My twins are about to begin Kindergarten. I know they're ready and I´m excited for them. Yesterday, we stopped in to pick up some paperwork and I walked them by their new classroom. Their new teacher was busy putting the finishing touches on the room and he saw us standing in the doorway. He immediately came over and graciously welcomed the children to school. He had already put their names on little gingerbread men that were cheerfully displayed on his classroom door, so the children found their names. They walked away feeling quite certain they would like Kindergarten with Mr. Cannon.

Do you remember starting school? I remember being full of excitement, and a little bit of fear. What would school be like? Would I like the kids in my class? What about the teacher? Would I fit in? Would I do well?

Funny, those questions aren´t much different from the ones I ask myself each time I join a new organization. And, according to the Gallup Organization, they touch on several of the elements included in their Q12 instrument, which measures employee engagement.

I interviewed Dr. James Harter, Chief Scientist at Gallup today as part of my monthly educational webcast series. I was impressed by his depth and breadth of knowledge on the subject and I recommend listening to the archive for those of you interested in knowing more. (Employee Engagement - What Leaders Need to Know, Do and Be)

The good news story that came from our discussion was that employee engagement can be radically altered in a relatively short period of time. What´s critical is to understand what impacts engagement, to accurately measure it at the local level, and to use that as the launching point for ongoing conversations aimed at building an environment that fosters higher engagement levels. And, just as the teacher plays the most significant role in the involvement and enthusiasm of their students, the same holds true for one´s immediate manager.

Here´s hoping that my kids are on their way to high levels of engagement and that your employees are too. I´m off to fill an immediate need -  lunchboxes!