organization culture Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

13
Sep 19
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Modern Artful Leadership Is Different

Tags : authoritarian leadership organization culture style

Leadership is less pragmatic, less technical, and less authoritarian than it ever has been. Are you demonstrating modern artful leadership?

We all know that leadership is not about a position. At least, not specifically about a position. Leadership is for everyone, with or without direct reports.

Many workplaces struggle with navigating the workforce generations, they also struggle with culture, on-boarding, and employee retention. Much of this is about organization leadership and effective communication.

Less Authority, More Art

Not so long-ago leadership for many meant power and authority. It was the significance of the formal position within the organization that designated the chain-of-command.

The chain of command is still valid in many organization cultures, yet its purpose or utilization is often softer with fuzzy edges, dotted lines, and open doors.

It is not your great grandfathers, or your great, great grandfather’s industrial revolution anymore. The authoritarian approach is seldom effective.

There are pockets of businesses and small communities that still have traces of this. To find this you usually have to get deep into the rural areas, miles from any metropolitan statistical area. There, the workplace choices are few and the leadership style may not be modern.

For everyone else, leadership is as much artful as it is pragmatic.

What is your style?

Modern Artful Leadership

Great leaders inspire a call-to-action that keeps people motivated and engaged.

They co-create a culture of community where employees feel like they are part of something, they are building it, growing it, and giving it life. The result is that they have purpose in their work and are proud of the products and services they provide.

Authority matters less, respect across all job functions, all generations, and all workforce classes (considered protected or not) matter more.

Modern artful leadership is not pointed to on paper. It is not designated by a job description, the organization chart, or tenure.

Yes, all of those things matter, and in deadlock decisions or strategic moves, they are the tie-breaker. They are not the everyday practice of how work gets accomplished.

What about you, are you a good role model?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

12
Sep 19
-

Work Environment Can Sometimes Be An Illusion

Tags : culture environment jobs organization culture workplace

What is the work environment where you work? Does the environment match the culture or is the environment only a symbol disguising what is really going on? Is the environment only an illusion?

Low unemployment rates make hiring practices more challenging. Depending on your sector, you may have decided that getting people on board can be tough. Keeping them on board is often equally challenging.

When the economy is strong and the unemployment rates are low, people are often able to work at the best organizations. In other words, if your organization is not shiny, glamorous, and exciting, it makes getting and keeping talent tougher.

Environment and Culture

People often confuse the work environment with workplace culture. They tend to go hand-in-hand, yet they are not the same thing.

Work environment has more to do with the physical facility. Is it modern, trendy, and inviting? Does it encourage motivation? Is it reflective of the values and beliefs shared within the organization culture?

Certainly, much of this depends on the type of organization. Heavy industrial is going to be different from healthcare and the financial sector is different from retail commerce or academia.

Mike Rowe starred in a hit TV series known as Dirty Jobs. A show that often highlighted tough, sometimes disgusting work assignments that most people would not choose to do.

One of Mike’s more popular quotes, “Happiness does not come from a job. It comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that’s consistent with those beliefs.” connects with the difference between environment and culture.

The most successful workplace cultures today do an excellent job of connecting values and beliefs with the work environment.

Work Environment

Building an environment is materialistic. It may involve capital, sometimes lots of it. Perhaps it connects with the location or history of the physical site. It is represented in the buildings, the furniture and fixtures, and other amenities.

One of the best ways to move towards an organization culture that you desire is to have an environment that supports it. It is always easier to flow with the environment instead of against it.

On the other hand, building the environment and assuming you’ve done the work required for culture is only an illusion.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

02
Jan 17
-

Can Your Organization Change?

Tags : buy-in change organization culture pivot

Organizations often express a strong desire for change, but what that really means is that they want others to change. Can your organization and its people transform?

A friend invites another friend to join the exercise program.

A doctor tells a patient to take the medicine.

A business owner expresses that the team should gain additional skills.

No desire, no change. No action, no change. No new habits, a new tradition, or development of a new cultural method, and nothing changes.

External forces can drive change. Economic conditions, government regulations, and technological advances are all great examples.

Internal forces typically only create lasting change when it is required by external forces or it is desirable internally. Then those actions or behaviors become a habit, a tradition, or a method of operation that employee teams might suggest as, “The way things are done.”

So for organizational transformation the development of skills only represents part of the challenge. The other part might exist somewhere in the creation of desire.

If you want to create the desire that will transform your organization and its people here are a few things to consider.

Connect ideas to outcomes. Talking about change doesn’t always illustrate it. Connecting the dots for everyone and having a clear picture of the outcomes and associated benefits will help create the desire to endure the requirements for change.
Create paths for growth. People are part of the system. The system will need the opportunity for individual growth. You might know what’s in it for the organization, but what’s in it for the individual people? Prove it.
Reward performance not compliance. Teams can become stale, stalled, and stuck. Often this develops because the reinforcement is for following the rules not for executing with high performance. When you make the focus on performance you’ll get more.

Scaring people into change might work, but it is never recommended. Fear can have a significant impact on performance, but motivation through fear typically creates an “us against them” culture. That’s not inspirational or desirable and some might even suggest that it is bullying.

Organizations and the people within its systems can invite, tell, or express a desire for change, but it’s only going to happen when the individuals who are part of those systems develop both the skills and the desire, and then continue to replicate them across time. The most success will occur when everyone is bought-in.

Many organizations talk about change.

Your organization can change, but will it?

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

17
Oct 16
-

3 Tips For Improving Workplace Respect

Tags : job pool leadership organization culture respect workplace

Show some respect. A phrase often passed around from person to person especially in sporting and athletic events where individuals or teams compete for the highest levels of achievement. Respect has been an issue lately in other areas connected to sports in the USA such as with those attempting to make a statement by not standing during the playing of the national anthem.

What about workplace respect? In a recent SHRM job satisfaction and engagement report released in April 2016, and as noted on their website, one of the most significant contributors for job satisfaction and employee engagement is, “respectful treatment of all employees at all levels.” My experiences in working with many different businesses in many different sectors also led me to the discovery that workplace respect, and what is often labeled as generational differences, are a significant issue for workplace culture and for creating high performance teams. This prompted me to write my fourth book, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce (September 2015). Do I believe workplace respect is a challenge? Yes.

There are certainly many factors responsible for respect, or a lack of it, and while it is easy to generalize, pinpointing a few areas that reach across this wide array of factors I can offer three simple tips.

We all want respect. Understanding that everyone in every generation and across all organizational levels wants respect is perhaps the first step towards creating more of it. What one person feels is ridiculous is another person’s precise meaning of what a respectful environment should represent. We all want it, but we may define it differently. Support each other by being more considerate and respectful.
How we are treated. There is an often shared phrase that has been with us for a long time, “Treat others the way you would like to be treated.” Many people have tried very hard to live life to this standard, and it is a good standard, however, in today’s society there is some belief that this ideology has shifted and a new or better phrase should be, “Treat others the way they would like to be treated.” Of course there are always limitations, rules, or policies that must be adhered to, but this simple concept may make a big difference for gaining more workplace respect.
Give respect first. Simple but effective, be the person who initiates the creation of a respectful environment. Respect must start someplace; why not let it begin with you? Many people describe leadership as leading by example, and I see no reason why being the person who legitimizes respect should elude leadership principles or core values.

Respect is critical for building and maintaining high performance workplace cultures. Organizations with lower levels of respect will suffer from trust issues, chronic communication challenges, and most likely, a lack of success. When organization leaders fail to see the connection that high performance has with respect, they’ll likely continue to search for solutions to a growing list of problems. Many of these problems will often be blamed on poor hiring practices or lack of an appropriate job applicant pool.

Sometimes the best candidates are already with you. You just need more respect.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and coach that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is the author of the newly released book, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

24
May 16
-

Do You Have Generational Wisdom?

Tags : generational differences learning organization culture wisdom

Considering your job performance and setting aside the idea of formal education, the number one priority for most people is experience. When we consider having a balanced workplace culture and we set aside the feeling of belonging, happiness, or purpose, our number one desire might be gaining or keeping respect.

Millennial traditional

Working across the five generations that are active in our workforce today we often find that the earlier generations place a significant value on experience while the most recent generations place more value on knowledge. We can also consider that we gain both experience and knowledge when we are learning from each other, regardless of the generation you represent. Traditional’s and boomers can learn much from the millennials and generation Z and vice versa, and that is without even mentioning the savvy generation X people.

Any workforce generation should be interested to learn more about:

What are we doing different today, as compared to last year [quarter, month]?
What worked well when we most recently met or exceeded our goals?
What organizational culture attributes are most consistent and meaningful for our success?
Are we implementing new and innovative ideas that are cost effective?
How can we better utilize technology?

Your biggest gain won’t come from comparing differences (a common cross-generational challenge) or focusing on problems, it will come as you and your organization gain wisdom. There is something excitingly special and respectful about an organizational culture that asks good questions, listens well, and is willing to learn. They capitalize on opportunity.

The opportunity for wisdom.

– DEG

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

12
Jan 16
-

Innovation and the Generations

Tags : change Kaizen knowledge organization culture six sigma

Who are the best innovators? Does a generational trend exist that makes one workplace generation more innovative when compared to another? The fast argument may be that traditionals and baby boomers are stuck in their ways and in an opposing view the millennials or generation 9/11 people are more likely to innovate.

Like most complex subjects, there can be arguments from many different sides. Here are three simple ideas to help break this down:

Willingness to Change. Innovation requires change. The truth about change is that it makes everyone feel a bit uneasy, nervous, and afraid. Propensity for change is typically not a generational issue, it has a whole lot more to do with what a person feels they have to gain or lose, regardless of generational representation.

Restrictive Knowledge. Effective problem solving usually involves approaching problems within a framework. Often we frame situations and problems based on our knowledge. This very act of framing often limits innovation. Many experts would agree the best innovation happens when you let go of knowledge that restricts vision and as some would say, dream big.

Creativity Culture. We often hear about cultures being built through mainstream quality and efficiency ideologies like Six Sigma, LEAN, and Kaizen. These high quality principles (which are effective for their designated purpose) often drive people to reach a standard and once the standard is achieved to never change, never deviate, and to just repeat the process. People who are conditioned to think within these high quality standards may develop a restrictive view of innovation. A creativity culture requires unleashing restrictive thinking.

Keep in mind that in a world of constant change, the riskiest place to be is stuck in the status quo. Innovation, like change, knowledge, and culture are not limited to any specific generation. Innovation occurs when individuals and teams are willing to let go of limitations, step out of their comfort zone, and support each other to explore new or alternative possibilities.

– DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker, and coach that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is the author of the newly released book, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at DennisEGilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Dennis Gilbert on Google+

Tag Archives: organization culture

Sep 19

-

Modern Artful Leadership Is Different

Less Authority, More Art

Modern Artful Leadership

Sep 19

-

Work Environment Can Sometimes Be An Illusion

Environment and Culture

Work Environment

Jan 17

-

Can Your Organization Change?

Oct 16

-

3 Tips For Improving Workplace Respect

May 16

-

Do You Have Generational Wisdom?

Jan 16

-

Innovation and the Generations

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