The Employee Engagement Network (http://www NULL.employeeengagement NULL.ning NULL.com/) is offering a free e-book called the The Top Tens of Employee Engagemen (http://www NULL.davidzinger NULL.com/wp-content/uploads/Top-Tens-of-Employee-Engagement NULL.pdf)t with some really great information on improving employee engagement. I was asked to contribute and did so. Most of the listings of ten items to improve employee engagement are about management or things management can do to improve employee engagement.
But Cube Rules is about what people working in cubes can do to land their next job, improve their work, and have a great career. Since that is the point of view of the site, I wrote what I think are ten skills you need to have in order to engage in your work. Here they are:
1. Work on what excites you
Excitement precedes passion. Whenever possible, work on what excites you and reduce the work of what doesn’t excite you.
2. Learn best practices
Full engagement means you need to know the best theoretical way of doing the work. Only then can you discover if the best practice is right for you.
3. Belong to a professional organization
Like-minded people working in the same area as you build knowledge and contacts.
4. Focus on the work
When you are working, do the work. Do not let distractions remove your focus. The more you focus on the work, the greater the concentration and engagement.
5. Build superior task management practices
Knowing all your commitments in a trusted task management system reduces stress (I subscribe to the GTD Methodology with various tools).
6. Become a “trusted advisor”
When you provide your views of the work and business judgment with your manager, you engage at a higher discussion level than most employees. You will also learn about more opportunities to get your work to what excites you.
7. Network with high performers
High performing people bring higher levels of engagement in their work. Get to the top of your game by talking with these people.
8. Work the edges, not the middle
The edge is where the new stuff is happening in your field. The edge is where the value is for employers. The edge is where you need to be constantly learning to perform effectively.
9. Become the go-to person for your work
If you’re the expert, you will learn even more from the questions people ask of you. Making you even more of an expert.
10. Learn from those with adjacent skills to your skills
Adjacent skills are those that sit next to your skills. For example, if you know finance, learn from those that are experts in the adjacent skill of financial reporting. Learning adjacent skills rounds out your knowledge and leads to engaged thinking.
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You can download (http://www NULL.davidzinger NULL.com/wp-content/uploads/Top-Tens-of-Employee-Engagement NULL.pdf) the entire free e-book. I’d recommend you do!
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