Anthony Landale
I’m in London and there’s a huge sign plastered over a council building. On a luminous purple background the signage blazons the characteristics of the borough using words such as  ‘amazing’ ‘dynamic’ and ‘vibrant’ and then it trumpets to passers-by ‘Deliver the vision’. I feel despair.

We know of course what the council are trying to do here. They are trying to be upbeat, energising and visionary. They are trying to inspire change in the area! So why am I so cynical? Partly it’s because of the spectacularly scruffy building they are using to promote their aspirations and partly it’s because there’s absolutely no engagement.
Individual leaders and managers also need to avoid this trap. Bold statements about the future and exhortations to colleagues to make big changes are, on their own, unlikely to inspire. The missing piece here if you want to lead for a brighter future is to engage people in what you are up to.
Engagement requires relationship, dialogue and co-invention. It’s absolutely not about telling or instructing people about what you want them to do. Rather it’s about having a real conversation with people about the future you want to build and about how they can help, contribute and get excited about their part in it.
A practical example of engagement was the director who led a dotcom re-launch in a major retail business. He knew it was a big opportunity and he went and engaged a team of people from around the business to join him in this project – people who would share his vision of success, people who would get motivated about the work and who would have their own ideas about what was needed to make it fly. No surprise that the people he recruited brought extraordinary focus, commitment and energy to the re-launch. They felt ownership of it, they knew they were part of something worth doing and they went well beyond the norm to make sure of its success.
So how engaging are you when you want something done and how do you go about it? Why not ask for some feedback about  the natural qualities you bring when you are enthusiastic about something that matters to you and consider who you would really like to engage more.
By Anthony Landale
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One Comment
Orla Whalley
This is so true. I spend a lot of my time reminding people to communicate and engage early in a project – and invite people to be part of the design if you want them to them to be part of the end product. So many people seem to think if you make something sound exciting enough people will be immediately won over, when what they really want is the reassurance it is going to be meaningful and useful to them.