Tag: strategy

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

Foundation for a Decent Workplace

Whether you’re building a new organization or fixing a dysfunctional one, here’s a good place to start.

Bill of Rights for the Ideal Workplace

  1. You have the right to be treated with respect and the responsibility to respect others.
  2. You have the right to be treated fairly and the responsibility to treat others fairly.
  3. You have the responsibility to respect the rights and needs of others.
  4. You have the right to a work environment that is free of distractions.
  5. You acknowledge that change is difficult and necessary.
  6. You acknowledge that errors are often the symptoms of a larger problem, and not the problem itself, and work to find better solutions.
  7. You acknowledge that employees are part of the solution, not the problem.
  8. You acknowledge that while blame is easy, finding the right answer is hard.
  9. You acknowledge that finding the best answer often requires everyone being involved.
  10. You acknowledge that while customers come first, they may not always be right.

Adapted from The Three Legged Table: Why Every Employee Matters by Brian James.

[Image credit: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash]

Categories
Current events Engagement

Remember

… what life was like five years ago when the pandemic started?

In a very short time, our lives changed forever.

Here’s one important lesson I learned from the experience: “A crisis can be very clarifying. When you have emerged from a crisis you learn to cherish what really matters.” Scott Cochrane

While we’ve learned to live with COVID-19 (thanks to advances in medical/pharmaceutical science), we continue to face challenges in our chaotic world.

That brings me to another important lesson I learned during the lockdown: the importance of self-care that’s reinforced in asking these questions:

  1. What am I GRATEFUL for today?
  2. Who am I CHECKING IN ON or CONNECTING WITH today?
  3. What expectations of “normal” am I LETTING GO of today?
  4. How am I GETTING OUTSIDE today?
  5. How am I MOVING MY BODY today?
  6. What BEAUTY am I either creating, cultivating, or inviting in today?

These questions are helpful in reinforcing what matters: caring for one’s self and others who may be struggling these days.

Originally posted online during the pandemic as “Daily Quarantine Questions” (source unknown), the questions are timeless.

[Photo by Anastasiia Krutota on Unsplash]

Categories
Engagement

How to Improve Your Workplace

It’s easy and something anyone can do: bosses, business owners, co-workers, colleagues, partners; etc.

It can be used with any employee, whether they work remotely, at a company locale, or in a hybrid situation.

And it’s applicable any time, any season.

Are you ready?

Here it is:

“Tell someone how grateful you are that they took something annoying off of your plate, stepped up when you needed them, or just made work a little better. Whatever it is, be as specific as possible. It might feel small, but this tiny nudge towards gratitude is incredibly powerful. It will ripple throughout your organization. And it will make work better for you and for the people around you.” Laszlo Bock

[Image credit: Photo by Ava Sol on Unsplash]

Categories
Training & Development

“Flawsome” is Awesome!

I admit to being a perfectionist.

The good news is I’m getting much better at reviewing my workshop feedback and no longer stressing over the occasional 1/2 to 1 percent of participant evaluations that have been mediocre or less than favorable.

This is partly due to allowing myself more grace when I know I’ve done my best to prepare and deliver a session for a client.

It’s also due to learning about the Japanese practice of kintsugi that my friend and former publisher, Tom Collins, introduced me to several years ago. This art form involves “repairing broken pottery by sealing the cracks with lacquer and coating them in gold dust. As a result, the repaired piece becomes more beautiful and valuable than the original.” In other words, Tom helped me to understand that being “flawsome” is awesome.

That’s why I’m happy to share the new book, “I Am Perfectly Flawsome: How Embracing Imperfection Makes Us Better” co-authored by Tom Collins and Michele Molitor.

Their book explains the basis of perfectionism and explains how it endangers our mental and physical health resulting from living with self-imposed pressure and anxiety, depression, feeling “less than” when not meeting expectations, and low self-esteem, etc.

Building on this foundation, the authors offer practical tips to address perfectionism, fear of failure, and imposter syndrome so that we can embrace the benefits of being flawsome. Its valuable content is formatted with margin space for side notes, references, quotes, and the reader’s notes. Each chapter also ends with questions for consideration “to help you start living Flawlessly.”

“I Am Perfectly Flawsome” is worth reading and sharing. It’s also the perfect gift for any student, co-worker, or family member struggling with perfectionism.

“Perfection is merely an illusion, put forth by those trying to achieve it.”
Michele Molitor

[Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay]

Categories
Engagement

There’s No “I” in Employee Engagement … or is There?

It depends.

My answer is “no,” considering you can’t have an engaged workplace in a culture of management Inertia.

Employees may fully engage initially, but their enthusiasm and energy get chipped away over time due to inattention by management and little recognition of their achievements. Once engaged doesn’t mean always engaged when employee value is given lip service.

My answer is also “yes,” when management Intention and action are in place to support an engaged workplace. I’m talking about leaders/managers who proactively foster a culture where employees know their work matters and is valued.

Bottom line: effective engagement cannot co-exist with management Inertia. But when management is Intentional about engaging employees, it’s an entirely different situation.

Which “I” word have you experienced in employee engagement?

[Image credit: Pete Linforth from Pixabay]

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

Career Lessons from the Wizard of Oz

Among the many life lessons found in this wonderful film, here are my professional takeaways from the major characters.

Dorothy Gale: In her journey on the yellow brick road, Dorothy faces various twists and turns with serious obstacles to overcome. It’s a perfect metaphor for a “career path” that is anything BUT a straight line to a destination dream job/career. (Fortunately, we’re not at risk to run into a bad witch with a minion of flying monkeys!) As with Dorothy’s experience, however, we’re also likely to encounter opportunities for self-discovery while sharing the adventure with people we come to value that we meet along with way.

Glinda the Good Witch, The Wicked Witch of the West, and the Wizard: Employees don’t get to chose the bosses they want to work for, and we naively presume that everyone in a position of authority is smart, competent, and capable of leading/managing effectively. The reality is you may end up working for managers who are good, those who are mediocre and hide behind a curtain of power, or those who are toxic. Whether you find yourself with a Wizard or a Wicked Witch, it’s important to respect their authority — even if you don’t respect them personally — for as long as you’re able to endure them.

The Scarecrow: His journey ends with being awarded an official degree, but there’s no end to seeking knowledge. On-the-job training and continual learning — formal and informal (e.g., reading, networking, professional development, etc.) — are necessary for growth.

The Cowardly Lion: You can’t lead when you’re paralyzed by fear. “Fake it ’til you make it” isn’t an effective strategy for the King of the Jungle or anyone in a position of power. We continually learn confidence through trial & error and building on our failures with encouragement from others. As Conan O’Brien shared in a commencement speech, “[Don’t] be afraid to fail … whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come. The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction …”

The Tin Man: He comes to learn that having a heart is key to a fulfilling life. Philosopher and writer Elbert Hubbard said it best: “Do work with your whole heart and you will succeed – there is so little competition.”

[Image credit: Ray Fragapane on Unsplash]

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

Considering Major Organizational Change? Listen Up!

“Executives who initiate strategic change without engaging managers in the process disrespect them by dismissing their work and institutional knowledge.

While organizational change isn’t easy, it doesn’t have to be made more painful by those in charge.” Sybil F. Stershic

Those in middle and front-line management who are most affected by change are more than willing to share their ideas on how to best to minimize disruptions and help employees adapt.

Ignore them at your peril, unless you’re looking for an expedited path to disengagement and turnover.

[Image source unknown.]

Categories
Engagement

More than just-for-fun: how playing leads to better understanding

It’s true:
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a lifetime of conversation.”  [attributed to Plato]

This was confirmed in feedback from a group of professionals for whom I recently had the privilege of providing a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® workshop.

This special session was designed to bring a small group of department managers and supervisors together, who work in the office and/or remotely, to connect and better understand each other in a safe, engaging way.

Verbatim comments included:

“It got me to think internally about my role and growth but also add an extra value and appreciation for my team, their roles, and talents.”

“It helped to connect with co-workers and see how they thought. To see them interact with one another and think alike was very positive.”

“Today’s session helped me experience the team’s unity. We all had different ideas, thoughts, but we were all joined in a single purpose and this is to serve our community.”

As a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator, I find it gratifying to witness the group’s progress from their initial reactions about playing with LEGO® bricks at work -ranging from skepticism to amusement – to their full immersion in the process of shared understanding and unexpected joy in the process.

[Photos by Sybil F. Stershic]

Categories
Engagement Training & Development

Where to go when you need emotional first aid

Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay

How do we cope when we’re bombarded with crisis after crisis? Weather-related disasters, hate crimes, political and economic struggles, rampant mistrust and distrust, etc.

If you’re looking to understand how we can help ourselves and each other get through difficult times, I recommend the free online library of Global Facilitators Serving Communities (GFSC), a volunteer facilitator network providing materials, methods, and mentoring to help communities in crisis.

GFSC’s Library contains articles and guides that cover psychosocial crisis management or, more simply, “emotional first aid” topics for individuals, facilitators, and leaders, including:

  • managing grief, anxiety and stress

  • emotional recovery

  • building resilience

  • communicating, leading in crisis situations

  • caring for caregivers

GFSC’s Library materials includes insights and perspectives from different countries and cultures, with many articles available in English and Spanish.

I invite you to explore this online resource and check out one of its most popular articles: A Light in This Dark Valley Guide-A Guide for Emotional Recovery: “Fifty Things You Can Do When There is Nothing Else to Do” by Gilbert Brenson-Lazan and Maria Mercedes Sarmiento Diaz.

This is just one of many helpful articles available for individual and community development.

I also invite you to share GFSC’s Library with others you know who may be in need of emotional first aid.

[Image credit: Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay]

Categories
Customer service Engagement Marketing

Why I’m More Hopeful

Throughout my career there were times I felt like a tiny voice in the management void.

As an early advocate of internal marketing – a strategic blend of Marketing and Human Resources that focused on taking care of employees to take care of customers – I found companies bought into the concept but not its practice. A typical response: “It says right here in our annual report that employees are our most valuable asset, so we don’t need your services.”

Despite encountering executives unwilling to invest in internal marketing, my passion for employee-customer care kept me going. Perseverance also led me to business leaders who recognized internal marketing’s value and wanted me to help them do more.

My new favorite equation

Now I’m more hopeful than ever about internal marketing for two reasons:

  1. Thanks to the focus on the employee experience as a key competitive differentiator, there is continuing interest in applying internal marketing (also referred to as employer branding).
  2. I’m especially happy to share I’m no longer a voice in the wilderness as building a brand from the inside out is being embraced by a new generation of marketers that include Ron Johnson, co-founder and managing Director of Blueprint Creative.

Ron has taken my internal marketing approach of blending Marketing and HR further: he advocates a stronger, more formal integration of the two functions in “The Bhranding Equation: Branding + HR = Bhranding” that is reflected in his quote:

“Customers will never love a business that is hated by its employees.” Ron Johnson

My new favorite business book

Ron is also the author of Tighten Your Shoelaces: How the World’s Leading Companies Defend and Grow Their Brands During a Crisis (and How You Can, Too!), a book I recommend.

Along with explaining his Bhranding Equation, Ron shares real-life examples of how companies protected and strengthened their brands when faced with the global pandemic and other business, social, economic, and environmental crises. This book is insightful and easy to read as Ron writes in a way that makes readers feel as if he is speaking directly with them. I see “Tighten Your Shoelaces” becoming a classic that will stand the test of time in both crises and non-crises situations.

As internal marketing has evolved into Bhranding, it’s gratifying to know a new generation is carrying employee-customer care forward.

[Photo credit: image by Silvia from Pixabay]