What engages YOU? The 3 C’s of Personal Engagement.

This week we answer the question: If we want to improve engagement in our communities we need to understand what personally engages us. How do we uncover that and what benefits does that bring to the engagement process?

 “Leadership is not the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It is a process ordinary people use when they are bringing forth the best from themselves and others.”  ~Kouzes and Posner~ 

As this quote suggests, there is great potential if we think of engagement as a process of bringing forth OUR best and fostering the leadership in all of US. It’s when we uncover what personally engages us, and align that with the work that needs to be done, collaborative action will flourish.

We can uncover what engages us by knowing what calls to us, what sustains us and what makes us feel strong.  The more we notice our strengths and become engaged in our own lives – the more engaging we are to others and the more open and accepting we become to seeing others for the uniqueness they bring. Be curious about why people come, why they stay, and what keeps their momentum going over time. When we do this we know what we need to tap into to keep things engaged.

Knowing what engages you personally helps with the 3 C’s:

• Concentration: When we engage from a strengths filled place the result is focused goals, intentions and visions
• Calling: A strengths approach increases meaning and purpose to the work. The stronger the connection or the calling a person sees between themselves and the work, the more enthusiasm and energy they will feel able to devote.
• Confidence: Strengths increase confidence and commitment in decision making abilities. It’s easier to decide what to do – and follow through - when you know what engages and BINDS you to it.

Village Raising Question:

What would happen if you took a strengths filled approach to your community work?

Which one of the three C’s do you want to put into practice this coming week? How? Tell us about it!

Looking for more strength filled resources and HOW TO's of personal engagement?

 See online at www.raisingthevillage.ca for the Vibrant Life – Vibrant Leaderships workbook, where we were inspired by Lance Secretan’s process of guiding leaders through a process of defining their destiny, calling and cause and by Stephen R. Covey’s work of finding your voice as well as Marcus Buckhingham’s and Jennifer Fox’s strengths work.  

Related blogs:

Strengths Compass

Maximizing Community Engagement

Maximizing Community Engagement was the title of our tele-learning event with host Donna Jean Forster from Tamarack Institute last week. Much to our shock and delight - we broke the record with the highest registrations to date.  So what is it about Community Engagement that has struck a chord with people across North America? Why are people so eager to connect and learn about this topic?  Is there something about where we are socially that calls out for a renewed interest or deeper learning about how to engage with others?

Let's start with a few definitions of what community engagement is...

Put simply, community engagement is the process of involving people in decisions that affect them. This can mean involving communities in the planning, development and management of services.   - from a great how-to guide by The Scottish Government.

Loosely defined, community engagement is the process of working collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of those people. It is a powerful vehicle for bringing about environmental and behavioral changes that will improve the health of the community and its members. It often involves partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices (Fawcett et al., 1995). - by the Centre for Disease Control

 Based on our research, we understand community engagement to be “people working collaboratively, through inspired action and learning, to create and realize bold visions for their common future.” - by Tamarack Institute, who have done considerable work gathering resources on the topic.



From our interview in Donna Jean, there were a number of questions that we believe get to the heart of people's interest. We were asked;

1.  If we want to improve engagement in our communities we need to understand what personally engages us. How do we uncover that and what benefits does that bring to the engagement process?

2.  Communities are groups of people. What are some of the best ways to understand this group, engage them and move forward in addressing complex issues?

3.  What are some of the traps to avoid when we are working with or living in community?

All great questions!  How would you answer them?

See the Tamarack website for an audio recording of the interview - and check here back next week as we begin to answer them within our blog.

Thorny Questions in Your Side? Get the Community Clippers!

We just came off of a thought provoking Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP website) webinar, hosted by Joanne Schroeder and guest presenter Paul Kershaw, titled Influencing Public Policy: Tips and Traps.  What drew us into the call was our quest to learn more about how community can take action, impact policy changes and engage with people at a local level and beyond. Trust us, they delivered, so if you missed the call watch for the archive of this presentation on the HELP website.

Joanne discussed thorny questions – the barriers that get in the way of people participating in change efforts. See if you can identify with any of these prickly scenarios:

“We just can’t seem to agree on the action/priorities.”

“We can’t endorse that piece of work.”

“What difference will it make?  Will we really have any impact?”

Lo and behold, village raisers, you will be impressed (and likely not surprised) with Joanne’s response to the above thorns. Yes, get your community clippers out and take heed that the answer seems to circle back to the power of community collaboratives and participatory processes.

Here are some collaborative shearing tips:

• Be clear on your group’s definition of advocacy. What’s the difference between influence and advocacy?
• Base your advocacy conversations on research and fact rather than opinion. Ask people “What do we know to be true?”
• Use consensus building processes to work through the fact of life that people have different opinions.
• Connect with other communities – learn from and share with other groups to decrease isolation and increase shared power.
• Be a conduit for community voice with a pro-active planned strategy (include in your annual plans).
• Use a solution based focus - stay positive
• Find both quiet (building relationships, small conversations) and louder (rallies, big messaging) ways to advocate.
• Evaluate your impact

It seems that time and time again that to have impact and foster change, we need to use informed group processes that boost a collective empowerment. The thorny questions will arise – what we are after are the practices that help people move beyond the thorns into the further development of their working together initiatives.

6 Group Process Tips: How to prepare for the flow of TIME in group sessions, activities and agendas.

Have you ever planned a group session down to the minute? 

You know what we mean, where you give 10 minutes for introductions, 30 minutes for updates, 1 hour for the topic of the day with a 15 minute energizer and 5 minute closure.  

Sounds wonderfully, perfectly timed out.

 So what could go astray? Trust us, many things can happen that cause time to run out or to stand still! To get back on the ticking track, it’s helpful to aim for an estimated time AND to plan for how you will respond to timing in the moment.Frankly, exact timing may not be possible. As group facilitators we like to have an outline structure that we follow and we are aware that things do not always go as planned!

We have come up with a list of 6 Group Process Questions & Tips that can help you review and master the TIME element for your next session:

1.  What time is available? Start with what time is available to work with.  Take your ideas and adapt them to fit in the allotted time. This can be handy if you are asked to take a 3 hour presentation and condense it to 15 minutes or extend it to a day long. It happens!
2. How long do you imagine it to take? Do a mock run. Time out the agenda/process. Don’t forget to build in time for group dynamics caused by group passion, apathy, nerves or unexpected events.
3. How large is the group? Adapt the process to match the size of the group who is meeting. For example, in a small group you may have more individual sharing, while in a large community group it may be more small group reporting. Each type of interaction and reporting out will take a different amount of time.
4. Where is the group's focus? Our exercises are often adapted on the spot or even tossed off the agenda to follow the group's focus. Being flexible and having an open approach to group processes is invaluable. 
5. Who is showing up? If there are new partners or old history joining the room, allow for time adaptations to honour the "warm up" period of people interacting before diving in.
6. What will be in your facilitator back pocket? Plan to be able to "let something go" from the agenda or to add something in. We will often ponder - where could we extend this activity if it doesn't take as long as expected OR where could we skip over if the dialogue is rich and deep and it takes more time than expected.

 Think on your feet, have a loose structure, and let the time flow!

Raising the Village Question: 

What else do you do to prepare for the flow of time in your group/community meetings?


Looking for engaging activities to enrich your working together time? 
Our RTV activity books are about to be released (will be on Amazon soon). In the meantime - sign up directly with us for a special early bird discount. Contact tammy @raisingthevillage.ca or tracy @raisingthevillage.ca for more scoop.