The luck of the Irish

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Amazing how once a year people from all over the world choose to wear green and celebrate everything Irish.  People whose heritage has nothing to do with Ireland celebrate St Patty’s day throughout my city.  Is it that way in your neighborhood? What is it about this day that gets so many people engaged?  We talk about the luck of the Irish I’m not sure whether there is any truth to that statement.  I’ve looked for the origin of the phrase but have come up unsuccessful.  But here is my spin on it…..

Celebration, smiles, and a sense of belonging adjectives describing this day all help people feel engaged.  Most of us have a need to belong, feel part of something larger than ourselves, and need a reason to celebrate.  St. Patrick’s Day provides such an outlet.  Couple that with the coming of Spring, letting go of a long harsh winter, the thought of new life sprouting from the land as Spring arrives and its no wonder we have a cellular experience of awakening, and new beginnings.

Now you might say how does this tie into creating an engaged organization?  If your organization is in the doldrums, your employees, or you yourself feeling the heaviness of the recession and the slow recovery, you might want to engage in some discussions of new beginnings, a new season, encourage new creative thinking-brain storm, put out an anonymous internet based suggestion box.

Dream and ask the question if we were your ideal place of employment what would be happening there?  What could we change here now to make things a bit better?  What could I do differently?  What could you do differently?

Engaged organizations are all about creating opportunities for people to feel part of something larger than themselves.  They are about respect, integrity, and clarity of purpose.  They are also about sharing the good with the bad.

When I think about the “luck of the Irish” I realize that as a people the Irish have gone through a great deal yet they are known to celebrate life, smile and most importantly move forward.

Enjoy the day and let me know what you are thinking.