Engagement Still Matters
New Book Giveaway!!
20 free copies!!
Leave a comment on this guest post by Mark Miller to become eligible to win one of twenty complimentary copies of, “Win the Heart: How to Create a Culture of Full Engagement.” (Deadline is 3/11/2019)
(International winners will receive electronic versions.)
Shifting focus:
Have you ever noticed how focus shifts in leadership circles? For a while, everyone was talking quality. Then the chatter focused on mission, vision, and values. Teams enjoyed the spotlight for a decade or more, too. For a moment on the historical leadership timeline, the world considered engagement… and then, we were off to something else.
What makes engagement different from other examples is the fact that most well-run organizations now consider quality management, vision, and teams part of their DNA. Not so with engagement – it remains in the “too hard pile” for most leaders, and therein lies the opportunity!
Liberated:
Engagement is still out there; untold amounts of discretionary effort, passion, and creativity – largely untapped. It lies just below the surface in the heads, hearts, and hands of your workforce, just waiting to be liberated. Still unconvinced? Keep reading…
People deserve to work in a place that utilizes their full potential. Leaders have the opportunity to serve those entrusted to our care. We can help people live at an entirely different level, beginning when we create the conditions in which they willingly bring their whole self to work.
You will never realize your full potential as a leader until you help people contribute at their full potential. How good are you as a leader? How good do you want to be? If you engage people – helping them care deeply about their work, co-workers, and the organization – you differentiate yourself as a leader.
The return on engagement is staggering! Sales, profits, customer satisfaction, and virtually every key metric is impacted by how much your people care. When you raise their level of engagement, you’ve crossed a significant barrier to superior performance.
Win hearts and everyone wins!
How might leaders win hearts?
Mark Miller is a business leader, author, and communicator. He has served in numerous leadership roles over 40 years with Chick-fil-A, Inc. Mark’s new book, Win the Heart, will be published in March. He now has over one million books in print in 25+ languages. Learn more at TMarkMiller.com.
Love to have a copy of this book, Win the Heart! What a great message.
For leaders to engage their employees, they must be willing to demonstrate a level of vulnerability. Only then, will their hearts be open in such a way that will enable employees to open their own hearts, and truly speak the language of engagement with each other.
Most team members, just like most bosses, want to contribute meaningful work and be challenged from time to time. Be an intentional leader. Create challenging opportunities and recognize the results, often. Q12 is a survey. I know few people who say they answer candidly, including me.
I am currently in the process of onboarding 4 new employees and feel that once we get them familiar with their role and job responsibilities, it is the perfect time for the team as a whole to re-evaluate and cement their culture, vision, and drive collectively. This book seems to emulate exactly where we are headed and having the opportunity to receive a complimentary copy will certainly be ideal and utilized in this exciting initiative. Thank you for considering my entry!
One of my favorite mentors always “In the end, it’s always about the relationship” and another says, “Engage and care for your people and then your people will take care of the customers and get results”
Engagement is something we talk about a lot in education. I work with a group of staff serving children 0-5 and we work on having a couple of internal coaches supporting peers in their coaching of parents and other teachers. It has proven to be a great way to increase engagement. I love this concept and believe engagement is truly the way to increase outcomes!!
Hi there,
I want to learn better ways to improve engagement on my team – not only to support individuals in connecting with their passions, but to support our team in improving overall outcomes. I would love to read Mark Miller’s new book!
Thanks,
Laura
THIS is how I know we’re evolving as a species. This definition of engagement is on point with what all organizations need to adopt in order to move into a digital future. I can’t wait. I need this book now.
I was reading the book, First, Break All the Rules that talks about the Q.12 survey and the principles behind engagement. Very helpful stuff. What were some initial steps you took in your journey?
Engagement is real! We’ve been using the Q12 through Gallup for two years now and the process is helpful to flush out areas of opportunity to better support staff. We are just beginning the Strengths-Based Leadership philosophy and realize this is a journey, but are already seeing amazing results!
What a wonderful post! Yes – leaders certainly do need to engage through their hearts. It’s also useful when the team knows that this is not “conditional engagement” because their leader is being authentic. IMHO I think one of the key points of authenticity is about sharing vulnerability (when appropriate) and accepting that we are *all* work-in-progress. Nobody is perfect, especially not leaders.
Engagement. If you can get you employees to fully engage, pretty much everything else will take care of itself. The problem is, how do you get people to fully engage? This very topic is something I’m struggling with now. I’d love to know more!
I just listened to Mark earlier this week and really enjoyed his comments…can’t wait to read his new book!
People support what they help to create….
Engagement. I think that if we can get people fully engaged, the rest will take care of itself. The question is: how do I get people to engage? This topic is something I’m wrestling with right now and I can use all the advice on this topic that I can get!
I’ve just accepted a new role at work where i’llu be leading a plant of >225 people. Engagement is my #1 focus!! Would love to get a copy of this book.
Thanks a bunch Dan and Mark for this post and huge opportunity to receive a gift book! New to you,Dan, and lovin’ it! Learning lots and paying lifr and leadership lessons forward gladly crediting you, Sir! Been following Mark since 2019 when my connection with Chick-fil-A began!!! Blessed and Grateful! I am thrilled to be coaching CFA Operators Marks good works! Best, Regan
This post resonates with me because my background is in education and effective teachers know that the key to student learning is engagement. Students have to be engaged first. This is also true for the workplace. As leaders we should make sure our team is invited to collaborate and engage. Most people want to be asked their opinion and given an opportunity to share.
Engagement matters, for sure. Ironically, for using on engagement directly can be counter productive because we can’t make employees engage, We can only focus on ourselves as leaders who care deeply about the people with whom we work; who gladly serve those on our teams and our direct reports; who help others identify and and then commit to their hopes and dreams, values and purpose; and who coach others to find their way forward. We can be “responsible to” others and help create an environment for deeper engagement; we can’t be “responsible for” the engagement of another. In the end how we lead and who we are contributes to engagement and then everyone benefits.
Engagement matters! We need leaders who gladly serve. Great Post!!
Great post. How we lead with a servant attitude is so important!
As leaders we must create the right culture. We must always remember that there will be a culture……it will be established either intentionally or by default.
Can’t wait to read this book! Seems really insightful.
My company is actively looking at our culture and engagement practices right now! This book could be a good resource for us!
Engagement matters! We need teams who gladly serve! Great thoughts! Loved this post!
Great information! As a new leader I’m eager to improve my management skills and I’d love to learn about better engagement strategies.
Engagement matters and is definitely key! One of the most powerful things I’ve done as a leader is have teachers evaluate colleagues with an ELEOT observation tool…in the end it wasn’t about how engaged that teacher and her students were but they started to look at themselves and realized how much more they needed to do!
Always great stuff here Dan. Love Mark and all he does as well. The bottom line is just CARE.
Communicate
Appreciate
Respect
Encourage
Thanks again man. Love your work.
Al
Hey Al, Thanks for the acronym. Interesting that Mark uses one too.
Connection
Affirmation
Responsibility
Environment
Thanks for jumping in today.
Would love to win a copy of this book! Ive been talking about the importance of engagement with our team. Not just a hello or goodbye but true engagement. Get to know your people and what they truly can do and learn about the things that get in their way of success.
This article speaks the truth. I would love to read the book and hopefully be a part of the solution for providing this opportunity to staff.
Everyone needs to have a unique and valued role where their talents and input is heard. Being heard – transparency builds trust. Thank you for the opportunity to win a book.
I worked on rebuilding a team after the same type of event. Sadly it failed, there was so much anger and the trust was destroyed. In the end everyone on the team during that time left the team. Some took new jobs inhouse and others resigned and left the agency. Myself included as I took a promotion to run my own team. I would love to hear what you have done and how it is going. On the subject of the book I am curious if servant leadership is part of how this idea works or if you use it. Thank you for your input.
My boss and I are working tremendously hard to re-institute / rebuild engagement on a leadership team which is suffering from organizational post-traumatic stress due to an abusive former leader. We are 9 months into our journey, are beginning to see glimmers of engagement creep back in, and are seeing that renewed engagement trickle down to their subordinate staff members. We still have a long road ahead of us, but the shift is palpable and it is starting to generate positive results. I am so proud of the work this team has accomplished, and am excited about our future…engagement truly is the secret sauce of awesomeness!
Thanks Dan! Engagement will always matter!
I have noticed for myself that I am motivated to bring my whole self into the job and go beyond when I reappraise or reframe the job around my strengths. I recently did this with a coach, and though nothing has changed in my role, I have changed. I am now thinking that is key for leading the people on my team. It is a team that I inherited so I am going back and taking time to get to know them, talk about their assessments, listen and understand what they are passionate about. I think my next step then will be structure the roles/team tasks so people are operating out of areas of strength. I would be interested to hear what other leaders do to engage their team members. Any thoughts?
Mark, you’re exactly right in noting the cycle of leadership fads. I think the problem with leadership fads is they focus on leadership and encourage leaders to focus on themselves. Most of the “led” recognize and resist leadership fads imposed upon them. Being a servant leader isn’t a fad; it’s an attitude and mindset with positive values and keen priorities. Clearly, engagement is an important attribute of servant leadership that tends to unleash the amazing potential of those we serve. Those we serve also quickly discern self-serving leaders who attempt manimpuation by feigning engagement. So it really is all about the heart — of both leaders and the led!
Engagement is key, but it’s about relationships, and relationships require trust. If you aren’t seen as a leader with integrity, striving for engagement will get you nowhere.
I look forward to reading the book. I am continually learning new approaches to management and engagement is a topic that I have not focused on but think it is necessary.
We have had some issues with turnover at our organization and I suspect lack of engagement is one of the issues. One of our challenges is the fear that if I help grow an employee to their full potential, they might leave my team. While that is possible, I find that I would rather then leave my team to go on to bigger and better things instead of them leaving because they were under utilized.
Thank you for the needed reminder that engaging the heart is about engaging the person. We are human, not objects, and leadership is art.
Would love to read it!
By listening to their people in those unguarded moments when there is openness and transparency. Engagement is discovered as you see eyes light up and energy surge when a new project is discussed. Engagement is critical or else people are just walking through the motions and doing their jobs. Engagement draws heart commitment from people as they commit emotionally and intellectually to the task that fuels their passion.
Winning hearts is about making sure every person is “seen, heard & understood”. A great place to start is using the coach approach – asking questions!
There is no commitment to the mission/vision without engaging those you serve in how they, personally, can purposefully contribute to it…
Thank you.
Our organization continues to understand how engagement is so necessary to be a great organization. Would love a copy of this book!
Increasing engagement has become a strategic focus within our company. . We have to listen and collaborate with our associates to create an environment where they look forward to coming to work and in turn help our customers be successful. As a society we have become focused on technology but its ‘Team Human’ that will create a better world.
The book sounds like a great read. I look forward to learning more about engagement. Thank you!
“People deserve to work in a place that utilizes their full potential” – Love it!
Great leaders build leadership capacity in team members. Trusting them with projects they have a passion for expresses the leader values them as a team member. Building leadership capacity and trust creates engagement and a culture that is progressive.
“Leaders have the opportunity to serve those entrusted to our care.” Awesome, will be sharing this!
When people are engaged, they do not always see it as “Work.”
“Leaders have the opportunity to serve those entrusted to our care.” Awesome, will be sharing!
Great blog today! This book sounds like a wonderful, beneficial read. Any insights on engaging a virtual team? This has been somewhat challenging but I am determined to break through the limitations.
We have been focused on improving engagement for a while at our organization and it certainly is a difficult task. Communication is a vital ingredient in creating a culture of engagement.
I inherited a relatively disgruntled team a couple of years ago, and it has been quite a process to rebuild and forge ahead. I have found that concentrating on team/team member engagement is incredibly powerful in strengthening my own engagement and passion for my role.
When we engage the head the heart and the hands, we have reached the sweet spot! It reframes the ‘have to’ to the ‘get to’ That is the essence of engagement!
I look forward to reading the book. Our organization is focused on engagement. I am always looking for new ideas and insight.
I’m currently working in a department going through pretty significant organizational changes… we have a split between people who are excited about change, and then the other group that is just sort of dragging along. It’s pretty clear who is engaged and who is not, and I feel the velocity with which people embrace change is correlated to the level of engagement in the organization. Shifting the mindset is a challenge!
My team does our best to ensure everyone is working on at least one project that excites them. It really helps us get through the work that is less fun if we have something else to look forward to!
As the fish swimming upstream in my corporate environment, your book would be much needed inspiration and refreshment! I am the consistent voice bringing management back to the truth that the ROI of investing in engagement is increased sales, profits and customer satisfaction. They get so easily diverted to looking at the financials and planning extended road trips with customers that they leave little or no energy contributing to the the people inside the organization doing all the heavy lifting.
Engagement – A critical component to building a successful operation but building engagement is challenging in a new world of “work at home” employees and varying levels of virtual supervision. I’d love a copy of this book!
Love the horseshoe on the cover!!!
Great blog! Very insightful!
engage me!
I am an elementary principal who is working on culture all the time in our building I am sure this book would be a great addition to my professional development and personal learning! Thank you for the opportunity to receive one.
We deserve engagement. However, many leaders just don’t get it. They push people away and do not want to hear from those that may be equally as capable. I am trying to engage upward, using these principles of engagement. Leaders need those that report to them, sometimes they forget that guiding those towards greater heights makes both sides more successful. Engagement can even be coaching them to get better, just let those around you know you care and know you are watching.
Great quote: “When you raise their level of engagement, you’ve crossed a significant barrier to superior performance.”
I learned the value of being a Leader that creates, enables and reinforces engagement, both at the individual and team level as a Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) in our Army. I experienced that created a culture of engagement was challenging and that leaders who didn’t fit in would leave the organization; however, those that stayed and bought into an engagement culture and created a very high performing organization. Another result of this engagement was true caring, friendships and high individual performance that has lasted far beyond the bounds of that organization. Many Soldiers from that organization have become very successful technical and managerial leaders through their own careers.
Our company is really focusing on engagement right now and seeing good results. It has to be something that every leader embraces! The leaders who are finding ways to unlock employee engagement are finding excellent rewards! Thanks for sharing this!
The Engagement process is one of the big mysteries in the workforce that most have not sloved, including myself. I struggle with how to get empoloyees engaged and how to keep employees engaged. I do beieve in the value of engagement. I can see it in employees who are fully engaged. This book may help with solving some of the mysteries I seem to encouter.
Thank you for this post! For educators, engagement is everything. As a Literacy Coach, keeping teachers engaged lives in my planning for professional learning opportunities!
Completely agree. Full engagement returns a terrific amount of productivity and customer goodwill.
Would love to get a copy of the book!
Mark, my company has been in business for 38 years. we “grew up” in the rail logistics world and married into the technology world. Ironically, our seedling was planted in public service and is the reason we championed the servant leader responsibilities for our business clients. then we grew and grew and our core culture became diluted. we are working feverishly to fed the roots of our now hidden nature and gain back our reason for being. we are challenged by the additional fact that our company employee number is 100 people . We have recently hired a very good man. He has 23 year at a package express company. He is leading our efforts to train our young leaders to exemplify our dedication to customer success. Your book sounds intriguing and I would like to get a copy, free or otherwise. Thank you for contributing your expertise to our profession.
I appreciate the article on engagement. Yesterday my school district hosted our first Office Professionals Conference when I was fortunate to present a session on customer service. I wanted to focus on our need as employees to better understand the importance of representing our organization with passion. This article validates the need for us all to be focused on the main thing and appreciate that others depend on us to do so.
I have a full team working from home so engagement is a hard. Would love to have a copy to read on and gain insights.
Great post on the importance of engagement! You are right. This is something that often gets talked about, but not always focused on as much as results. I truly believe if you focus on engagement and building a team culture, the results will follow!
I really appreciate this article. As a fairly new and young leader, I am always searching for ways to improve the culture of our team. When employees are engaged, they have buy-in and therefore, perform better. I can always tell when an employee is truly engaged and believes in the work we do! Engagement is clearly a bit opportunity for leaders!
I remember a story told about my college football coach. A couple of young grad assistants came in with a proposal to open up the offense – it was quite an exciting change and would have taken a lot of work to implement. Coach listened to their presentation, asked a few questions and jotted a few notes down. Then he looked them in the eye and said, “Gentlemen, its not about the scheme. I want to spend my time building relationships on the team. That way when the time comes they will run through a wall for us. Plays don’t matter as much as the people that are running them.” 36 years of coaching, a record of 287 – 67 – 3, a statue and complex named after him bear out the significance of his approach.
I was glad to see the word “entrust” noted in this topic. Engagement without entrusting ends up being lip service that has minimal longevity and impact. Engage, entrust, enable, and encourage are a few “en” words that I incorporate into creating and engaging enterprise culture and collaboration. Entertain is another word that builds engagement. Being on the IT side, but being an integral partner with the business gives opportunities to interact in creative ways to foster engagement. I take opportunities to downplay technical details when working with the business to level the field. Sometimes bringing in Red Skelton style of comedy when referring to techie stuff generates laughs and bridges gaps. Have fun at your expense and show vulnerabilities to create engagement.
We are currently focusing heavily on associate engagement. My favorite take-away from this post: “You will never realize your full potential as a leader until you help people contribute at their full potential.” This would be a great addition to books we are already reading. Thanks!
“Engagement is still in the ‘too hard pile’.” Truth! Reminds me of the old adage “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Love that the title of this book is WIN THE HEART. One of the reasons that it is so hard for executives is because there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Looking forward to reading more!
I agree that “people deserve to work in a place that utilizes their full potential.” Too often, data drives decisions that forces employees to complete a task that does not utilize their strength. Like a idea-driven person having to create a detailed implementation plan. Fortunately, we use an assessment to identify the best people for the project or position, share the vision, and give them the freedom to excel. It is also important for us to schedule downtime to listen and learn from the team.
Mark, this is a great topic, and a very energizing posting… but I want to see the research. You state that metrics improve, but by how much? And what engagement initiatives are being implemented? Which engagement initiatives generate the greatest ROI? I assume this is all in your book… but I would love to have you tease out some specifics for us!
Thanks so much!!
Thanks for this opportunity!
I have started a new position in the past 6 months – it has been A LOT of learning as it is a new industry for me. I enjoy the learning, but i have noticed a lack of engagement here with staff. Once the busyness of tax season is over, this would be a great project to start on! Thanks again!
I use these tips daily and post to facebook as well as in my department to encourage others to be great leaders. This is the most useful tool I have found in my career! Would love to have this book to increase my knowledge!
I would love to review a copy of this book! This is right up my alley as the Director of Learning and Development. We have a strong service culture and this would compliment our engagement efforts. I look forward to learning and reading more!
Love the article – at my company Engagement above my level is just the word of the day. My challenge is to keep folks engaged in a year with historical numbers of surpluses and lack of leadership support to grow my team — grow them for promotion; grow them for opportunities. The engagement I build is constantly chiseled away by others. Its tough.
From the workers standpoint: Engagement is very important. When the worker gets engagement from the Leader that feel respected, assuring that they are contributing to the organization’s overall mission. It’s nice to be heard!
Employee engagement truly is the key! I would love to win a copy of your new book!
I would love to receive a copy of this book – as the Director of Instructional Operations at a community college, I am always looking for ways to connect and engage our team to better serve our students, and each other.
Would love to win this book. I am just starting my administration license and coursework. Looking forward to learning more about how I can engage employees.
Love this blog more and more everyday! Would love to read Mark’s book as well! Thanks!
I would love to review and analyze this new book! I’m hoping for some great insight to help improve my management skills.
Great post Dan and great reference to this book. I listened to Mark’s kick-off webcast(as did many others) on Monday. I was so excited, I ordered the book, I am sure I can find a place for a second one.
For me, your post and the premise of the book take me back to an old phrase:
“People don’t C.A.R.E. what you know, until they know you C.A.R.E” It has even more impact if you think of the acronym in that spot instead of just the word!
Hope to win a book to better engage our employees from Mark Miller’s book and win their heart.
Great post! Excited to read the book!
Love the idea of the book and work on engagement daily. I lenjoy adding more tools/ideas into my arsenal.
Love the blog, thanks Dan!
My company is very focused on the power of engaged associates. My team is learning about strategies to improve team and personal engagement and this book would be a great resource to utilize.
Greg Capranica
I’ve been in environments where engagement is prioritized and where it is not, and the difference is staggering. A fully engaged employee might as well wear an “E” on their chest because they have superhero-level drive, passion, commitment, and results.
Engagement — critical to creating and sustaining relationship development — is an artform we all must practice.
Non-Engagement with your employees is like going to school without books and having a classroom without a teacher. It’s that critical! You can’t afford not to engage! Where there’s no leader the people will be left to their own engagement, without purpose. You’ll be without crucial conversations, commitment, mission and vision. Bottom line, your organization will be thirsty!
Interesting.
Have you considered what happens when, as a leader, you engage a team, and then the CEO wants to take the organization in a different direction? When people invest their whole selves in the work, and become self-directed learners, it can be at odds with a CEO vision if the vision is not based on solid science. Sometimes, especially in government, CEO vision is actually “get the current party re-elected” vision, not “this is the best path forward” vision. Create engagement, what Seth Godin calls “enrolment”, creates independent thinkers – very dangerous in the political world of government that values good soldiers that demonstrate strong compliance and full loyalty, no matter what the vision.
I’d love to read more!
Relationship building is the key to winning the heart. As a school leader, when we begin the new school year, ask each one of my staff to share something about themselves on a particular topic. This has opened up so many conversations between staff members. Still need more ideas to continue with this effort so that people don’t get bored.
“Leaders have the opportunity to serve those entrusted to our care. We can help people live at an entirely different level, beginning when we create the conditions in which they willingly bring their whole self to work.” This quote really spoke to me. Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy of your book.
Currently in the process of completing a list of reading materials for a Leadership/Mentoring group of Professionals. This book would be a welcome addition, and would love the opportunity to check out a copy.
I would love to read this. Our church has been talking about creating a culture of engagement this year!
Such a simple principle/concept but with such amazing results and benefits!
HI Dan. Glad to keep up with you. Been absent a while. Engagement is so vital to success and something that is often measured and assigned a #. The human side is oftent overlooked when the hard focus becomes the #.
Relationships are everything! Hoping I win a copy!
Mark Miller has some excellent books on leadership! This one will not disappoint I am sure!
Engagement does matter!! The easiest place to see it is in individual performance.
I’m always up for a good read to learn more.
Thank you for sharing.
I would like to read/study a copy of the book “Win the Heart: How to Create a Culture of Full Engagement”. I have finished a recently released book “Winning the Heart of Your Child” (Mike Berry) to help me become a better father to my children. Mr. Miller’s book will help me to better engage and serve my direct report coworkers as well as coworkers I support with the company after Looking at the book description.
Engagement has really saved our practice. Creating a safe, fun work environment brings out the best in people and is also infectious to the clients that honor us with their business.
As a grad student in a leadership program, I enjoy reading the posts about leadership and this one really made me think of a recent image I saw about a boss vs. a leader. The leader was “growing”, cultivating and engaging the individual, but the boss was just using the individual as a driver (golf). This post was right on time.
Engagement and in particular – vulnerability – on the leader’s part in that engagement – that is, the willingness to expose their heart for the work – is a big factor in winning others to engagement. (Pardon the terrible punctuation there.)
This really says it for me, “Sales, profits, customer satisfaction, and virtually every key metric is impacted by how much your people care. When you raise their level of engagement, you’ve crossed a significant barrier to superior performance.” That is the challenge us leaders where I work have. The level of caring and therefore “passion” for the work varies among our “youngins”, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. We try to focus them but the focus sometimes does not remain and again its how they bring passion to their work and therefore caring attitude that stands out. I am convinced it is really Generational, Boomers vs all others and approaches to work.
Leaders win hearts by being genuine, following through on what they commit to doing, providing vision that every employee can connect with, and supporting ownership and autonomy in each employee’s work.
Love to have a copy of this book, Win the Heart! What a great message.
I’m looking for a “how to eat an elephant” approach to engagement.
I actually have seen this circle go around. It’s very interesting to me that I didn’t even notice until you brought it to my attention. I think the hardest thing for people to see is sometimes it’s you, the leader, who has to change before your employees will. Thank you for sharing your thoughts Mark!
Trust is foundational for employee engagement, especially for the autonomy component of engagement. If we don’t trust people, then we are going to micromanage. We are going to always be watching them and trying to control them. We will treat them more like pieces of a machine rather than whole, complete people, bringing all of their talents and abilities to the role. We limit their ability to contribute and stay engaged if trust isn’t found in the organization.
I love the quote above “You will never realize your full potential as a leader until you help people contribute at their full potential.” I will focus on this principle as I start our development team meeting in a few minutes, knowing that one contributor is sorely running behind in his deliverables. Instead of reprimanding him, I will try to be his champion.
I know I have been most engaged when I am affirmed in my strengths. When I have been assigned a significant job responsibility that requires me to be an excellent version of myself, I am engaged to see it succeed. My challenge as a manager is finding those right fits where everyone can feel their strengths are necessary for the team to achieve its goals.
I would love to win a copy of the book! I have on boarded a great team and would love the keep them fully engaged to reach their full potential. I also plan to pay it forward and place the book in our leadership library for other managers to reference.
Hi Dan ,
Great thoughts as always, I heard Mark talk about the CARE concepts this week Very simple but powerful concepts for us as leaders to consider in our organizations. The Gallup numbers for disengaged workers in business and schools are discouraging .John Maxwell hosted a mentor call on the topic of curiosity this week and noted that organizations like business and schools can stifle curiosity ,I see this behavior as a leading cause of lack of engagement.A disengaged organization loses it’s curiosity, imagination and creativity. There are things we as leaders can do here and Mark shows how. I teach aspiring school superintendents tonight .Our opening exercise for class will be to write a Thank You note to someone in their school and to deliver in the morning. Should be interesting
I love the idea of Winning the heart. More than a differentiator it can create a team that is focused and driven and can solve hard problems.
Cannot wait to read this book! Engagement really is at the heart of any successful business!
We have some of the pieces in place but need to find a process that works for us to connect the dots and provide a practical pathway for volunteer engagement.
There are too many things that are KEY, However, I have found that this is the key to my leading. I tell our team that they are successful when they are doing at least 80% of their time in their strength area. And i tell them you can make the students you meet successful if you give them your authority and power to lead. And so on down the road. I always tell the college students i meet, some day you will be my boss. empower them to be fully engaged.
Dan, great post as always. This one just really hits home with me.
Makes total sense to me…it doesn’t matter how interesting the curriculum is, how enticing the problem is, how rewarding the outcome will be…if we aren’t engaged, it’s all a wash.
Would love to read this book:) Engagement is a key building block to success.
I was just talking with one of my staff about the importance of engagement.
The number of times the word “people” appears in the post above is telling in itself. This is where it all begins. Thank you.
I would love to read this one – my bet is the “how” includes building strong relationships and learning more about the passions of those you lead.
Quoting: “Not so with engagement – it remains in the “too hard pile” for most leaders, and therein lies the opportunity!“ Shame on any leader who chooses, yes CHOOSES, to see engagement as “too hard” – it’s a cop-out!!! And, IMO, calls into question the leadership capabilities of the individual(s) appointing the person a leader – as well, of course, the person appointed remaining a leader. Why? This post outlines all the excellent reasons any leader ought to be self-motivated enough to champion engagement!!!
If the leader finds engagement challenging, then that leader must exercise Personal Servant Leadership and get the coaching / mentoring necessary to become comfortable with engagement!!! This post involves engagement; regardless of the perceived needs, that’s what leaders (and everyone else as a matter of fact) do …
No leader alone can produce the results of an engaged team working together. Good post!
Looking forward to this good read!
I totally agree with the first point that we have the OPPORTUNITY to serve and that ” we can help people live at an entirely different level, beginning when we create the conditions in which they willingly bring their whole self to work.” I remember starting out my career and being hungry and waiting for that leader to come in to my life. Now, hopefully, I can pay it forward….
Can’t agree more! As a leader, investing time in professional development of my team has been essential in creating a team that owns their results.
In this age of electronic information and communication, a focus on engagement in person is omni important.
Win hearts and everyone wins!
I am going to print those words in bold in my office.
Thank you, Dan and Mark
I cannot wait to get the books.
Engagement is so important, especially when it’s genuine and a part of our DNA as both an individual and an organization. Mark Miller is my favorite author right now and I’d love to get his new book.
Would enjoy having a copy, thanks for the opportunity!
I would love a copy!
I love the topic of engagement! I think leaders can build engagement by being visible and authentic. I would love a copy of the book!
The title alone makes me so curious of this new book!! Would love to have a copy!
The timing of this perfect as I am about to deliver a presentation on engagement. Love “win hearts and everyone wins”.
No different than an intelligence score and an emotional score there is also an engagement score. Those that score high with engagement are a leadership force of great power! And “with great power comes great responsibility”.
This is so intriguing! I’m interested to see if there are strategies to promote engagement inclusive of mistrusting or reserved employees.
Engagement is essential to a successful organization. Cant wait till the book comes out.
The two biggest words and deeds in effective leadership : ENGAGEMENT and COLLABORATION.
It seems like when the focuses on efficiencies and productivity is managed by data – such as CRMs or other tech systems – we’re losing the side of truly engaging with people throughout any organization . People at the core wine deep level of engagement so they can feel part of something spectacular that they can pursue with all there efforts. Realizing this will make a difference the lead to bigger success
Engagement is priceless. Being engaged yourself propagates engagement.
I work for the federal government. We are very mission focused. I’ve seen plenty of engaged and disengaged people at work. However, in offices with a leader who is authentic and genuinely cares about the people and their development opportunities there is a totally different environment. You can feel the energy and passion. Leading with your heart is the way to results.
Great post! I’m going to share this with my leadership team.
Great Post!
You got my interest. Thanks.
Huge Mark Miller fan!
“Win hearts and everyone wins!” How very true! Getting to the “heart” of everything is a very powerful part of a leader’s toolkit!
Win hearts and everyone wins! – how very true! Getting to the “heart” of anything is a powerful tool in any leader’s toolkit!
I have realized that as teams change, our ability to keep engagement high changes. It is something that I have struggled with, this year.
Hopefully, our dedication will continue moving the needle towards improved engagement soon.
Hey Dan – just curious if you keep any data on how much your blog replies increase when you offer a book. Would be interesting to know.
I would love to get a copy of this book for some of our leaders – we have one that just recently accepted that a rules-driven culture takes more energy and gets less results than a culture of engagement – this post and I am sure the book support that idea. She commented just the other day that she is more relaxed and more confident as a leader since focusing more on engagement and less on the overly strict rules that led to a begrudging compliance and less ‘heart’ effort from the employees.
Start With The Heart!!! Love It!
Yes, good article and appears to be a a great manual for those looking for a paradigm shift in personal (and personnel) development. Another element to consider is that of “expectations.” It’s nice to “win hearts” – but without the mindset, it’s tough to development the masses…..
I really enjoyed reading this post! I completely agree that engagement matters! If you have a happy staff, everyone wins- customers, stakeholders, sales go up, and everyone will be happy. How leaders win hearts? I think the only way leaders win hearts is to know who they employ. They actually get to know them by talking to them and showing you actually care about the employee’s well-being. Any leader should know that this comes full circle because if they don’t do their job it comes back on you as a leader.
Working in higher education , calling in and inspiring engagement is a struggle for some. Need to learn more.
Even natural-born leaders need to continue to hone their skills & continue to learn new ways to be an influencing & engaging leader. They should never want to walk the leadership path alone.
Mark Miller books are must reads. I would love to have this one.
I’m currently on a detail to another position and I’m seeing how much more engaged the staff is in the Division’s overall welfare than my home Division. I’m looking toward the time I return to to my regular job to put some different practices in place.
Engagement in any community of people in respectful dialogue is a skill we desperately need today. I am working on racial tension in our community between native and non-natives and would love to be picked as one to receive a book!
I would love a copy of that book! I’m a new leader and am managing a challenging team with lots of resentment.
Alexis Kight alexiskight10@gmail.com would absolutely be grateful to win this book!
I would be beyond grateful to win a copy of this book! I serve as an Academic Coach in an elementary school. I want to help my team of teachers transform our school into one that others want to replicate. Thank you for your posts!
Dear Dan,
An interesting post with good learning!
Engaging employees at work is the key to success. It comes with assigning tasks with adequate authority to accomplish and bringing an accountability factor. Employees put their heart once they see that they are respected and are involved in handling key responsibilities.
Leaders need to assess each individual employee’s strength, interest and the potential while delegating specific tasks. Collectively, they plan to achieve the planned organization goals. They can take the help of HR in the engagement process.
Great post! We all want to ADD value and BE valued!
Mark’s book (along with Ken Blanchard) “The Secret” is one of my favorite books and I have given it to a number of people. I look forward to reading “Win the Heart.”
What a great topic! It is so true how engagement drives success! I would love the opportunity to read this book!
As a company, we are focusing on engagement this year both our strengths and our areas of opportunity. I would be interested in a copy of the book to see how it can help our team!
I read somewhere “Win te hearts before winning the minds.” Relationships are vital yet so often overlooked,put aside…Great article!
Nice article Mark. Love the summary, “win hearts and everyone wins.” Best –
I would love a copy of the book.
Looking forward to the book!!
Create engaging environment is so hard in corporate environment, especially if it is not coming from the top management. I’m struggling with it for few months but there is still enough energy to move it forward. I believe that there is a success in the future 😉, so I’ll keep moving. Again good post Dan BTW 😁
I have found that when one divide e.g. sales teams into smaller groups so as to find solutions for the many challenges, every voice is heard. This manner of engagement acknowledge (building community) each team members’ value that they bring to the table. It builds trust, mutual support and ultimately cohesion and success within and by the team.
Sounds like another incredible book by Mark Miller. Bummed I missed the deadline on this one, but wow those points in this post are so rich. Adding the book to my wish list.
I appreciate you helping get the word out on great books and resources to help others grow as leaders, Dan. Thank you.
To get engagement, leaders need to be engaged with their teams. We cannot hide behind our office doors and expect the people we lead to feel “a part “. Rather, they will feel “apart”. Can’t wait to read more about engagement in Mark’s book!
“You will never realize your full potential as a leader until you help people contribute at their full potential.”
Truer words were never spoken.
This month, I’m delivering a training on this very topic. What a great resource this would be! There are so many — low cost/no cost — ways to incorporate engagement activities in our everyday routines that make remarkable and measurable differences in employee behaviors. Why leaders still find it to be so difficult is a “head scratcher” to me.
This month, I’m delivering a training on this very topic. What a great resource this would be! There are so many — low cost/no cost — ways to incorporate engagement activities in our everyday routines that make remarkable and measurable differences in employee behaviors. Why leaders still find it to be so difficult is a “head scratcher” to me.
Light up my life! This book holds some of the answers to move my team from stale to engaged. Yes please! ❤️