Letter from the CEO Greetings Momentum Subscribers,
This issue of Momentum will be focused on the "Better Paradox"- that to be most effective we need to stop focusing on our own self-betterment, and instead focus on how we can better our colleagues, customers, and community. Our authors will encourage you to step back and take a moment to appreciate your team members in the hopes of creating a more positive, more engaged workforce that ultimately makes everyone Better.
Enjoy!
Karlin Sloan
CEO
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Extending the Positive Paradigm
by Harry Hutson
As an organizational consultant, and a pragmatist, I take certain ideas for granted as having "cash value," to use William James' phrase. One of the most valuable is that "improvement in a group of employee measures results in an increase in customer satisfaction, leading to fewer lost customers, which results in a positive bottom-line impact." Simply put, having good employee relations is good for business.
But are good employee relations also good for the community?
The anthropologist Elizabeth Cashdan surveyed a cross-cultural sample of data from 186 societies to learn whether people who develop strong loyalties to their ethnic group discriminate against outsiders. Her discovery supports prospects for peaceful coexistence in diverse communities-hostility toward others is not correlated with strong ethnic identity. Instead, hostility directed outside more likely reflects the prevailing levels violence among people inside, toward each other. In other words, it's violence that begets violence between diverse groups, not one's identity as a Yankee fan.
Cashdan's findings cause me to wonder about the converse relationship as it might be applied to organizational behavior. Do positive relationships among employees cause positive relations with their non-employee family members, friends and fellow citizens?
It would stand to reason. Positive behavior rewarded on the job must influence positive behavior after work. In the best firms, those we aspire to build and maintain, there is reassuring clarity in having non-negotiable rules, institutional support for personal growth, and measurable expectations for results-the kinds of fences that develop good neighbors when the work day is done. Companies that walk the talk of their lofty values, where there is challenge, reciprocity and trust, support their people in becoming more human and adult.
Positive organizational life, therefore, builds cash value more inclusive than shareholder return for the few-social capital for us all.
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Listening With Respect
by Susan Spritz-Meyers
"I listen to you and you listen to me, then our feelings won't get hurt." Sarah Myers - age 4 ½
This statement rolled off my young daughter's tongue the other day. I stopped and smiled at her wisdom, hoping this will be foundational thinking for an emotionally mature adult.
It brings me to the question of why is it simple for some adults to develop strong interpersonal skills and easily adapt to challenges in a business arena, while others struggle. Coaching often focuses on an individual's interpersonal agility - do their interpersonal skills support their goals or are they determents? Coaching brings awareness to these skills and gives clients an opportunity to understand their impact and then experiment with approaches that do not necessarily come naturally.
Listening with respect and empathy are critical skills of a successful professional life. Could your skills use some fine-tuning? Pay attention as you go through your days. Listen carefully. Ask those around you for feedback. You might hear some interesting insights.
Nine reasons to ask more questions and listen more readily:
1. Enables strategic thinking.
2. Expands our capacity for leadership, learning and growth.
3. Focuses us on what's really important.
4. Helps us gather information.
5. Develops trusting relationships.
6. Empowers employees to achieve.
7. Shows us what assumptions we're making.
8. Creates a feedback-rich culture.
9. Defines a powerful platform for decision-making.
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Team Tips for "We" versus "Me" Thinking
by Karlin Sloan
One challenge for all of us who lead or manage work teams is engaging team members in thinking more about "we" than about "me". How can you build team spirit, team identity, team camaraderie in a competitive climate? Two organizations I've worked with recently have stepped out and made the commitment to better each other and the world.
The first one, a team within a branding consultancy, took one day out of their busy work lives to build their team - and a house at the same time! Through Habitat for Humanity their small group collaborated for a day to contribute their energy to building a home for someone who couldn't afford to buy one. Not only did they do some good in the world, but it brought their team closer together, and illustrated what happens when the group collaborates.
The second, an advertising agency, has started looking at compensation in a new way. In the past, they have given awards for outstanding individual contribution, and bonuses for individual achievement. Now that they have realized the impact on their culture, they are beginning to reward group achievement through a group bonusing structure.
Three action steps you can take to encourage "we" versus "me" thinking:
1.) Reward the group for a job well done - this may mean public acknowledgement, a group activity, or just a broadcast email thanking the team for their shared excellence.
2.) Take the time to think about how your team is working together - is there an opportunity to talk about your shared working styles, and to improve how you get work done, or to facilitate a shared experience in a collaborative setting? Set aside time for teambuilding that is separate from standard operations - it will make a difference.
3.) Follow the money. When compensation is structured to reward the individuals instead of the team, it can negate any other positive work you've put in to build team spirit. Work with your organization to reward the behaviors you'd like to see.
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February 4-7 2008
SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM AT THE CROSSINGS
ARE YOU READY FOR LEADING IN THE FUTURE?
The future is here, and companies worldwide are facing some very real threats:
Rising oil prices/ increasing energy demands
Climate change
Clean water shortages
Ecosystem degradation
Increasing gap between rich and poor
As leaders we are called to respond with new competencies and practices that will change our world for the better.
It is through our individual ability to connect and commit to new ways
of working that we can survive and thrive on this planet we
share.
Join Karlin Sloan on February 4-7 at The Crossings in Austin Texas for a powerful leadership experience.
Take-aways include:
Case studies from organizations worldwide that are addressing world problems through innovation and action
Heightened awareness of your own capacity to lead in a changing landscape
Practices to make your work and life more sustainable over time
Connection to professional colleagues who share your commitment to sustainable leadership
For more information or to register for the program, contact
The Leadership Retreat Center at The Crossings, Austin TX
(512) 258-7243
thecrossingsaustin.com
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Quotations
At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. - Albert Schweitzer
Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the gratefully and appreciating heart. - Henry Clay
We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world. - Woodrow Wilson
Only a life lived for others is worth living. - Albert Einstein
One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade. - Chinese Proverb
We don't accomplish anything in this world alone ... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something. - Sandra Day O'Connor
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