Success Story - Mugabo
The Rise of Disengagement:
Mugabo Uwilingiyimana was burned out. He was leaving a work environment where he felt demoralized and drained from fighting the same battles day in and day out. The job that once gave him a sense of purpose had become an anchor weighing him down.
"I had become cynical despite being a naturally optimistic person."
By trying to fit into what he saw as the typical engineer mold, Uwilingiyimana unknowingly pigeonholed himself. From his vantage point, he couldn’t see a place where his values and deeply held beliefs intertwined with a satisfying career. So, he left critical parts of himself out, essentially creating separate lives. This lack of inter-connectedness led to depression and disengagement. At home, he wasn’t able to be present with his wife or newborn baby, and on the career front he was frustrated and checked out.
“I felt like I was failing.”
Unfortunately, Uwilingiyimana's experience is far from unique. Disengagement has a contagious nature, and employers shouldn’t underestimate its profound influence on the overall well-being of an organization. It not only spreads within the workplace, leading to lower team morale and reduced productivity, but it also extends beyond office walls. Employees who consistently face high levels of work-related stress report difficulty fulfilling family responsibilities and maintaining a quality of life.
Individual Strengths:
Unlike general tools that take a broad-stroke approach to increase employee engagement, Collective Engagement’s proprietary methodology taps into the power of employees’ individual skills, strengths, and energy.
It begins with an intrapreneurial profile that gives employees the opportunity to reflect on past experiences and the skills they used. When participants are guided through a holistic reflection, they can see that no experience is wasted. They’re able to look at their cumulative skills, not just what qualified them for their current role. This powerful exercise allows employees to think outside of the box, resulting in increased connection, creativity, and motivation – all of which impact productivity.
Committing to Engagement:
An engaged team isn’t the result of a single retreat or training. It takes deep work and a commitment to leveraging employees’ personal strengths, as well as the energies of individuals and teams.
Uwilingiyimana’s work with Collective Engagement enabled him to identify and articulate his values and skills effectively. He learned how to show up authentically to connect specifically and deliberately with his organization’s values.
“My work with Collective Engagement opened my eyes to what could be.”
This newfound clarity allowed him to transition into a role he previously believed was unattainable. Uwilingiyimana emphasizes the significant difference this has made in his personal job satisfaction and the numerous benefits his organization has experienced by recognizing and valuing the entirety of his contributions, not just his technical skills.
“I feel so much more balanced. I’m able to truly be present with my family and use my advocacy work to make a difference in the community.”
Our unique strengths-based approach creates a positive and lasting impact on employees’ happiness and professional fulfillment, resulting in improved performance and increased revenue.