Full Contact Engagement

Full contact engagement means a strong sense of purpose for everyone in your organization. Leadership at all levels, from the front lines to the C-suite. Clear and open lines of communication. Transparency and honesty at all times. It means connecting person to person and understanding what drives each individual. If you want people to be engaged, engage them. The good people at Gallup did an extensive study to identify the 12 strongest indicators that would reveal a person's potential engagement on the job. We don't need to complicate this. What the Gallup Q12 really shows is how important it is for management to practice good, sound leadership skills. The skills of the sensei. If you want to cultivate a high level of engagement in your organization, Be the sensei. Let's take a look at the most important parts of the Q12. Items 1 through 7, then 11 and 12, are all about knowing, understanding, and then responding to the needs of your employees. Number 1: Know what is expected of me at work. Number 2: I have what I need to do my job right. Number 3: At work, I have the opportunity to do my best every day. Number 4: In the last 7 days, I've received recognition or praise for doing good work. Number 5: My supervisor or someone at work seems to care about me as a person. Number 6: There's someone at work who encourages my development. Number 11: In the last 6 months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress. And number 12: This last year, I had opportunities at work to learn and grow. The Sensei embodies the quality of compassion. Not in a patronizing sense or from a position of weakness, but compassion in the true sense of empathy and respect, knowing and responding to the genuine needs of the people you manage and lead. Questions 8 and 9 relate directly to the Sensei Model of Leadership. Number 8: The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important. Number 9: My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work. The only factor you might not be able to influence is number 10, having a best friend at work. Gallup's 12 Elements of Great Managing fit the model of Sensei Leadership perfectly. Sensei literally means "one who went before." If you want people to be engaged, be engaged yourself. And be engaged with the people who work for you. People are always more engaged when they understand and buy in to a clear sense of purpose embodied by leadership at all levels. If you're gonna talk the talk, you'd better walk the walk. The Q12 clearly shows that engagement is directly proportional to management's understanding and response to the individual needs, goals, and ambitions of the employee. You want full engagement in your workplace? Practice full-contact engagement. Be the Sensei.

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