employee-engagement

When you are fully present and engaged in your workplace, you will demonstrate that you care about the success of your organization, are a team player, have a can-do attitude, and will go the extra mile to fulfill and exceed expectations.

11 Ways to Be More Engaged 1. Care about others.2. Be 100 percent in the moment. 3. Keep focus on the person you are serving. 4. Try to get involved, engaged, and interactive.5. Show interest in what matters to other people by listening, acknowledging, and responding.6. Arrive in the moment anticipating creating a valuable interaction for yourself and others.7. Move towards the things that inspire you and provide a sense of joy and connection.8. Reconnect with the essence of yourself and be grounded in that essential relationship.9. Maintain eye contact and deliver the non-verbal cues that you are fully with the other person.10. Limit distractions_ close the door, silence your phone, hold calls, put tasks aside, etc.11. Show up to the moment being your best and giving your best.

Your encounters will be more successful when you slow down, pay attention, and become more mindfully aware of the world around you. Heightening your awareness in your social, situational, contextual, orientational, and cultural scenarios will improve your agility as you adapt to new social settings.

Mix, Mingle, Glow. Stretch beyond your own comfort zone to speak with, sit with, and start conversations with people whom you do not know. Take the initiative to help other people capture the spotlight and shine.

Contextual awareness represents a continuum of behaviors, which illustrates how and why groups of people unite or divide among cultures.

Our cultural lens is so much a part of us that we are not even aware of how obvious it is to others. Like the nose on your face, you may forget that it is there, but everyone else sees it. I can__ look at you and not see your nose.

Since we are all unique and individual, being cognizant of different personality styles will help you better recognize where others are coming from to minimize barriers, build trust, and catapult your newfound communication skills into meaningful connections. The savvy socializer knows this all.

Communication is the soul of all relationships. More than any other skill, it is the heartbeat of success in sales, marketing, marriage, business, friendship, communities, and beyond.

Sometimes you must earn the right to be included. Otherwise, you may appear awkward or pushy.

Becoming more socially aware involves greater understanding of the dynamics of social interactions to assure you achieve harmonious outcomes.

When you have orientational awareness, your perceptions and impressions are based on location and proximity. Orientation may imply hierarchy, position, and prestige, or be the result of habits, traditions, and perceptions.

In America, when a man walks in front of a woman it may imply that they are not equals and he is exerting dominance over her, or being arrogant and rude. In a different culture, however, it may be presumed that he is someone worthy of profound respect and is protecting her by going first.

When you are socially aware, you will realize whether you are forcing yourself into a conversation or have actually been invited to participate.

Take the Initiative. Be proactive. If you want to rock your relationship results, it is going to take action, effort, initiative, and choosing to get in the game__o, step up, step out, and show up!

Service Beyond Self. Value others; have a heart of service and generosity. Rise above self-interest. Ask what you can do for others, not what they can do for you.

Sometimes it is better to refrain from engaging in conversation because making no impression is better than making a bad impression.

Why is this disengagement epidemic becoming the new norm? A few reasons I have witnessed in speaking with companies across the country include . . ._ Information overload_ Distractions_ Stress/overwhelmed_ Apathy/detachment_ Short attention span_ Fear, worry, anxiety_ Rapidly changing technology_ Entitlement_ Poor leadership_ Preoccupation_ Social media_ Interruptions_ Multitasking_ Budget cuts_ Exhaustion_ Boredom_ Conflict_ Social insecurity_ Lack of longevityThese challenges not only create separation and work dysfunction, but we are seeing it happen in relationships and personal interactions.

Polish the Gold. Be an optimist; look for the best in others, the best in situations, and focus on what is working rather than what is not. It's golden!