The consultant we have been waiting for has just come, let’s welcome him and let him lead the discussion. That was in 2007. I had just joined a Big Four audit firm.

The managing partner had fixed an appointment for an inception meeting and was supposed to attend with me as part of my induction. But just as we were leaving the firm, an urgent call came from the Ministry of Health for a meeting with the Minister. Being a critical issue, he asked me to represent him instead.

In the chaos of finding transport, I arrived late. The Executive Director and ten members of the EXCO were already seated, waiting and the room was dead silent. This was a 540+ staff government parastatal. I had never led a project of such magnitude; to make it Worse, this was my first fieldwork assignment at the firm.

Luckily, on my way to the client, I sat in the co-driver’s seat, chatting with the driver. I had asked him how the managing partner handled meetings. His response? “Have a structure and always have an agenda. It helps to structure your talking points and thoughts.”

I had prepared an indicative agenda, but I never took it seriously, assuming the Executive Director would handle it. I was wrong.

A minute into my arrival, the ED broke the silence. “The consultant we have been waiting for has just come, let’s welcome him and let him lead the discussion.” That was the moment I realized I was the chairman of the meeting. I quickly remembered the driver’s words. Be structured and have an agenda.

I thanked the ED and the EXCO members, and I outlined a quick agenda:

“Introductions, communication from the ED, reactions, communication from the consultant about our understanding of the assignment, reactions, and next steps.”

The ED advised we start with a prayer. I asked if anyone had changes to the agenda. There were none. I asked for a volunteer to lead the prayer. And I went on to lead a powerful inception meeting.

Later, I learned that this was part of the firm’s “deep-end swimming” induction style. You were thrown into the deep waters to see if you could swim.

I also learned a few lessons that day: Never arrive late and always respect everyone (the drivers, receptionists, records officers, peers, and managers alike) because insights come from the most unexpected places. Most CEOs think they have engaged employees when all they have are people who are satisfied enough to not quit.

An employee can be satisfied yet completely disengaged - showing up, doing the bare minimum, and waiting for payday but that’s not engagement. That’s complacency.

Engagement is when people take ownership. The driver I spoke with was engaged. He could have just driven in silence. Instead, he offered valuable insights, unknowingly preparing me to lead a meeting I didn’t even know I was leading.

A satisfied employee will do what they are told; however, an engaged employee will anticipate problems, solve them, and contribute beyond their job description.

Many organizations mistake comfort for commitment, they assume that just because people aren’t complaining, they are engaged. But true engagement is an emotional investment.

  1. If your employees don’t care beyond their paychecks, they are not engaged.
  2. If they don’t offer ideas, challenge the norm, or take ownership, they are just passengers.
  3. If your team isn’t driving the business forward without you pushing, you have satisfaction, not engagement.

How do you fix it?

  1. Throw them into the deep end by giving people responsibilities beyond their comfort zone. The more you stretch them, the more they engage.
  2. Kill the entitlement culture, if someone waits to be told what to do, they are a liability, not an asset.
  3. Reward initiative, not tenure. The driver who gave me strategic insights was more valuable in that moment than many high-level managers. If you only reward years of service, you are paying for time, not impact.

The reason many businesses stagnate? Too many satisfied employees, too few engaged ones.

Would you rather have a workforce of people waiting for instructions, or a team that sees problems and solves them before you even ask?

Your call.

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