Everyone seems to have an interest in these topics but many seem to think that if you talk about them enough they will somehow come into being. I don’t think it is that simple. Improving teamwork, communications etc. requires you and others to behave in ways that are new or at least different.
So how can I choose to change my behavior if I am not aware of my current behavior? In other words how can I choose between blue and yellow if I can’t see yellow; I only have one choice… blue. All of us have some blind spots in terms of understanding how we behave in different situations. We are simply unaware or possibly unable to see ourselves from an objective point of view.
There are tools to help with this type of “self awareness” as an inexpensive first step. I suggest anyone who is serious about improving communication and/or teamwork look into some type of behavioral or personality profiles. I like DiSC by Inscape. Inscape continues to improve its products by making them highly user friendly. The newest version Everything DiSC Workplace is basically a D-I-Y application. If you would like to learn more just email me at alan@coach2engage.com and I will send you a free “sample report” and you will see what I am talking about… no strings. al
Alan Adyniec Employee engagement, Leadership effectiveness, Team Building Communication, DiSC, emotional intelligence, Teamwork
Commitment, passion, engagement, enthusiasm, determination. When employees exhibit these characteristics organizations are highly successful. This isn’t an accident. It takes effective leadership to create the kind of an environment in which these employees can thrive.
Take another look at those opening words, these are all aspects of our emotions. Daniel Goleman in his book “Primal Leadership” advances the notion that leadership actually works through the emotions. Assume that an organization has a dynamite strategy to really get fantastic results. No matter how brilliant the plan, if employees do not have an emotional connection it isn’t going to reach its potential.
Here is how I think it works. When our logical left brain is stimulated by the plan and then our more emotional right brain kicks in something almost magical occurs. People begin to make connections, see opportunities, develop ideas and most importantly act intentionally. They care about what happens, feel responsible and act accountably.
Effective leaders create environments that draw people into the process in a way that creates that emotional connection. One primary element of that environment is TRUST. People do not follow leaders they do not trust. Why? Simple, a lack of trust stimulates emotions such as suspicion, fear, apathy, distain etc. Do you know of any toxic environments such as this that produce great results? I don’t.
The Integro Leadership Institute (disclosure -I am an associate partner) has a primary focus of helping leaders learn to build trust. Contact me to talk about a proven trust building process.
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Alan Adyniec Employee engagement, Leadership effectiveness achieving results, Effective leadership, emotional intelligence, Trust