Culture Soup

A client recently shared a book with me called Soup: A Recipe to Nourish your Team and Culture by Jon Gordon.

I found this book, written as a fun business fable, to be quite delightful.  Gordon’s analogy around “soup” is based upon “who is stirring the pot” or leading the organization and what ingredients are going into the pot or organizational culture.

Gordon explains that in the past, managers were focused on the numbers, and the numbers were good. So morale was up and everyone was happy. But then the recession hit and the numbers went down. Well, when you’re focused on numbers and they’re going down, morale also goes down. So does engagement, and so does performance.

Gordon encourages leaders to take a new focus – culture.  A focus on culture is centered on purpose, value-based behaviors, morale and engaged relationships.  Leaders that use these ingredients build winning teams and nourishing cultures.

Engaged relationships are interactive, collaborative, and meaningful.  They are also essential to outcomes in any organization.

Here are some of Gordon’s insights that I thought were spot on!

• When you are driving through life at 100 miles per hour you can become so focused on creating success that you don’t make the time to develop the relationships that lead to your success. What our employees need the most, we’re delivering the least.

• Where there’s a void in communication, negativity fills it. The number one thing a manager can do during times of uncertainty is to communicate. Tell the truth, give them a plan, and help them believe. Optimism is a competitive advantage right now, and you need to convey it in all you say and do.

• The main question every employee in every organization wants to know is, “Do you care about me; can I trust you?” Employees who feel cared for, honored and nourished are more engaged in what they’re doing and will work at their highest potential.

With Respect,
Georgine

The Power of Words

I attended a conference recently and had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Doreen Virtue speak. She spoke of the energetic power of the words. Because words are essentially sound waves they do have mass and do have an effect on us.

The most important lesson I took away is that our positive words are so much more powerful to influence our relationships, customer service, team environment, and work culture.

In a service situation the language that we use can have a strong effect on how the customer perceives our service. And, the words we use with our co-workers can have a strong effect on how our team operates together.

Numerous studies have shown how the words we speak to ourselves have an impact on the way we feel and act. Words are a powerful force and the powerful effects of negative words cannot be underestimated. Because we are constantly giving messages to ourselves and others, it is more vital than ever to ensure that those words you hear in your mind and speak to others are as positive as possible.

I invite you to put it to the test for just one week. Try to be consciously aware of the way you speak and see where you could choose words that are more positive. I believe that you will be pleased by the results.

Here is a list of 10 positive words and phrases that you may want to try.

1.    Yes
2.    I understand
3.    What I can do is …
4.    How can I help?
5.    I’m sorry for …
6.    I would suggest/recommend …
7.    What I like about what you said is …
8.    That’s interesting
9.    Tell me more
10.  What a great opportunity

Yours truly, Georgine

Key Words of Respect

Lynae and I have been working with individuals, teams and organizations for a long time and one of the very practical tools that we offer in our work with teams is to think about “key words” that individuals can use during “key times” to articulate intention and influence outcomes in any given situation.

I was recently with a group in Florida that found this concept and the practical application of it to be very valuable.  It was fun to see the shift of energy in people as they realized the power of influence that they have in challenging customer service situations simply by the way they responded.

I love seeing the confidence that is created when individuals recognize their own personal power of influence in any given situation when the answer and action is really quite simple – speak from a place of respect and intention about what matters most.

As humans, we naturally react from our ego.  So, when a customer expresses a frustration, dissatisfaction or negative emotion it would be natural to “react” in a defensive way and feel frustration ourselves.

Identifying “key words” gives us the power to “respond” in challenging situations vs. react.  Using “key words” keeps us centered on what matters most and opens doors to service, collaboration, and connection.

Here is an exercise that you can apply individually or with your team to identify “key words” during the typical or tough situation that you find yourself responsible to respond to.

1.    Identify:  Write examples of the comments, questions or complaints that you typically hear from your customers or that are challenging to respond to.

2.    Interpret:  What could the customer be thinking, feeling, wanting?  What is their perspective?  Now, think about what you want the outcome to be in this situation.  What is your perspective? What matters most to you in terms of the outcome?

3.    Respond:  Identify “key word” that you could use from how you answered the “interpret” questions.  Write down the words that you could say to explain or respond to the customer.  What questions could you ask to gain a better understanding?  How could you best educate the customer?  How can you best articulate your intent?  What key actions and behaviors are important to demonstrate as you say these words to ensure that you meet your desired outcome?

Respectfully yours,
Georgine

Effective Communication

Research indicates that employees spend somewhere between 75% – 80% of their total time at work communicating in one way or another.  This isn’t surprising, since communication is so crucial to everything that goes on in an organization.  Communication is the “life blood” of an organization.

Without effective communication there can be little or no performance management, innovation, understanding of clients, understanding of mission, alerts to changes, coordination of effort, etc.

Research also indicates that many managers and employees do not communicate well, and do not set an organizational culture where communication within the organization is managed effectively.

Poor communication is self-sustaining, because it eliminates an important “feedback loop”.  Employees are reluctant to “communicate” their concerns about communication because they do not perceive the manager as receptive.  Both staff and management play out a little dance.

Effective organizational communication, regardless of form, requires three things.

1.    All players must have the appropriate skills and understanding to communicate well.

2.    Effective organizational communication requires a culture that supports effective communication.  This involves trust, openness, reinforcement of good communication practices, and shared responsibility for making communication effective.

3.    Effective communication requires attention.  It doesn’t just happen, but develops as a result of an intentional effort on the part of management and staff.  Too often, communication, whether it is good or bad, is taken for granted.

You play a critical role in fostering and nurturing a culture that is characterized by open communication.  Without this culture, all the best laid plans, resources and skills in the organization will be wasted. We must bring communication to the forefront of our organization and give it attention.  If you make the effort to improve communication, your employees will recognize that it is important.  If you ignore it, so will your employees.

“True interactivity is not about clicking on icons or downloading files, it’s about encouraging communication.” Edwin Schlossberg

With Respect,

Georgine

Engage Play Laugh

This weekend marked the opening of the new movie, Eat Pray Love, based on the book by Elizabeth Gilbert.  While decidedly a “chick flick”, the movie’s message is universal: finding the meaning of life.  Well, this blog is not about the meaning of life – although it is certainly a worthy topic.  Rather, I wanted to pay homage to the title and devised Engage Play Laugh as an inspiration to leaders for creating positive energy in the workplace.

Engage.  We’ve written before on the topic of employee engagement and there is more evidence than ever that when employees are engaged at work, profits and productivity rise.  So, what can leaders do to engage employees?  Here are some ideas:

• Make sure employees have the tools they need to succeed. This includes procedures, equipment and training.
• Provide clear expectations through goals and performance standards.
• Recognize employees for their performance frequently.  Don’t wait until the annual review to let them know how things are going.
• Encourage innovation and creativity.  When you provide encouragement to “color outside the lines”, employees are more likely to create new solutions the old problems.
• Ask for their opinions and ideas.  Involve them in projects and strategic planning to give them a sense of ownership.
• Identify development and advancement opportunities and make sure they have the support needed to reach new performance heights.

Play.  Playfulness in the workplace can be a very productive activity.  In his recently published book, Delivering Happiness, the CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh talks at length about one of their core values:  Create Fun and a Little Weirdness.  Now, for those of you who have never heard of Zappos, it’s one of the most successful online companies in U.S. history (right up there with Amazon, which bought Zappos last year.)  Zappos grew to a billion dollar company in 10 years because they focused on building a vibrant and customer focused culture.  Fun and weirdness are an important part of their culture.  Hsieh makes the case that encouraging fun and weirdness “encourages people to think outside the box and be more innovative.”  So, ask yourself these questions:

• What can you do to be a little more playful and differentiate yourselves from the competition?
• How much fun do you have on the job and what can you do to increase the fun factor?
• What can you do to make your job (and the jobs of others) more fun?

Laugh.  Surely this is an extension of creating playfulness, and perhaps a little weirdness, in the workplace.  Laughter breaks down walls, reduces tension, and lightens up the energy in a room.  But, you don’t have to have weirdness to have laughter.  There’s a little too much seriousness in the world today.  We probably could all use a big belly laugh.  What’s your leadership style like?  Do you tend to take things seriously?  Are you able to laugh at yourself and your mistakes?  If you walk down the hall and hear people laughing, do you join in or does the laughter taper off when you appear?  Think about the energy you create at work and consider “lightening things up” a bit.

Decide to incorporate a little more playfulness and laughter into the workplace and see if you don’t get a lot more engagement from the team.

Lynae

Getting What You Want

Over the weekend of July 15th, Georgine and I attended the International eWomenNetwork Conference in Dallas.  Among several great speakers was the incomparable and much beloved Zig Ziglar.  In spite of being 85 and having suffered some minor short term memory loss as a result of a fall in his home more than 3 years ago, he is still traveling the world spreading his message of inspiration and motivation.  With the help of his daughter (who interviews him and helps him remember things), he shared stories about his childhood, his long-term marriage, and the importance of family – something he refers to as the “home court advantage.”  His talk was heartwarming and poignant.

Of all the things he said, one thing had the greatest impact on me.  He said, “You can have anything you want if you help others get what they want.”  This idea is central to respect because it’s about doing for others, honoring the needs of others, and recognizing that there may be others who require support more immediately than you do.  Now, I admit . . . this can be hard at times.  I speak from experience when I say that sometimes when I’m in need, I’m convinced that it is indeed the most important thing happening.  It takes self-awareness and humility to recognize and internalize that the world doesn’t revolve solely around me (or you).

When Madd-Steiny works with clients to manage change, we encourage small acts of getting what you want through helping others get what they want.  This is especially important during times of change because just about everyone is dealing with some sense of loss or struggling through transition.  Everyone needs something.  So, by helping others, there is an energy shift that takes place and the result is more space for solutions.  Sometimes, by focusing on the needs of others, we learn that our needs are not as significant as we initially thought – we might even let go of something because it’s clear that it doesn’t matter as much as someone else’s need.  Here are some things you can do to get more of what you want, during times of change or any time:

·    Every day, ask at least one person: “How can I support you today?”
·    Offer to take something off a co-worker’s plate.
·    Take on some extra assignments to reduce someone else’s workload.
·    Listen with compassion (and without talking) when a colleague needs to “let off some steam.”
·    Recognize the successes of your teammates loudly and proudly.

When I’ve taken the time to extend a hand to help others, it has always helped me get what I want.  I hope the same is true for you.

Lynae

Reflections on Trust

This week I’ve been thinking about trust; the influence it has on relationships, the impact it has on our work, and the process that creates it.  I have seen evidence in many organizational cultures that trust can easily erode during challenging or changing times.

As I reflect back on the employee groups that we have worked with to build a respectful workplace, the common experience I’ve had with all groups is that everyone recognizes the power of trust and wants to build trusting relationships with more people at work.

Our experience with employees is that it’s pretty easy to identify what a trusting relationship looks like.  All we have to do is think about one that we have in our lives.  The characteristics that are identified are always the same.

• You feel you can depend on them no matter what the situation – they “have your back”
• You can talk about anything and information flows freely – even constructive feedback because you believe they care and have the best intentions
• Listening to each other is a common practice
• Confidentiality is honored
• You are able to work out disagreements – these relationships endure conflict and differences are honored
• Trust gets built over time. It’s a process.

The real challenge for most of us is how to regain trust that has been lost or diminished and act on it.

Here is some great advice that one employee group offered as they worked to answer the question: What can I do to help regain or rebuild trust in a relationship where it’s been lost or diminished?

• Approach the other person and request a time to talk
• State your intentions – i.e. you want a stronger, healthier relationship
• Stay mindful of your own behavior and manage your emotions, staying true to your intent
• Be honest, share your perceptions (using “I” statements) and request what you want/need
• Ask the other person for their perspective and what they would request
• Restate what you heard and commit to what you can and will do to build a more trusting relationship
• Forgive the past, start fresh in the present and create a better future relationship
• Persevere – trust is a process that develops over time

Best wishes,

Georgine

Respect for your Environment

Recently I took a short road trip out of the city to my home town to visit my parents.  The day was incredible with lots of sunshine after a soaking rain.  The landscape was lush and I found myself taking in the beauty of the earth.  Gratitude filled my heart and my mind and left me with a feeling of great contentment.

At one point during my drive I came across a group of Boy Scouts who were walking the ditches and picking up trash that had been thrown out of cars. I felt a great deal of pride in those boys and respect for what they were doing.  Having been a leader in our local Scouts organization when my boys were younger, I know that this activity was a demonstration of a core value in the scouting organization – good citizenship.

Our organizational development work at Madd-Steiny helps companies find ways to bring their core values to life in their work cultures.  And, I think that just about every organization we have met has respect listed as one of their core values.

The value of respect, demonstrated, goes beyond an individual’s behavior during interpersonal interactions.  It also extends into caring for the work environment.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard about conflict in work groups due to food left in the refrigerator, or dishes left in the sink or a mess left in the conference room after a meeting.

Establishing norms or expectations for behavior in your organization is one powerful way to bring your values to life and nurture a respectful work culture.

Here are a few behavioral expectations that we have seen practiced in organizations that demonstrate a respect for the work environment.

1.    Always leave your meeting space looking better than you found it.
2.    When you see litter in and/or around the building pick it up.
3.    Keep your workspace organized and free from clutter.
4.    Be accountable to pick up after yourself in shared space.

With Respect,

Georgine

F.E.A.R. The Acronym

I’m leading a workshop on change for a client in a couple of weeks and fear is always on the agenda whenever we talk about change.  Fear of the unknown associated with change generally has a significant influence on people, and I’m no exception.  If I allow myself to, I can imagine all sorts of lousy things happening.  So can lots of other people.  And, thus . . . the acronym: False Evidence Appearing Real.  One of Mark Twain’s famous quotations goes like this:  “I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”

When faced with change, there are certainly a lot of unknowns.  We don’t know what’s coming.  Nonetheless, we sometimes make stuff up about change and it’s usually stuff that brings forth fear.  The acronym reminds us that often what we make up is an illusion.  It just appears true because we’re really good at painting portraits of calamity.  We need to stop because what we make up might eventually become our reality.

As leaders, we have an extra responsibility of helping our teams eliminate false evidence from their point of view.  We must ask ourselves how we behave in the face of change.  If we make stuff up and act as though it’s real, that gives our teams a first-class ticket to the do the same.  Choose instead to make stuff up that paints a positive picture of the future.  Help others prepare for change by staying grounded in reality and dealing with what’s important moment by moment.  Here are some other things you can do to help your teams fight F.E.A.R.

• Establish and reinforce a clear vision.  What’s the outcome or the end game?  When everyone has a shared focus on a positive outcome, it’s easier to focus on possibilities rather than calamities.
• Talk about loss.  Any change involves some letting go.  So, allow it to be a natural part of the process.  Sometimes what we make up is that what we have to let go of is far superior to what’s coming, and that’s often not the case.
• Talk about potential.  Help people see the possibilities as they emerge and become clear.  Highlight them and link them to the overall vision of success.
• Nip F.E.A.R. in the bud.  When you hear false evidence being widely reported, call the team together and clear things up.  Make sure any “buzz” about what’s coming is constructive and truthful.
• Reinforce strengths.  Remind your team members that they are capable and competent and that you have faith in their ability to persevere and succeed through change.  Sometimes, people’s fear is nothing more than a worry about failure.  Clear that up right away.

Fearlessly,

Lynae

Reigniting Employee Passion

Today, I read an article from the Ken Blanchard Companies about how it’s important that leaders don’t take their employees for granted.  In the article, Blanchard points out that the recent downturn in the economy and challenges in the workplace may have lead to a bit of apathy in leadership.  He says: “I think that there have been some organizations who felt that the recent lack of options for employees let them get away with less than great practices with their people. And so I think that people are at a pretty low level of trust and excitement with many of the organizations they are working for.”

This perspective got me thinking . . . is there ever a “best” or “better” time to build spirit and motivation among your team?  Well, I think Ken Blanchard makes a great point.  And, I also think anytime is a good time to cultivate trust, build excitement around organizational goals, and ignite employee passions.  At Madd-Steiny Productions, we work with companies during both times of abundance and times of challenge.  Regardless of the circumstances, we encourage leaders to focus on making sure employees are engaged and have the tools they need to succeed, no matter what the job is or what the times are like.

So, whether there are rough waters ahead, or smooth sailing . . . what are you going to do today to ignite the passions of your employees?  Here are some ideas:

• Walk around today and look for people “doing something right” and thank them for it on the spot.
• Meet with everyone on your team and ask if the job allows them to exercise their strengths regularly.  If not, try to add a project or shift some responsibilities to allow them more time doing what makes them feel strong.  (This will pay dividends in spades!
• Get the team together for an informal celebration.  At the end of the day sometime soon, invite everyone to an impromptu meeting in the conference room.  When they arrive, have some nibbles and sodas for them.  Let them know the occasion is just to say thanks for their hard work.
• Re-calibrate goals and objectives.  Is everyone still focused on what matters most?  If not, get everyone moving in the direction the organization needs and where they can bring their best to the job.
• Ask your team for ideas on what you can do to communicate more clearly, reinforce priorities, and clear the way for them to do their job.  They’ll appreciate you for it.

With passion,

Lynae