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Abstract

wards. When the whales don’t do the right thing, they shrug it off. And it’s the same with people. If you want someone to do more of whatever they’re doing, praise or recognize their efforts. If you don’t want someone to do more of whatever they’re doing, don’t acknowledge or criticize them.</p><h2 id="7b78">Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?</h2><p id="94ba">There’s another question down the list which is similar, but I think what this question gets at is whether or not people take the time out of their day to ask non-work-related questions.</p><p id="448f">I know people who have a strict boundary between their personal life and work life. I’m not sure I can do it myself — it’s hard to bring everything you have to work when you have a line where your personal life stops.</p><h2 id="c2a5">Is there someone at work who encourages my development?</h2><p id="61ff">You can be entirely self-motivated to develop yourself, your career, and your strengths, but if you’re smart about it, you’ll get people to buy intoo your development and support you. I can, very clearly, remember all the different times I have had bosses and supervisors encourage my development by pointing out different opportunities or strengths I didn’t realize I had which have significantly changed the trajectory of my career.</p><h2 id="78c4">At work, do my opinions count?</h2><p id="c16a">Having a say is important. One of the things I loved from Paul Arden’s book <b>It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be </b>is rough outlines are better than developed ideas. With some clients that Paul (advertising agency) worked with, they didn’t want a developed idea because they could nitpick it to death and reject the idea on a small thing (think for example, an advertisement, what the person in the advertisement is wearing). Instead of coming to those clients with a developed idea, the team went to the client with a rough sketch outlining the concept. This did two things: one, the team could get buy-in on the concept and more importantly, two, the client felt like they could share their input and therefore took ownership of the concept. The client would also take the concept and imagine their details (what someone is wearing, etc.) which helped the team.</p><h2 id="d34d">Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?</h2><p id="0bb3">I think sometimes more important than the mission/purpose of your company is the link from your work to that mission/purpose. If you write a book, maybe your goal is to make millions of dollars, but I’m willing to bet you’ll feel significantly mor

Options

e satisfied in the long term if you know your book helped someone make a positive change in their life.</p><h2 id="3fb7">Are my coworkers committed to doing quality work?</h2><p id="606f">A rising tide raises all ships. When your coworkers are committed to doing quality work, everybody raises their standards for what quality work looks like and everybody improves. When your coworkers are committed to only doing mediocre work, the quality of work slowly degrades which has of course an impact on the organisation.</p><h2 id="c5cf">Do I have a best friend at work?</h2><p id="8abd">This question was interesting to me — and I think it’s not because it’s about building friendships at work. I think it’s more about having a confidant at work — having someone at work you can trust and confide in, especially when work issues pop up.</p><h2 id="0866">In the last 6 months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?</h2><p id="76f4">I can’t imagine having annual reviews where the supervisor only meets with you once a year to discuss your progress. Even quarterly reviews seem like they are a bit too long to go without discussing progress. I’ve heard of some companies doing this weekly or bi-weekly (a quick check-in) which in organisations that are quickly moving, sounds like the right cadence.</p><h2 id="f3e8">This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?</h2><p id="8b2b">Ml philosophy with work is it's an opportunity to learn and grow. If I’m not learning and growing at work, that’s when I start thinking about changing positions, companies or careers — sometimes I find there are opportunities outside of work but having support from your supervisor or organisation helps tremendously.</p><p id="6bfd">Maybe you’ve had significant changes in your life. Maybe there’s been significant changes at work. You feel tired or burned out. You feel like you’ve been working the same job for years without any change.</p><p id="3085">If so, take a notepad or open up a blank document and answer the above questions. Either you will:</p><ul><li>Figure out where there may be opportunities to improve your engagement (for example, if you don’t have a supervisor or someone at work that cares about you, the best way is to care about someone else in the way you want someone to care about you)</li><li>Realize you need a change (a different position within the company, outside the company, career, industry, etc.)</li></ul><p id="156f">And it doesn’t hurt to attack engagement from both angles (improving where there may be gaps in the questions you’ve answered AND looking for a different opportunity).</p></article></body>

The 12 Questions to Answer to Understand Your Engagement at Work

A great way to consider whether you need a new job

I was surprised by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman’s findings in their groundbreaking book First, Break all the Rules. Although countless work has been done to understand employee engagement, they found that there were 12 questions, which, if employees responded positively to, signalled engagement at work.

Do I know what is expected of me at work?

If you don’t know what is expected of you at work, how can you deliver to those expectations? I’m sure we have worked at one point with someone who was unclear in their expectations. They ask for a deliverable and keep sending it back with vague feedback to “make it better”. Or they ask you to hit specific sales revenues year after year, which you do, but dangle the promotion in front of you like a carrot.

Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?

Ever try to get a screw out without a screwdriver? Just as the right tools make all the difference in your effort, the right materials and equipment at work can make a huge difference. I remember the switch from having a single monitor to dual and even triple monitors and couldn’t believe how much more productive I was at getting work done.

At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?

One thing that surprised me about the work Marcus Buckingham does: he found people don’t change that much. Instead of helping people fix their weaknesses, great managers focus on strengths and try to find the right fit of that person’s strengths and the role they are doing.

In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?

This brings to mind another book I’ve read Whale Done by Ken Blanchard which talks about the concept of positive reinforcement of good things and no acknowledgement of any ‘bad’ things that happen. He shares a parable about an aquarium where the trainers are teaching whales the right things. They do this by first getting the whale to do the right thing, and when they do, they give the whales treats as rewards. When the whales don’t do the right thing, they shrug it off. And it’s the same with people. If you want someone to do more of whatever they’re doing, praise or recognize their efforts. If you don’t want someone to do more of whatever they’re doing, don’t acknowledge or criticize them.

Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?

There’s another question down the list which is similar, but I think what this question gets at is whether or not people take the time out of their day to ask non-work-related questions.

I know people who have a strict boundary between their personal life and work life. I’m not sure I can do it myself — it’s hard to bring everything you have to work when you have a line where your personal life stops.

Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

You can be entirely self-motivated to develop yourself, your career, and your strengths, but if you’re smart about it, you’ll get people to buy intoo your development and support you. I can, very clearly, remember all the different times I have had bosses and supervisors encourage my development by pointing out different opportunities or strengths I didn’t realize I had which have significantly changed the trajectory of my career.

At work, do my opinions count?

Having a say is important. One of the things I loved from Paul Arden’s book It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be is rough outlines are better than developed ideas. With some clients that Paul (advertising agency) worked with, they didn’t want a developed idea because they could nitpick it to death and reject the idea on a small thing (think for example, an advertisement, what the person in the advertisement is wearing). Instead of coming to those clients with a developed idea, the team went to the client with a rough sketch outlining the concept. This did two things: one, the team could get buy-in on the concept and more importantly, two, the client felt like they could share their input and therefore took ownership of the concept. The client would also take the concept and imagine their details (what someone is wearing, etc.) which helped the team.

Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?

I think sometimes more important than the mission/purpose of your company is the link from your work to that mission/purpose. If you write a book, maybe your goal is to make millions of dollars, but I’m willing to bet you’ll feel significantly more satisfied in the long term if you know your book helped someone make a positive change in their life.

Are my coworkers committed to doing quality work?

A rising tide raises all ships. When your coworkers are committed to doing quality work, everybody raises their standards for what quality work looks like and everybody improves. When your coworkers are committed to only doing mediocre work, the quality of work slowly degrades which has of course an impact on the organisation.

Do I have a best friend at work?

This question was interesting to me — and I think it’s not because it’s about building friendships at work. I think it’s more about having a confidant at work — having someone at work you can trust and confide in, especially when work issues pop up.

In the last 6 months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?

I can’t imagine having annual reviews where the supervisor only meets with you once a year to discuss your progress. Even quarterly reviews seem like they are a bit too long to go without discussing progress. I’ve heard of some companies doing this weekly or bi-weekly (a quick check-in) which in organisations that are quickly moving, sounds like the right cadence.

This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

Ml philosophy with work is it's an opportunity to learn and grow. If I’m not learning and growing at work, that’s when I start thinking about changing positions, companies or careers — sometimes I find there are opportunities outside of work but having support from your supervisor or organisation helps tremendously.

Maybe you’ve had significant changes in your life. Maybe there’s been significant changes at work. You feel tired or burned out. You feel like you’ve been working the same job for years without any change.

If so, take a notepad or open up a blank document and answer the above questions. Either you will:

Figure out where there may be opportunities to improve your engagement (for example, if you don’t have a supervisor or someone at work that cares about you, the best way is to care about someone else in the way you want someone to care about you)
Realize you need a change (a different position within the company, outside the company, career, industry, etc.)

And it doesn’t hurt to attack engagement from both angles (improving where there may be gaps in the questions you’ve answered AND looking for a different opportunity).