How to Maximize Engagement

Engagement is really about commitment. 

So, think about your own experiences. What have you needed in order to commit to, and engage with, an organization, program, or idea? Think about it and see if the six steps below match pretty closely.

To maximize your chances of gaining commitment, be real and use engaging leadership. That means:

1. Tell people what you want to accomplish.

2. Tell them what led you to believe it's important to them and to you.

3. Tell them your own struggles along the way.

4. Tell them how long you've been thinking about  "it".

5. Tell them you are committed to it.

6. Tell them your plan for helping them be able to do "it."

Then, give people a reasonable amount of time to think about it, question it, be uncomfortable with the newness of it, begin to accept it, and then be involved with how it will be  implemented.

Would that sequence help engage you?

______________________________________

For an array of leadership thoughts, head over to the April Leadership Carnival hosted by Dan McCarthy.

Comments

[Frode H]

Good morning Steve.
I am sitting early in at work and I am reading your post.
I believe this will work very well, it is close to my approach to run my call center dep. The point is to get everyone to know what is going to happen, and be comfortable with it.
And underway you need to do this: http://properpants.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-use-post-it-right-way.html

Cheers, I am about to enjoy my cup of coffee now, togheter with the other early birds at work.

[Lynn Ferguson]

Hi Steve, like the 6 steps and would add that different things drive higher value for some people, if you are the type of person that is very logical then the accomplish and planning parts would carry the most weight, if you are dealing with someone that is very focused on building relationships, then your beliefs and struggles would carry more weight. So in addition to thinking through each of these elements, think through which would be most relevant for the person that you are trying to engage.

Lynn

[Steve Roesler]

Frode,

I'm looking at the time stamp, calculating the time difference, and realizing that you are early, for sure!

Readers: check out Frode's article at http://properpants.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-use-post-it-right-way.html

[Steve Roesler]

Lynn,

For sure.

The idea behind the 6 questions is that if a manager is dealing with a group, one or more of those questions will meet the needs of the rational/feeling preferences.

One would hope that one-on-one, the diagnostic skills of the manager would be such that (s)he would know which way to lean before starting.

How are the diagnostic skills in your organization? Am always curious to hear about that since it's the starting point for the right approach to the right issue.

[Wally Bock]

I would add something before number 1. Decide if you want to convince others to use your plan or whether you want their help in creating a plan.

[Steve Roesler]

In this case, Wally, the starting point was, "I am charged with doing Project X, am accountable for the results, and have thought it through."

The line after #6 was designed to allow for as much input as possible into refining and implementation.

That said, indeed: the decision you offer needs to be made before moving ahead.