"If you don't go in...you can't find out"

Interested in taking another step into Ingagement?

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Leadership INGAGEMENT

One of the most fascinating and useful trends I've noticed over the past 4 years is this whole idea of engagement.

I took a quick look at http://www.m-w.com online, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online and here's what it said:

Main Entry: en.gage.ment
Pronunciation: in-'gAj-m&nt, en-
Function: noun
1 a : an arrangement to meet or be present at a specified time and place <a dinner engagement> b : a job or period of employment especially as a performer
2 : something that engages : PLEDGE
3 a : the act of engaging : the state of being engaged b : emotional involvement or commitment <seesaws between obsessive engagement and ambiguous detachment -- Gary Taylor> c : BETROTHAL
4 : the state of being in gear
5 : a hostile encounter between military forces

Frankly, I'm amazed at the breadth of meaning of this term, but that's not really what I want to talk about today. This whole idea of engagement is nothing less than a profound way to approach leadership and that's why I've been studying it over the past few years.

Yet, what I've realized is that the level of "en"gagement is constrained by the level of "in"gagement.

Sounds kind of funny doesn't it?

That we would be constrained in our work with others through engagement of any sort by the amount of "in"gagement that we practiced. So, how would we define this "in"gagement? Actually, it is the art and science of self-discovery, self-disclosure and self-acceptance. While like "en"gagement, "in"gagement is not enough, when we combine the two, we begin to approach high levels of resilience in complex environments.

A complex environment is identified when no one answers solves the problem tension. In other words, we get into a paradox, where only so much goes so far and then the problem reappears often as more complex than we imagined. This is the layering of complexity, where this = that, but it also = that over there as well.
These kinds of environments can be VERY difficult to deal with for leaders. In some cases, it almosts seems like doing nothing is better than doing anything.

In these moments of ambiguity, "in"gagement + engagement = resilience.

What you'll find is the formula plus some insight into a subject near and dear to my heart call PAAR.

I won't talk about PAAR today, but I would like to draw the distinction between "ingagment" and "engagement."

When we combine serious effort to look inward and become more knowledgable about ourselves with an ability to disclose some of that form and process, we become in many ways more effective at engaging others.
Being vulnerable to not knowing is a powerful point of leverage when we face complex issues. To manage the inward as well as the outward journey is the territory of leadership in complex times.

"IN" gage today.


Mike R. Jay, Founder
http://www.leadu.com