Conversations that matter

When we are unable to talk about issues that matter, but everything and everyone seems ok, we're on the border of the undiscussables. If we're attentive, we may sense some words not being said, or topics just ignored or parked for later, unnecessarily.

Saying hello to the elephant in the room means acknowledging these realities.

If this is a regular occurance, it means that it's now become a part of the culture.  The organization will have difficulty reaching its goals, and the employees will find it difficult to work together at all levels - a sure recipe for failure. Also, employees will reduce their engagement and top performers will leave sooner rather than later.  The organization will be left with people good at saying 'yes'  and doing the absolute minimum, along with the blame-game and siloed working.

Having worked with a few leadership teams on articulating and transforming their culture, do get in touch with me on +919820155778

Reverse Benchmark?

Photo Credit - Pixabay

In the 80s, 90s and 2000s benchmarking was a big part of organization strategy.  The approach was to copy excellence of the industry leaders and apply them to your own organization. There were mixed results for sure. 

Those who tout the virtues of benchmarking are a kind of copycat.  Most of the time the benchmarking exercise doesn't yield the kind of results that are expected.  That is because of the difference in the key factor - people.  By people I include all levels, particularly the leadership.  While the skills of people from Organization A may be similar to those in organizations that it is trying to benchmark against (even though they are in the same industry), the mindsets will be different, and therefore, the way that variations in methods are applied would be different.   This means that their organizations' cultures would be different. 

This is also the reason why top performers from one organization don't always do as well in another organization they move to, even though the industry and business is the same.

Even if there are positive results, they don't really do much to make the organization stand out i.e. distinguish itself from it's competition.  Customers are not going to be in a hurry to come to you if you are offering services or products that are commoditized.

pexels-maksgelatin-4412924

In the current adoption of AI scenario, we see similar attempts to incorporate AI into the organization without sufficient thought (beyond costs) of the possibilities and probabilities of long-term multiple -layer benefits.  This will eventually lead to the feeling of sameness.  Today, some of us are able to tell when a document (email / report / presentation) has been written by AI.

What might happen if the organization were to reverse benchmark?  Have a look at the short clip  that inspired this short piece.

Definitely food for thought for me- please share yours.

Perhaps this Reverse Benchmarking might help us make better choices when choosing how to apply AI at work or in our lives.

Podcast Guest - Bridging the World

I was invited as a guest on this podcast  titled "Bridging the world" by Hideyoki Yoshioka of Knowledge Signs inc., Japan. My gratitude for the invitation.

Here's the link to the post on LinkedIn. Have a look at what we discussed. Do share with anyone who think needs to hear this.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/barrettoryan_bridge-the-world-vol2-ryan-barretto-speaks-activity-7292495070329540610-xD8M?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

If you prefer, here's the YouTube link to take you directly to the video.

5 Things That Separate the Best Workplace Cultures From The Rest

 

Photo Credit : pexels-rdne-8068763

I've heard this line "You have come from a culture? Well, so does bacteria!"

Culture is the make and break of an organization, no matter how brilliant it's people are.  After all culture is defined by the way people work together.  

Let's also not forget that anyone who leads a team at any level of the organization also defines the culture for that team.  This may not often align completely with the culture of the organization. Hence the possibility of conflict and messiness is very real.

Throughout my HR stint, I worked in various organizations in different industries, including a startup.  Each organization had a distinct culture that was driven by those at the top with the most influence on their peers. Some places made it easier for people to work together, others tied up the organization in red tape, and still others had leaders at different levels that made employees ask "who interviewed him / her and what did they see in them that made them select that candidate.

As you can probably tell, leadership and culture has fascinated me for a long time.

Here's a fascinating article that I came across on the things that separate best #workplace #culture from others.

Excerpt - "It's important to note that creating a positive workplace culture is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort and attention. That’s the only thing the best and worst cultures have in common."

Read the rest of the article here.

Photo Credit : pexels-minan1398-1313814

Crafting the workplace culture of tomorrow

Here's a super read about crafting your #workplaceculture in tune with #hybridworking

From the article - "We are biologically conditioned to be empathetic and to feel each other, says Holmes, and doing so through a screen is very difficult."

Read the article here.

Three Ways Ethical Leadership can promote Culture Change

A practical article on #ethicalleadership .

From the article: "Leading ethically has nothing to do with sentimentalism or weakness and all to do with seeing ourselves and others as they really are, it has all to do with how we choose to show up to ourselves and others."

Read the full article here.

4 Ways to Create a Learning Culture

Super read on how to create #learningculture in your #team

I'm not sure about point 1 which is about rewarding learning, since research shows that rewards don't do a great job of drive either #learning or #retention of content, never mind applying the learning.

Point 3 which is about #leadingbyexample is spot on, cannot be emphasised enough.

Read the article here.

How to Banish a Toxic Blame Culture

Super article on negating a #blame #culture and #toxicculture 

From the article: "If the idea doesn’t work out, or a mistake’s made, they know that while they must learn from it, they’ll be supported. Across an organisation, this enables the kind of measured risk-taking that drives creativity and innovation."

My view - A culture of #responsibility starts with hiring the appropriate #mindset, as well as based on leveraging #strengths  of the employees at all levels. 

Read the entire article here.

#culturematters #culturebuilding #strengthsdecoder 

Is Elon Musk right about Returning to Office?

Elon Musk or any other well known businessman's views notwithstanding, we definitely need to understand remote working at a deeper level before forming an opinion.  This opinion will be coloured by the personal and professional roles that you are currently playing.

Here's a superb article that talks about the challenges of #hybridworking or #remoteworking - a hot topic among recruiters and candidates, many of whom are specifying that they're only interested in WFH jobs.

From the article: "When puzzle pieces are scattered it can be challenging for employees to see how the individual pieces fit together – how each individual contributes to the whole of the organization’s purpose. It becomes harder to see oneself as part of a broader ecosystem"

Read the entire article here.

What the research says about cultural alignment in hiring

We've heard the phrase "checking the cultural fit of a candidate" when hiring a candidate.  This is where all interviewers including HR professionals make errors in hiring at least once in their careers.

This fascinating article covers this in detail.

From the article: Research suggests it’s a lot easier to recruit and select for cultural alignment rather than socializing employees to match the values. That’s why including cultural alignment measurements in the hiring process can produce significant benefits.

Read the full article here

Create a Growth Culture, Not a Performance Based One.

Superb article on the need for a #growth #culture instead of a #performancebased culture.

From the article- 'A performance culture asks, “How much energy can we mobilize?” and the answer is only a finite amount. A growth culture asks, “How much energy can we liberate?” and the answer is infinite.'

Read the entire article here.

Building a culture of Accountability.

 https://situational.com/blog/building-a-culture-of-accountability/

Here's a super article on how to bring in a #culture of #accountability within your organization / #team.

What I particularly liked from here is the lucid articulation of the distinction between accountability and #responsibility

The Michealangelo approach to leading change

https://www.talentmgt.com/articles/2022/07/13/discover-the-statue-the-michelangelo-approach-to-leading-change/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=The+Michelangelo+Approach+to+Leading+Change&utm_campaign=CIR_TM_TM+Digest_071422&vgo_ee=Pw2K4vCymA7Wzrk%2B0LPJp087ds4XICbVrvV4Rb2%2FVOg%3D

Fascinating read on making #changemanagement initiatives work without adding too many additional responsibilities.

From the article - "Tremendous impact can be gained by eliminating obstacles versus adding more incentives and “solutions.”"

Read the rest of the article here.

Biggest Organization Design Challenge

Excellent article on how to push your thinking forward on the current hot topic of #hybridworking

From the article- "Hybrid working is not just about individual flexibility, it also offers valuable #opportunities to #design adaptability into your organisation."

Read the article here

Why Learning cultures need to be reframed as Awareness Cultures

Super read on how to improve your #trainingeffectiveness in the organization by creating a #culture of #awareness.

From the article" 'a culture of awareness that ensures that the learning that is offered is targeted appropriately to be efficient and personalized and leverages the power of self-direction and self-regulation in learners themselves'

Great to know that I (thanks to mentors and other #facilitators) already ask these questions of my clients so that we have co-designed a focused #learning #intervention .

Read the rest of the article here.

7 steps to successful stay interviews – and ongoing conversations

Superb article on #stayinterviews

In my experience, the stay interview proved very effective in understanding what is going on within various functions of the organization, and getting suggestions for improvement. It's great for reducing grievances and at times, #resignations , because the employee feels heard.

Get the steps to conduct stay interviews here

A truth about organization culture

 This is an #OrganizationCulture fact that I learnt quite early in my career.

Researching your potential reporting manager before interviewing or joining would be most insightful.

#strengthsdecoder #training #learninganddevelopment #strengthscoaching

9 Ways to Reinforce and Live Your Company's values Every Day

 Super read on making your #organizationvalues a reality in terms of behaviour.

I have put some of the 9 ways into practice during my corporate stint years ago, and designed and ran a group process #facilitation session for a client a few years ago to help the employees understand how they can make the values really visible in terms of daily work behaviour.

Read this article here

Creating a Feedback Culture

 In this week, what will you do to help promote a #feedbackculture ?

It's no easy task.  It requires patience, to listen, in depth, to accept without acrimony, to respond, not reply.  But it also needs strength to speak up, clarity of thought in order to articulate your message.