Employee engagement: having heart: making life richer in the workplace and beyond.

• Author: Dee, Kevin M.
• Position: HR Matters - Column

It's a privilege to be asked to write a column on the things I care about and the work I do in the world. My editor suggested a piece on employee engagement and how to create more of it. This is a topic and area that I work in a lot and am quite comfortable doing. I started mentally composing what I should say and how to make it interesting. Then I happened to have a conversation with an elder Alaskan who I respect highly and who always seems to say something that sticks with me.

We talked about a whole host of things: how he built his first cabin, how his neighbors came from miles away to chip in or give advice, and just the richness of his many years of adventures and experiences in Alaska. Time seems to stand still when I hear his stories and the larger than life characters that fill them. Throughout all his stories, from the great adventures to the heartbreaking ones, one thing stood out: his deep passion for what he did in his life and the people who shared those times. He had heart.

The twinkle in his eyes says he still does, even worn down by life and creaky. Every adventure he shared, whether a bonanza--or bombshell of an event like losing a child-was filled with the deep gratitude for the people who came together to share the good and the bad times. I realized in listening to him the things that really matter in my life are the people I surround myself with and how I walk in my world with them. I want more of those rich meaningful experiences. In my workplace and my life I want to be surrounded by people who also live with more heart.

Having Heart

So what does it mean to have heart? You all know it when you see it. It is found in those friends and family who make your life richer just by being in it. Those close friends who, no matter how often seen, make you light up with a smile that runs throughout you. You find heart in the people in your life that challenge you to be a better person. They are part and parcel your family or extended family. You have mutual and deep trust. Your experiences with them bring out the best in you and are treasured. Heart is celebrating what's right with the world in all its crazy messy ways.

Heart is a living compassion for each person regardless of how stupid they sometimes act. Heart is forgiving the person but not the act. Heart is allowing someone who has wronged you to make it up to you. Heart is compassion in action (and deeds) that is inclusive of the people around us and their well-being. I...