Rings of Engagement

People say I’m a very engaged team member, I take my work seriously and I go above and beyond. I can’t say I disagree with them. In fact, I can’t tell you how much it means to have the people I work with acknowledge these things about me and take time to give me that feedback. It creates a great deal of value, and I view it as a not-so-common gift in the workplace.

Being engaged at HORNE is a natural fit for me. It feels super comfortable to be part of a place that intentionally invests in and equips its team members to beCome empowered and engaged — that we might beCome building blocks of engaged teams and ultimately beCome part of the strong foundation of our Wise Firm. My spelling is not a typo. Rather, I write it with encouragement in mind! I write it with an invitation in mind as well, for you to beCome engaged, to whatever extent may be possible.

As I sat down to write this blog post, I researched the term engagement. Many of the engaged characteristics I read about come naturally to me. My work is more than just a job. I seek growth and development, and I enthusiastically produce the high quality work necessary to help my team members, service lines and the firm be successful. All of these are great things, and I can go a pretty long way serving as my own cheerleader, motivator and coach. But thankfully, people here have invested themselves in cheering me on, motivating me and coaching me. So this is my chance to do the same for you! Start small and pick one thing per week to better your engagement. Maybe it’s stepping up your client service or getting to know a fellow team member better. Small steps build and before you know it you will have made noticeable progress on your journey of engagement.

For those who lead a team, I encourage you to take the time to explain the “why” and be intentional in giving feedback. Listen to your team’s opinions; help them understand what’s expected of them. Ask them what their passions are and work to create opportunities around that. Allow them to use their strengths and trust them to deliver. I have benefited from these actions and I can tell you they make a difference.

More often than not, I hear the term engaged used in the context of human relationships. Human relationships can be unpredictable, messy and risky. But they can also provide security, give a sense of purpose and be greatly rewarding. We are not growing engagement in a vacuum. We are each responsible for our personal engagement, but we are also responsible for our engagement with one another. So watch for it while you’re doing it — beComing engaged — and you will see rings of engagement grow in number and reach. It’s a beautiful thing.