Are You Emotionally Engaged at Work?

I'm a big fan of the bestselling business book "Now, Discover Your Strengths" and would highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it. The book is based on research by the Gallup organization and the findings culled from more than 10 million surveys and interviews conducted over the past decade. As someone who is trying to become a conscious leader there is one statistic from the studies that got my attention. More than 1,000 people were asked this question, "At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day." Of those who "strongly disagreed" or "disagreed" with this statement, not one person was emotionally engaged on the job.

What are the implications of these research findings? How many of us who serve as leaders in our businesses could answer affirmatively to this question? Does our approach to management influence how employees would answer this question? Does being emotionally engaged matter in the workplace? While I can't offer an in-depth analysis in this brief posting here are a few of my reflections about the topic.

There have been times in my career when I would have joined the dissenters in the survey. Although the reasons vary as to why I didn't have the opportunity to "do what I do best every day", the most important for me was likely the focus by management on my weaknesses. The book authors and researchers at Gallup found that employees are 22% more likely to be disengaged at work when improving weaknesses is a primary management tactic or practice. This stunning revelation has changed not only the way I look at myself, but how I manage others.

When I am doing what I love to do, and have the opportunity to use my talents every day, my emotional engagement at work is positively impacted. This has been especially true for me in the past four years, as I have worked with my partners to establish and grow our consulting and training business. For the first time in my life I have an opportunity to practice my talents daily, gaining new knowledge and skills that transform those talents into strengths. Work is fun, challenging, and very rewarding.

When training and coaching other leaders I regularly challenge them to assess their own talents and to help employees discover their talents as well. The results have been encouraging as managers and direct reports become more emotionally engaged through this process. If you haven't yet discovered your unique talents it's not too late to start. Your value as a leader will be enhanced when you acknowledge this maxim (as described in the book Strengths Finder 2.0) "You cannot be anything you want to be - but you can be a lot more of who you already are."