Engagement

Abstract

This chapter introduces the second element of Seligman’s (Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press, New York, NY, 2011) well-being theory, engagement. To explain the importance of engagement to well-being and flourishing, Seligman shares the work of Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi and his flow theory. Csikszentmihalyi described the optimal or flow experience as “a sense that one’s skills are adequate to cope with the challenges at hand, in a goal directed, rule-bound action system that provides clear clues as to how well one is performing. Concentration is so intense that there is no attention left over to think about anything irrelevant, or to worry about problems. Self-consciousness disappears, and the sense of time becomes distorted. An activity that produces such experiences is so gratifying that people are willing to do it for its own sake, with little concern for what they will get out of it, even when it is difficult or dangerous” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 71). De Clercq, Bouckenooghe, Raja, and Matsyborska (Hum Resour Dev Q 25:183–212, 2014) found that a selfless leadership style, such as servant leadership, is necessary to provide the high levels of resources and energy required to enable followers to experience sustained levels of engagement.