Christmas. A time for togetherness. Including when it comes to decorating the house. Even if the ‘more is more approach’ that unfolds is a little bit, well, off piste from the vision you have in your head. Even if you feel a wave of uncertainty as streamers are attached to the wall, stickers stuck to the windows – and the singing Santa you thought you had hidden gets dragged out for another (unwelcome) outing.
And yet, this weekend, as we returned our house back to its more usual look, packing away the festivities for another year, I was struck by how right my daughter had been. How beautiful her efforts were. How, in fact, her creative offerings were the best things about the decorations.
The dog attached his own aesthetic touch by stealing baubles from the tree daily. Which was much less welcome involvement to be honest.
And I was reminded once again that when we do things together, we do things better.
Which is pretty much my mantra when it comes to why it is so vital that we engage people.
You see, it’s all very well to have a vision in your head, a goal of where you want to get to. But by bringing people onto that journey with you, by finding out what they think, getting their ideas and suggestions, wow, you can end up with something far better than you imagined.
Plus, the other good thing is, by engaging people in what you do, you bring them with you. So whatever you deliver is collaborative, and people have a sense of ownership and belonging. That things are being done with them, and not for or to them.
And the great thing is that there is always an opportunity to engage people. To ask questions, to invite feedback, to give options. It doesn’t have to be complicated or in-depth, it can be a simple “what do you think?”
Another thing to bear in mind is when people take the time to get involved, we’ve got to show them that we value their input. Because the more people feel that their involvement is recognised and meaningful, the more they are likely to want to participate. Again and again and again.
So as 2025 slowly unfurls, looking for opportunities to engage people in different ways on a whole myriad of activities, plans, and goals is always a great approach.
And you may find you end up with something better than you could have imagined.
Now, I’m off to ask my daughter’s thoughts on how we should reorganise the lounge.
Happy New Year.
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