Manage to Engage

CHAPTER 8Building Connections: Can You Hear Me?

The real influencers of an organization are the network nodes: the people who most often intersect with the most people.

—Professor Margaret Heffernan, author, CEO, entrepeneur

Value in business today comes from who you know and who and how you connect with them. Connection builds whole new forms of capital – personal, social, intellectual, operational, financial, and reputational.

Connection is about how we relate to other people. You get that sensation that you have someone you can share thoughts and bounce ideas with. When you connect with people at work you feel you've got a buddy or a team who are “in it together.” Great connection provides a sense of belonging. We take energy from one another when we connect. We get excited about common interests and common ground. If we don't feel connected to those around us – our colleagues, managers, suppliers, customers – we soon lose our enthusiasm. Without a strong understanding of what links us together and our place in the universe, it's hard to see how who we are or what we do matters. If we feel connected, we understand those around us and importantly, we feel understood. With connection, remarkable things can happen. We engage.

You're the Best Thing about Me

Maintaining an emotional connection is essential to long-term employee engagement. In her powerful TED talk a few years ago, Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social ...