Unforgettable together
Lately I've been thinking about the essentials for working with others. These would be the things that I want to keep forefront in my thoughts to guide my interactions with others and hopefully bring out everyone’s best. This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned this though – I think I just needed to work through this differently.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that working well with others ultimately requires sharing… and it turns out there is a lot that can be shared.
I want to take a closer look at how I see sharing showing up in the workplace.
Shared mission and vision
I think we all have our part to play in making our workplaces work efficiently and effectively to ultimately fulfill its mission. If I didn’t see this as a shared mission, then I wouldn’t see my own contributions.
I was really struck by the tenets of Reinventing Organizations which spoke to an organization finding its evolutionary purpose, through letting its people “listen in and understand what the organization wants to become, what purpose it wants to serve.” Because people want to be doing something worth fighting for – and sharing in that fight.
Shared values
I want to understand what values are important for each member of my team and for the team as a whole. I then want to allow space to live these values, with a particular focus on those values which are shared. I love the example of Morning Star, a company who follows two basic social values which is infused into every management practice: “Individuals should never use force against other people, and they should honor their commitments.” I could get on board with that!
Shared language
Shared language in the workplace includes not only the words themselves but also what's behind those words. This is important because we need to understand one another – we couldn’t get anything done without it. I can’t help thinking about the power of a personality assessment (like Working Genius, Kolbe A, Clifton Strengths, Human Intelligence, and others) which fosters greater understanding and provides a different way of speaking and thinking about one another. The key is to ensure everyone does the same assessment and there is time spent exploring how it shows up and what it means for the team as a whole. Of course, you don’t need a personality assessment to have a shared language – it is just a great tool in case you need help.
Shared processes
I see every process in the organization as connected to other processes and as such, these processes are shared. If there is no connection, then there is likely no need for such a process. If these processes are shared, then there is the right amount of communication as well as a whole lot of productivity. These processes work best when they allow each member's working genius and natural instincts to flourish – and when they make the most of my available brain power by providing dedicated periods of focus when necessary.
Examples of shared processes include conflict resolution processes and advice processes.
Shared Learning
Shared learning is most likely a shared value for me, but I believe it warrants special attention. Shared learning is where every mistake and problem is an opportunity to learn for both my team member(s) in question as well as myself as leader. For example, in viewing this mistake or problem as a learning opportunity, I can look for whether additional training is required, whether there is a problem with our process or tools, where there is a communication problem on my end, and whether there is a role mismatch (if this is the third time).
In this workplace, I see every team member as a teacher. I absolutely love learning what others know as it helps me make connections to other things I know, which I love sharing with others.
Shared Dignity
The absolute most important element to working with others is shared dignity – or a shared honor and respect for one another. This is how I see dignity:
Where there is dignity, the people come first.
Where there is dignity, there is understanding.
Where there is dignity, there is kindness.
Where there is dignity, there is compassion.
Where there is dignity, there is curiosity.
Where there is dignity, there is authenticity.
Where there is dignity, there is trust.
Dignity must be infused into the mission and vision, the values, every process, every interaction, and every learning opportunity.
Dignity will be felt by every member of the team. At the end of the day, that is all that people will remember.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
So let’s be unforgettable together — and never stop sharing.
Resources
Laloux, Frederic. 2014. Reinventing organizations: A guide to creating organizations inspired by the next stage in human consciousness. Brussels, Belgium: Nelson Parker.
Image taken by my husband
