position and will never engage fully with what you are doing.

Vision

You also need to be clear about where you are going. What is your vision for the future? Most importantly, is it a vision that you engage with? It really needs to inspire you and motivate you each day.

Your vision needs to be as specific as possible and something that you believe is achievable (ignoring your Destructive Self and the negative inner voice).

Only when you are engaged with your vision can you share it authentically with other people.

Values

Finally, it’s worth spending time thinking about your values. Your values (and beliefs) will filter how you see the world.

What is important to you personally? What values do you hold dear to your heart? Contribution, honesty, making a difference, authenticity, fun…

Take some time out to reflect on what your 5 or 6 core personal values are. What’s most important to you in life and work?

Then again, look at what you are doing on a daily basis. Does it match up? Can it match up with some changes in the way you look at it?

If not, you’ll again struggle to engage and connect with what you do.

All this can be tough, but if you are not “Self Engaged”, it may well be time to make a significant change.

Engaging others is important, but you can’t do that unless you are engaged first.

If you need help with your own self leadership and self engagement, feel free to call me on 07912 143040 or email me at tony@theleadershiptrainingworkshop.com and we can discuss how I can help you in any way.