Stop Wandering. Start Choosing. 🚀🗺️

Most careers drift not because people lack talent, but because they never decide where they’re actually trying to go. At some point, you’re responsible for deciding who and what you want to be.

Life’s small decisions are easy — dinner plans, weekend choices, the daily navigation of a busy existence. But the big decisions require attention, reflection, planning, and commitment. The stakes are enormous.

Baby Boomers and Gen Xers were guided through those choices by parents, teachers, counselors, and influential family friends. College was the dream our parents had for us because they missed out. Career choices mattered.

My own direction came from growing up in the 60s and 70s — the music, a young priest at the church where I volunteered as a Head Start teacher, and a family friend who showed me what a “personnel manager” actually did. That’s when I realized I wanted to help others.

Today the world feels more complicated and less certain. Where my generation wanted to work hard and make a difference, many young people worry there aren’t many differences left to be made. That’s where leaders have a role to play:

• When interviewing, zero in on what candidates are really looking for. Give straight answers about the job, and don’t hesitate to offer career advice they can use immediately.

• When supervising, listen to their questions, give real‑time feedback, coach them toward what they truly want, and mentor them in the parts of the work you love most.

• As a leader, be visible and accessible. Share the choices you made and help them discover the things that excite them.

Work isn’t just about job descriptions. Those describe tasks — not the meaning behind them. During onboarding and skills training, get engaged with your employees. Learn their preferences, coach them toward what they need, and tell them why you love what you do.

These are the little things that help people discover the big things about their life and work today. 

 

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 – 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass (1871), poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglican deacon.

People stay where they feel valued. 🔥 They leave where they don’t.

Engagement dies the moment appreciation becomes optional. Make appreiation a mindset with a purpose.

While opening The Mirage, I spent time in Housekeeping studying what motivated guest room attendants (GRAs). They cleaned an average of 14 rooms per shift. Studies showed they liked their job. Yet turnover was a dizzying 300%.

The Executive Housekeeper said, “It’s a very difficult job.” True — but that wasn’t the reason they left. I asked 100 GRAs who had recently resigned why they left a job they said they liked. Every single one said the same thing:

“There was no recognition for the good work we did — only the bad.”

So, we retrained supervisors to do two things:

• When performance slipped, treat it as a coaching opportunity, not a reprimand.

• When something was done right — up to standard or beyond — give a “gotcha” award. These shoutouts earned points redeemable for prizes or time off.

Within a year, turnover dropped to manageable levels. Why? Because they liked their job — and they liked the way they were treated. Fairly. By supervisors who stopped keeping their appreciation a secret.

Employees at every level need positive feedback, two‑way communication, and supervisors who are present, observant, and genuinely interested. In real time. Your interest in your employees is reflected in their interest in their work, their customers, and their co‑workers. That’s engagement in action.

If you want happy and engaged employees, tell them how much you appreciate them today.

 

Mary Kay Ash (1918 – 2001): American businesswoman and founder of direct sales company Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. At the time of her death, she had a fortune of $98 million, and her company had more than $1.2 billion in sales with a sales force of more than 800,000 in at least three dozen countries.^[1][2]

Growth 📈 is the ROI 🚀 of Engagement 🔄

No one ever grew by staying safe, silent, or on the sidelines. The proven truth is simple: growth is the ROI of engagement.

Leaders consistently tell us that their future success depends on developing people who understand — and enthusiastically buy into — the company’s mission, values, processes, products, customers, and culture. In recruitment terms, that level of experience is priceless. It’s the ultimate audition: you get to see them, and they get to see you.

These are the people you want to retain. And the top strategy for doing that is continuous feedback paired with progressive levels of engagement. According to Gallup, 80% of employees who received meaningful feedback in the past week are fully engaged, compared to the national average of just 32%. A culture of clear, consistent feedback isn’t a perk — it’s a performance strategy.

Organizations often use targeted programs to help unengaged employees become engaged contributors. Effective drivers include:

• Purpose: Helping employees understand how their daily work connects to the company’s broader mission.

• Two‑way communication: Creating channels where employee feedback is heard and acted upon.

• Coaching & growth: Providing mentorship, focusing on strengths, and mapping out clear career paths.

• Recognition: Celebrating milestones and high‑quality work so employees feel valued.

Leaders must model the very thing they want from their people: two‑way communication, growth through coaching, and continuous feedback. The operative word is engagement — because a leader’s engagement is the single biggest predictor of an employee’s engagement.

If you’re not doing that, step out of your comfort zone and start building growth strategies designed around engagement today.

Mary Tyler Moore (1936 – 2017): American actress, producer, and social advocate. Her roles helped define a new vision of American womanhood and appealed to an audience facing the new trials of modern-day existence.

Engagement Grows Where Leaders Let People Lead 🌱

If you want commitment, stop hoarding control. When people are involved in discussions and decision‑making, they do more and care more — because it becomes their business, not just the company’s.

Hock built Visa as a decentralized, member‑owned cooperative with a highly participative management style. When we opened The Mirage, unit heads had the responsibility and authority to develop and run their divisions. They were prepared — technically and emotionally — to shoulder accountability. People go all in on what they helped create.

Structures like these expect leaders to set a vision, understand how things run individually and collectively, and coach their people to be their best.

Leaders who believe two heads are better than one naturally bring people together at a strategic level — collectivizing strengths, reducing silos, and building real teams.

At the top of this kind of hierarchy is a leader whose engaging style becomes the model for everyone else. Not overbearing. Not micromanaging. Focused on objectives. Bobby Baldwin, President of Mirage Resorts, once sat with Bellagio’s designers and engineers and disassembled, studied, and reassembled a super‑shooter from that Casino’s famous fountains. His curiosity motivated their curiosity — and led to a more effective approach to maintenance.

Don’t think size determines whether an organization can build a culture of engagement. Big or small, every company and every unit benefits from people who feel ownership in what they help create today.

Dee Hock (1929 – 2022): Founder and CEO of the Visa credit card association. He walked away from fame and fortune in 1984 to live a quiet life as a rancher, student, and philosopher.

Engagement Isn’t Accidental — It’s Engineered ⚙️💥

Participation isn’t a talent problem — it’s a decision problem. And leaders play a major role in shaping the kinds of engagement their employees choose to explore.

If you want an engaged workforce, start early — before day one, and beyond.

1.     Job descriptions & postings: Signal your company’s commitment to employee engagement. Let applicants know this matters here.

2.    Interviews: Discuss the types of engagement opportunities available and explore the candidate’s interest in participating.

3.    Offer letters: Reinforce that the candidate’s mindset toward engagement influenced your hiring decision.

4.    Orientation: Spotlight real examples of employees participating in workplace initiatives, company‑sponsored activities, and community involvement.

5.    Onboarding: Set expectations not only for performance, but for exploring engagement opportunities that fit your culture.

6.    Leadership modeling: Be the role model, coach, and mentor who creates a safe environment to try new things and discover where engagement feels meaningful.

7.     Promotion & visibility: Promote the hell out of your company’s engagement stories — everywhere, all the time.

That’s seven (7) ways to prime an employee’s engagement pump. Now put your thinking cap on and identify three (3) more that fit your culture. That’ll give you ten (10) different touchpoints to promote, support, and reinforce employee engagement. Now get actively engaged in helping employees discover how they can make a difference today.

Dame Jane Goodall (1934 – 2025: English primatologist and anthropologist.[1]

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[1] Regarded as a pioneer in primate ethology and described by many publications as "the world's preeminent chimpanzee expert", she was best known for more than six decades of field research on the social and family life of wild chimpanzees in the Kasakela chimpanzee community at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.

 

Engagement Isn’t Magic — It’s Commitment 🔥

If leaders can’t define engagement, they have no business expecting it. Here’s how I define it.

Engagement is commitment — the kind that drives people to invest discretionary effort and contribute to the organization’s success in ways no job description can fully capture. To me, that means going above and beyond:

·       their job description

·       their colleagues’ expectations

·       their supervisor’s expectations

·       their customers’ expectations

·       and yes, even their paycheck

What “above and beyond” actually looks like

·       Discretionary Effort — Employees willingly do more than the minimum requirements of their role.

·       Alignment — They connect deeply with the organization’s mission, values, and objectives.

·       Enthusiasm — They take pride in their work and speak highly of their employer to others.

Engagement isn’t the same as satisfaction

Satisfied employees show up and do the minimum. Engaged employees are proactive, curious, creative, productive, and invested in the outcome of their work. Happiness may be a byproduct, but engagement is the engine.

Disengagement often results in doing the minimum

That’s a slippery slope that can lead to wasting time, tardiness, and even absenteeism. The best way to stop that slide is to get engaged with them — clarify expectations, coach them, and recognize even small signs of improvement.

What drives people to go above and beyond

Motivation isn’t about perks or awards. Above and beyond happens when organizations place a high value on it — when leaders support and nurture it, when policies recognize it, and when employees see the personal benefit of being fully engaged.

These are your best and brightest — the workhorses who carry your business on their shoulders. Their effort is what moves them to the front of the line, not favoritism. Make sure everyone knows that.

Engaged employees are all in. They perform best when expectations are clear and tied to measurable business objectives. My consulting partner calls it “a results‑focused organization.” Show them the roadmap, and they’ll show you results today.

Kevin Michael Kruse (born 1972): American historian and a professor of history at Princeton University, where his research focused on the making of modern conservatism.

Own the First Mistake Before You Earn the Second Chance ⚡

A second chance only matters when someone is willing to own the first mistake that made it necessary. Responsibility isn’t just about admitting what went wrong — it’s also about earning redemption.

My introduction to second‑chance talent started outside the workplace, through a “bootcamp” program for first‑time, non‑violent offenders. Modeled after Marine Corps training, it combined tough love, rigorous physical conditioning, and intensive life‑skills development. When asked if I’d hire one of their graduates, we did — and what we saw was a level of commitment that I would describe as fervid,[1], a word I rarely find the need to use. These individuals were laser‑focused on doing good work because their future depended on it.

After leaving Wynn, I worked with Hope for Prisoners in Las Vegas, a reentry program founded by an ex‑felon. They begin working with selected inmates before release, then provide 18 months of coaching, mentoring, and life‑skills training. The same fervid commitment was there — now paired with a deep spiritual foundation. Their success rate, measured by never returning to the judicial system, is over 94%.

These individuals make exceptional employees — committed, reliable, long‑term focused, and determined never to jeopardize the second chance they fought to earn. Yet many employers remain hesitant. The data, however, is irrefutable. Success stories are everywhere, and leaders in every industry should explore this extraordinary talent pool. Start with your local Workforce Development Office and ask about reentry programs in your area.

Sometimes, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. But there are other times — like this — when just because you can, you absolutely should. Starting today.

Jack Bauer is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox television series 24. He’s played by Kiefer Sutherland.

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[1] an adjective used to describe someone or something filled with a passionate, intense, or highly enthusiastic feelings