_{Simmons Family Ranch}

Life offers a series of invitations. Some you welcome with open arms. Some are hidden, and it takes a bit to recognize the invitation. And some you resist. But the reason you go from one place to the next in life is that you say yes to the invitations. A person who awakened me to the invitations in my life is my friend Terri Joy.

For example:

• When I resigned from my job of 20 years to work for myself full-time, it became an invitation to live anywhere, prompting a move...

_{Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels}

What are the primary concerns on employees’ minds when it comes to work? A recent study by Mercer US asked 4,000 US-based workers about their topmost needs in the workplace. In addition, the report compares the results of the 2022 list to those on the 2021 list.

The needs vary from year to year, for example:

• covering monthly expenses was #9 in 2021 but topped the list at #1 in 2022
• personal relationships appeared in 2021 but didn’t make the...

_{Photo of Vault Virginia is courtesy of The Daily Progress}

A few weeks ago, a coach asked me critical questions during our session together, and it transformed the way I was thinking. Before I reveal the gilded inquiries, let me explain the backstory. Our family had recently moved to Charlottesville, VA, under the premise that I would work for myself. But after a few months, I became interested in returning to the workforce. I

missed being part of a team, serving a common mission, and...

_{Photo by Rebrand Cities on Pexel}

Here's a video where you can learn about our Six-Factor Employee Engagement model. It’s the result of five years of field research, learning from experts, and presenting findings to practitioners. We field-tested it, created practices, modified them, and measured results. Now I’m happy to share these ideas with others.

When employees are engaged, they’re so committed to their work and workplace that they’re willing to give...

_{Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels}

About two weeks ago, my computer and online accounts got hacked. It started with an email from Spotify alerting me of suspicious activity. Then one came from Uber, then Amazon, and on it went. I began changing the passwords to my accounts. I logged into my system’s security log, which showed multiple attempts to infiltrate my setup and steal my passwords.

As a result of the cyberattack:

• Fraudulent purchases were charged to my bank account
• My email...

I’ve worked with hundreds of workplace teams around the topic of CliftonStrengths®. If you haven’t heard of CliftonStrengths, it’s a system for bringing out the best in people. The main application is in the workplace, but there are advantages to using it in your personal life as well. Throughout my career, I’ve seen three types of strengths work. Which are you best at?

Introducing Strengths

The first type of work is introducing strengths. Not everyone has heard of...

Employee engagement is the ability to be motivated, dedicated, and emotionally connected to your work and workplace so you give your best, discretionary effort. Engagement doesn't happen by chance - it takes intention and effort. But you can strengthen your workplace.

Here's an infographic on ten ways to engage employees:

Do you like this infographic? You can download the full size version.

_{Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels}

Last week we shared our six-factor employee engagement model to leaders at Penn State. This is the result of more than five years of research and development while I was leading human resources at EnergyCAP, consulting with other organizations, studying the experts on engagement, and building a comprehensive employee engagement program.

I believe this work matters greatly because:

• there is majority disengagement among workers
• the national engagement rate...

Over the last five years, I’ve led hundreds of training events, mostly around CliftonStrengths®. Usually, the idea for an event begins with team leaders wanting to do something for their team.

Maybe there’s a team retreat coming up, or there’s a team problem to solve, or they want to offer professional development, or they’ve heard of the CliftonStrengths assessment (formerly StrengthsFinders®).

Different reasons have brought them to me, but most events end the...

_{Photo by Tiger Lily on Pexels}

In our previous blog we discovered that although it was easy to blame the Great Resignation of employees on the pandemic, that wasn’t the actual cause. The real cause of the unprecedented numbers of employees voluntarily leaving their workplaces was employee disengagement. Now that workplaces are returning to normal (albeit a new normal), should they be concerned about employee disengagement?

According to Gallup, only 34% of American employees are...