The Positive Impact of Full Engagement on Your Career Success

by Tony Colangelo

What Is "Full Engagement" and How Does It Benefit You and Your Organization:

As an executive & career coach, I encourage my clients to leverage the power of "Full Engagement" to maximize their impact in their role and position for long-term career success. Full engagement in business refers to an individual's emotional commitment, focus, and investment in their career. It goes beyond simply performing well in your role; it represents a deep sense of purpose, fulfillment, and a relentless drive to achieve goals for you and your organization. Demonstrating this high level of engagement helps you separate yourself from others and moves you from good to great! Organizations typically measure employee engagement levels through the lens of employee surveys. The challenge with this measurement is that it is "one-sided," creating the perception that employee engagement is predominantly the employer's responsibility. While it's true that companies play a crucial role in creating and maintaining a supportive and positive work environment to foster employee engagement, full engagement can only occur when the individual reciprocates with their highest level of focus, effort, and commitment to meet their personal and team objectives.

A March 2023 Gallup Report indicates that businesses that score in the top quartile of "employee engagement" see as much as 21% higher profitability. Outlining that Engaged teams and organizations benefit from better customer engagement, productivity, retention, and health outcomes. The takeaway: Engagement impacts every element of a business.

These surveys confirm the benefit and ROI to organizations striving for fully engaged employees. The individual's benefit of being fully engaged is as significant, providing increased career trajectory and satisfaction. Demonstrating full engagement in your work leads to being recognized as a top performer through accelerated motivation and goal achievement levels. A positive and highly engaged attitude helps you build stronger relationships and become a more valuable team member through increased collaboration with colleagues and clients. Having a brand of being fully engaged also enhances your reputation in your industry, attracting mentors and sponsors and positioning you as an attractive candidate for future career opportunities.?

Seven Steps to Harness the Benefits of Full Engagement:

1. Demonstrate Your Passion?- Research shows that having a strong passion for your success at work is rooted in aligning your values and purpose with your organization's. Take the time to develop this alignment in your values and purpose, and in return, you will demonstrate a deeper commitment to success and have the inspiration and energy to stay fully engaged and motivated over the long term. Passionate individuals who excel in their roles and organizations radiate positive energy that attracts others to them. The simple act of being more engaged and enthusiastic about your work will lead to higher productivity and creativity. Remember, small things show others your engagement level, including eye contact and body language; avoid distractions that decrease your engagement, such as continually looking at your cell phone during business conversations. Passion and focus give you the energy that fuels your success; show it in your daily work.

2. Take Ownership?- Fully engaged individuals are committed to their work and the organization's goals. Remember, Leadership is not a title; everyone who strives for career success needs to act like a leader. Take ownership of your work and go above and beyond to contribute to your team's success. Focus on your strengths to demonstrate your value and positive mindset; enhancing them will lead you to even greater heights.

3. Stay Focused & Resilient -?"Focus" is one of the most critical ingredients to engage at work fully. Having clearly defined goals and well-developed habits to support their achievement is essential to stay on track. Demonstrate your resilience by being prepared to overcome obstacles and having a "never give up attitude." Also, realize that failures are the stepping stones to success, enabling you to adapt to changing circumstances as you drive forward. Make sure to celebrate small victories along the way to keep you inspired. It is also critical to put your work into perspective and know when to turn it off to enjoy your personal time. Remember, your personal downtime gives you the rest to reinvigorate yourself mentally and physically. This approach will provide you with the well-being and stamina required to maintain sustained focus and engagement to reach long-term goals while also enjoying the journey.

"Highly engaged employees make the customer experience. Disengaged employees break it." - Timothy R. Clark

4. Make Full Engagement Part of Your Personal Brand?- Develop your brand such that when colleagues and clients think of you, they envision your strong trait of full engagement—someone always ready to contribute new ideas and support them in reaching their goals. By cultivating a reputation of full engagement, you position yourself as proactive, energetic, and always ready to contribute a winning attitude. This brand will help you gain your colleagues' and clients' trust and respect and position you well for new opportunities for growth and advancement.

5. Become a Powerful Relationship Connector & Team Builder?- Fully engaged individuals are team players who strive to collaborate effectively with their colleagues. Have an "attitude of gratitude," demonstrating your willingness to support and help others; this will pay you immeasurable dividends over the long term. A simple strategy to help you implement this approach is to create a list of colleagues and clients with whom you want to have regular coffee meetings to share industry insights, elicit feedback, and provide coaching and guidance when appropriate. This approach to relationship building may be simple. However, it is highly effective as only a small percentage of people take the time to execute this relationship strategy. Therefore, if you do, you will differentiate yourself by building long-term, solid, trusted relationships.

6. Step up to Leadership Opportunities?- One of the quickest ways to stand out from the crowd is to continually demonstrate that you are interested in and open to new leadership opportunities. Show your full engagement by taking on new challenges, seeking growth opportunities, and regularly offering innovative ideas to foster business growth and improve organizational processes. This approach will increase how others view you as a leader and enhance your sense of full engagement.

7. Continually Work on Self-Development?-?Build a "self-development" plan above and beyond your mandatory "career training." Develop a self-development plan tailored to your growth needs from a soft skills perspective. This approach will increase your Executive Presence by focusing on high-impact skills and behaviors, including emotional intelligence, versatility, resilience, strategic thinking, presentation skills, and team building. Work with a mentor or professional executive coach to help you develop your plan, hold you accountable, and track progress toward your goals. Remember, self-development is the fuel that continually provides you with the inspiration and motivation to keep you focused on reaching your career goals.

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Summary:

Utilize these seven steps to unlock the benefits of full engagement and maximize your full potential through increased efficiency and effectiveness at work. This approach will also provide you inspiration and energy by emotionally connecting you to your values and purpose.

Tony Colangelo?is a Certified Executive Coach and Founder of eXecutive Factor Coaching. Tony is also a Speaker and?Author of the Blog Series "Leadership Lessons I Wish I Learned When I Was Younger."?Tony has over 30 years of experience in Leadership roles in the management consulting and information technology industries.

Contact Tony Colangelo at?[email protected] ?for a free consultation on helping you achieve your career goals.

This article is Leadership Lesson # 29?from Tony's Blog Series "Leadership Lessons I Wish I Learned When I Was Younger."

Copyright ? 2024 eXecutive Factor Coaching Inc.