Thomas the Train on Employee Engagement

I will admit that as a mother of a 14 month old son, I have been indoctrinated into the world of Thomas the Train. Given my other interest of leadership development, however, I think I view it from a unique perspective. For those unfamiliar with the little blue train, his ultimate goal at work is to be "really useful." Do any of us really want anything different. Accomplishment makes us proud of what we've done and energized to do more. It makes us engaged. So is keeping employees engaged as simple as making them feel, acknowledging that they are, and constantly challenging them to be "really useful?" What are your thoughts?

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What an Extraverted Intuitive Needs to be Productive

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Vacations

I know, you don't have time to take a vacation, you can't be away from the office, people who take vacations are looked down upon by senior management, etc. Throw your excuses away! I just came back from a ten day trip with my 14-month old Thomas-the-Train addicted toddler. We took a 26-hour Amtrak trip each way and spent eight days with my parents. Before I left I mentioned my hesitancy to a friend, "I will miss the office because I sincerely love my job" and received the best advice ever. He told me he and his wife had a deal that he was more fun on vacation if he was plugged in. He would spend a small amount of time each day tending to business and then focus entirely on family the rest of the day. So I tried that. It was hard the first couple of days to turn my brain off in between, I will admit it. But I got to the point where I could leave my blackberry and only check it twice a day, respond to e-mails and ask if I could respond when I returned from vac

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