As the proud dad of a 17-year-old daughter, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to get some face time with her. Between swim team, her job, church, the friends, the boyfriend … there is a lot vying for her attention. Imagine then she comes home, doesn’t say a word, grabs some food from the table, heads up to her room and closes the door. Here, but not present. Thankfully, I have worked diligently at participating in my daughter’s life rather than just watching her grow up, so I am humbled to say that we have a great relationship and this sort of thing doesn’t happen.

But how often are we guilty of falling into the same trap with our work family? In the meeting but not really there. Hearing all the noise but not truly listening. Involved but not engaged. I get it, believe me I do. There are hundreds of emails to answer, estimates to be written, calls to be returned — the list is unending and unrelenting. If we aren’t careful, we can find ourselves just going through the motions, punching the clock, being a bystander to the good stuff.