Rather ying on your managers to magically know what you need to feel more valued and engaged at work, take matters into your own hands. Schedule a meeting and discuss how you feel about your job, how valued you feel and how engaged you are. Without complaining or criticizing, describe how your feelings impact your work and explain you want to do some joint problem solving. Work with him or her to develop a plan to increase your engagement or strategize best ways to maintain your high level of engagement. Your enthusiasm for increasing your personal level of engagement might open the door to finding creative ways to make your job more interesting and fulfilling. While it’s impossible to be highly engaged every minute of every day, if you include your manager in your plans to work towards higher engagement, you’ll ultimately be more successful in achieving your personal engagement goals. The bonus? Research shows that when employees are more engaged, they perform at higher levels. And when you perform at your peak, you are more motivated, creative and feel all-around good about yourself and others. What other ways can you increase your engagement?

Every ten years, U.S. travelers are required to renew their passports due to changing homeland security regulations. Renewing your passport means your travel documentation is accurate, up-to-date and in alignment with government travel requirements. In the same vein, it’s important that you take the time to reassess the current conditions in your life and make sure your present job is still in alignment with who you are and where you want to be. As roles and responsibilities in organizations reposition and change over time, ask yourself if your professional actions and outcomes are still in alignment with your job and career goals. Each year, get a big-picture perspective with your leader about the broader organization, and inquire about changes they foresee for your company, your department, and your role. Discuss what you can do today to realign and renew your skills so you can be ahead of the change curve. When did you last have this conversation with your manager? How’d it go?