It becomes increasingly hard to achieve something when you are not exactly sure what it is. Fair? Most managers are given objectives without definition or even goals.  This probably makes it pretty hard to achieve what executive leadership has sought out to accomplish in the first place.

Keeping that in the forefront of my goal to spread the message of the importance  of engagement, I thought, “Hmmm, what does engagement really mean?” Engagement is the active focus, energy, enthusiasm, and deep thought towards the goal, objective, activity, or task that currently consumes you; or, for the fellow eaters in surplus such as I, FEED.  This acronym will certainly fuel your growth and satisfy your future desires as much as your favorite dish (even as much as my mom’s potato casserole).

There is no specific area that can be skipped or walked over to achieve true engagement in your career, personal life, or relationships. And active engagement is absolutely necessary to succeed in all of these phases.  So let’s dive in…

FOCUS

The first idea of focus seems pretty straightforward but can be as difficult as any to implement.  Focus is, at its core, a highly individualistic trait that really is only achieved through each individual’s system.  First step for focus is to actively recognize when you have steered off course.  When you are looking at Facebook, ESPN.com, your phone, or contemplating why on earth your boss went with popcorn ceiling post 1998, you have lost your focus on what is currently important.  Begin by recognizing the what, when, where, why, and how of your breach of focus.  What are the common denominators? Is it two hours of hard focus when you get off track? Is it sitting in the same spot? Is it not getting a snack (very common for me)? Find it (…or them) and attack! Create systems to divert yourself towards focus and away from mindless distractions.  For me, searching college basketball recruiting can be a huge deterrent to productive work or, worse, conversation with my wife. What should I do? Set time aside for it! How freaking simple? There’s no need to give up interests, hobbies, or brain downtime, it’s a matter of taking control of it.  Set aside 5-10 minutes to read your favorite person online, check what friends are doing on Facebook, etc.  Soon, you’ll be able to tell your friends they need to get back to business when they have 12 posts by lunch.  Even these small hobbies and interests make you who you are and deserve some attention to keep you balanced.  They should not take over the important things, by any means, but there’s no reason for the things that you enjoy to be taken from you.

Next, be where you are.  This little phrase that my college baseball coach permanently implanted into my brain provided a lot more inspiration than I ever would have thought.  When you start to get off track, just think…be where you are.  My coach always used to say “when you’re at practice, be the best baseball player you can be. At work be the best employee you can be.  When you’re with your girlfriend, be the best boyfriend.” The point is being present.  Leave the other stuff too its time and work on what is in front of you.

ENERGY

Energy is what gives your focus and deep thought productive capability.  Innovation does not come from the guy lulling through the day and fighting to meet the bare minimum.  Energy is the fuel for purpose. Where energy comes from is different for everyone and finding your source of energy will be your homework assignment. There are a couple of great books about finding  your core values or internal congruence that will help you find this energy source. I recommend checking out The Entrepreneur’s Solution and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (I know…cliché). These are my two favorites for laying out the meaning, importance, and steps to take to find your core values and drive. The former being more layman terms and the latter being far more deliberate. For me, exceeding expectations of myself, my wife, my friends and family, my employer, and my clients is my drive. If you think about it, what makes you feel better than when someone exceeds your expectations? Find yours and you’ll have all the energy required.

A great method of finding what drives your energy is building your personal mission statement.  Mine? Family, friends, future.  Simple.  Normally, I offer paragraph when three words will do, but I did not want distractions in my own personal mission statement.  I’ll have more on creating your own mission statement through my own personal experience, but I firmly believe everyone that wants to make the right decisions for them needs to find their personal mission statement.

 ENTHUSIASM

Do you think this dude brought enthusiasm to his everyday life? Now, you don’t have to enter the office each day Ric Flair style in a Carolina Hurricanes sweater, even if you’d be cooler if you did. BUT, bring the enthusiasm. My peeps reading this are probably saying, “Uh, Dude, are you sure energy and enthusiasm are different?” You are damn right they are!!! Enthusiasm is what will make your job fun! Energy is how you can provide productive capability.  Enthusiasm is what makes your day enjoyable.  That when you wake up, it’s time to go and get this thing done! Like energy, your daily enthusiasm will need to come from an internal place.  For those that are competitive, make your work competition. Do it better. Do it faster. Do it to a higher standard. Hell, do all three! Make things a game, find the enrichment that your work provides, or think about what the final result of your team’s work provides to society.  Sometimes, the place where your energy comes from is the same that provides your enthusiasm.  Big things cannot be done without a constant level enthusiasm. So get excited, because we are moving on to the last aspect of true engagement, and don’t forget to channel your inner Rick Flair, “Whew!!!”

DEEP THOUGHT

We have touched on one of the requirements for deep thought being energy, but now let’s delve into what this means for engagement. Critically thinking about problems and the future is not just a fruitful exercise; it’s a prerequisite for success. I think active engagement; especially thinking about focus and the idea of “be where you are” are mis-interpreted as possessing short-term life cycles. This could not be further from the truth. Deep thought about why you are doing things currently is important, but this aspect goes far deeper than thinking of the importance of what you are doing at the moment.  What about your future? Do you think deep thought is not required to think about possibilities and ideas that don’t seem possible in the current environment? Your future has not happened yet (queue cliche radio sound bite of breaking news). This means if you want to get to where you want to be, time, focus, energy, and a dash of enthusiasm is necessary (did I just define engagement with deep thought and then says engagement is necessary for it? Vicious circle). The task or objective you are currently tackling has long-term impacts, no matter how mundane it may seem now.  Find its long-term importance to the grand scheme of your project.  How will putting your phone down and thinking about how you want to retire, where you want your relationships to be in five years, or what difference you want to make impact those very ideas? My belief is enormously.

I started with long-term thinking because it seems to go by the wayside when talking about active engagement.  I did not want its importance to be overlooked.  But thoughtful people in the short-term are often confused with highly effective people.  These are the people that find the new process that gets to the same place but in four less steps and 10% less cost. These are the people that shine at dinners and leave you wondering where they came up with an idea so profound that you’re thinking about it the next day.  Apply thought to reading the newspaper rather than just soaking in the headlines. What does the shooting in the rough part of town mean? What does the Brexit really mean? Move further in the short term, why am I doing what I’m doing? This may be a scary thought for some, but it’s said to encourage and not discourage. If there’s an aspect of your job you don’t like, think, research, and propose a change to make it better. Think of the sense of accomplishment that will rain over you once that change is implemented.  This is innovation. Make what may seem impossible a reality.

We have now successfully defined engagement.  I say we because throughout this writing, I hope you were actively thinking of your own habits, life, and practices. If you did not, I challenge you to re-read this article now or in the next day or two and begin to think about your own methods of engagement. It will lead you to where you want to be.

I leave you with this about engagement. In October 2013, I was the heaviest I had ever been for the third time in my life at 227 pounds.  That month, my wife and I wanted to both start shedding some weight and get healthier for us and our careers.  All the while she had no clue the impact a 7 word sentence would have on our future.  “It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.” This is all she said to me after complaining about eating chicken and veggies for what seemed like an eternity.  Now, almost 2 years later and 25 pounds less, this is the most successful I’ve ever been with my weight.  I had to re-program my brain.  The weight came back before because I looked at a short-term solution of a diet, but I needed a lifestyle change.  Engagement is the same. Engagement is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.