The second answer that has continued to make me think was shared by someone who I know is deeply thoughtful about work place culture. Over a very good meal, he told me that “engagement is about being mindful of our actions and our choices.” Drawing on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, the American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center of Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, mindfulness is defined as the “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.”
Building on the above definition and going deeper into it, mindfulness is “the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.” It is “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.” When one has this level of focus, they are mindful of their choices and their behavior as they engage with others.
After much reflection, I think the insight is powerful and at the same time, it takes a tremendous amount of discipline and practice to achieve this level of mindfulness when it comes to choices and behavior. While I believe it is worth aspiring towards, I don’t know how many leaders are willing to put in the time and energy to do this level of work, and how many companies are willing to support it. Furthermore, the pathway to mindfulness is, in part, a deeply personal journey before it is a professional outcome. Still, I support the insight and do recommend this course of action to create a more holistic definition of engagement.
One new element to the whole subject of engagement that is surfacing is the idea that employees can be very engaged and not agree with the strategic direction of the company. Or, employees can be very engaged and just want to perpetually maintain standard operating procedures. They just want operational continuity in spite of a changing environment. They are involved, enthusiastic and highly productive in their work and workplace as long as every thing and everyone changes according to their idea of what should happen next.
On a parallel track, some employees are involved, enthusiastic and highly productive in their work and workplace as long as they can work remotely and on their own schedule. Given the pandemic, this perspective is not going away. And given The Great Resignation that continues to take place, many, if not all, employers do not want to loose employees and can not afford to loose employees. This level of engagement, i.e. engagement as defined by “my terms”, is both a major challenge and a major opportunity. However, not many leaders and their companies know how to “engage” in this form of engagement.
So, what does engagement mean to you? It all depends on who is defining the term, namely the individual, the leadership of the company, or an outside entity. And it all depends on which lens you are looking through, namely, strategic, operational, or personal. This spring slow down and discuss the subject of engagement in greater depth and from multiple perspectives. It will be well worth the time and the effort to create this level of clarity as move further into 2023.
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