Get Out of the Weeds!

It is SO easy to be “in the weeds” or to be “heads down” and be focused on a deliverable.

Sometimes, we forget to lift our heads up, look around and be in the present moment. This is something that everyone seems to struggle with at one time or another and it is certainly something that our clients have identified as being a barrier to employee engagement.

The question becomes: how can we feel emotionally connected to work when we are so busy and everything is flashing past us in the blink of an eye?

As a people manager, it is our responsibility to lift our heads up, put a stop to the chaos and find ways to be present with our team. While it may take effort, getting into the habit of focusing on your team, appreciating them, working with them to get off the treadmill and spending some quality time together will be well worth it!

Worried that you don’t have time for this? Or, maybe you aren’t feeling inspired? Well, we have 101 Strategies that are designed to help you get out of the weeds and find ways to build engagement.

Here are just a few of the 101 Strategies to inspire you as you focus on building engagement:

• Recognize accomplishments and hard work. Everyone wants to be significant, so notice what is going on around you.
• Provide interesting and meaningful work that builds emotional connection. This is key to an engaged and productive employee.
• Employees appreciate being in control of their own schedule. Provide employees with the ability to flex their hours to meet life demands.
• Take a temperature check. Employee satisfaction surveys are a great way to gather information and to create an action plan for improvements.

Taking time out of your day to lift your head and model what it means to be in the present moment will also motivate and engage your team to make some changes.

Show your team that taking the time to look around, supporting one another, asking how people are doing and saying thank you for a job well done are easy things to do and most only take a moment. Who knows, you might even get a thank you for your efforts!

Your Engaged Assignment: These ideas are the just the tip of the 101 Strategies iceberg! If you would like more of these easy-to-implement, low-cost strategies, go to our home page and request your copy — it will be sent straight to your Inbox!