Engagement. : 7 Steps to Promotion, Part 2

Being engaged generates higher performance through constant understanding of daily operational functions. When a person is engaged, they are aware of what’s going on and sometimes able to predict what is about to happen. Proactive planning is extremely effective in the business world, and it starts with being totally engaged. Plus, as I stated in Part 1 of the 7 Steps to Promotion, being engaged can make work fun!

If there is one thing I have learned about being engaged, it’s that it doesn’t happen by accident. People who are fully engaged are always making an effort. They make an effort to understand their job to its fullest extent so that nothing catches them by surprise. They make an effort to know the little things and know them well. They make an effort to learn the big things, and if they don’t quite understand, they ask more questions. They make an effort to be productive the whole day. They make an effort to be helpful even when they have tasks of their own to do. They always make an effort, because effort is the pathway to engagement. You can’t be engaged without making an effort, and the more of an effort you make, the more engaged you will grow to be.

When you become fully engaged, you will start to perform better through full understanding of daily operational functions. More simply put, you will just know what’s going on all the time. By knowing what’s going on, you start to predict things. I learned this while working at The Home Depot. I couldn’t predict everything of course, but I usually knew what was coming next without having to think about it. If a customer needed a grill, my mind wasn’t set on getting them the grill. My mind was set on getting them the grill and all the things I just knew they would ask of me in a sequence after the grill was down. Finding them a cart to put it on, getting their name so I could take it to the register for them if they had other things to get, if they didn’t have other things to get, then I was set on taking it to their vehicle and loading it for them, then bringing the cart back inside and putting it where a customer could find and use it later that day. I was engaged.

I wasn’t predicting anything crazy as if it were magic, I was just predicting what I knew was sure to come next because I was fully engaged. I knew operationally what needed to happen next and my mind was there before it ever happened. Being in this constant state of engagement not only made work fun, but it later helped me develop flow in my job.

Having your mind where it needs to be before it needs to be there is a key to leading, and leaders get promoted. Make an effort and grow into full engagement. At worst, it will make your job more fun!