Engagement is the result of dialogue that is designed to build connections between people. Dialogue refers to the quality of talking together that allows a number of voices, ideas, perceptions, and understandings to be heard. Dialogue is different from much of the talk in our culture which takes the form of debate and discussion where the tendency is to advocate for our own views and to be prescriptive. Dialogue, on the other hand, requires moving beyond what we think we already know, to learn from each other, and to endeavor to understand a diversity of experiences and viewpoints. In this context, Left Lane Consulting, LLC serves to:

• Design and facilitate meetings and workshops in which dialogue leads to better results
• Coach leaders and managers on when and how to create opportunities for dialogue within their organizations
• Develop practices that increase dialogue between supervisors and their employees on matters of performance and development
• Build effective teams
• Mediate and resolve conflicts between individuals and between parts of an organization
• Address issues of diversity by focusing on the diversity of opinions
• Reconcile differences and improve organizations and communities by building connections associated with possibility, commitment, ownership, authenticity (dissent), and gifts.

Connections between people and organizations form the foundation for the success of almost any group that intends to achieve a result. More often than not we focus on actions, not connections and as a result much is left undone.

Nearly every issue having a negative influence on organization performance is a product of poor connections:

• Silos; lack of interaction between parts of an organization/business
• Process breakdowns; poor information flow from one part of a process to another, lack of understanding about how one's actions affect another's further down the process
• Supplier and customer relations; unclear or poorly communicated expectations and standards
• Access to information (IT); lack of information required for people to do their jobs.
• Conflict; labor, interpersonal, across organization boundaries
• Poor individual performance; lack of feedback on performance, skills to effectively deal with poor performers
• Ineffective strategy: people do not know what it is or what is expected of them; mission, vision and strategy are not reflected in day-to-day behaviors; people define their lack of responsibility as a "lack of strategy"
• Lack capability to execute strategy; alignment between organization structures, practices, and capabilities, and the goals of the organization
• Lack ability to think strategically; connection of people to a future context that enables them to stop dwelling on past and current problems
• Leadership; leaders who are disconnected from what is happening in their organizations cannot effectively lead. The primary responsibility of leaders at any level in the organization is to create opportunities for dialogue; a differentiator of great leaders is their ability to select the right time to create opportunities for meaningful dialogue

Engagement helps create connections between people in organizations and communities, out of which all change is initiated. It is a process required for the effective management of change, and a product that drives the success of any organization.

Engagement is an underlying requirement of every initiative undertaken by Left Lane Consulting.