Chapter 34. Encourage, Inspire, Empower, and Coach

When Nancy walked into to Grandma's Soup House, she received her welcoming cheer from the employees, ordered her soup, and walked back toward her table, where Grandma was sitting. Nancy sat down, and a few minutes later, after helping his employees, Peter joined them. Nancy could hardly control her excitement.

"It's not just about relationships," she said. "It's about engaged relationships."

"I like that term," Peter said. "I never heard it before."

"I know. It came to me this morning."

"What does it mean?" Grandma asked.

"It means that the relationship is not a noun, but a verb."

"You lost me," Peter said.

"It means that relationships aren't stagnant. They are something we create every moment of the day, and it is our actions and the things we do with one another that engage the relationship and strengthen in it. Relationships are the result of the time we spend together, the interactions we have, and the work we do together. When I take a walk with my kids and talk to them, I'm engaging them and creating an engaged relationship. When I'm collaborating with a coworker, I'm engaging the relationship. Through our interactions and actions together, we develop the relationships and teamwork that enhance engagement, performance, and results. What I'm trying to figure out and hope that you can help me with is this: What are the best ways to engage the relationship?"

"Well, my dear," Grandma said, "now we come to the point where it's time to ...

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