ALIGNING ORGANIZATIONS & THEIR PEOPLE

 - by Jane Miller 2007c

In these times of company downsizing, employee overload, growing uncertainty and endless challenges, how can organizations attract and maintain great employees? And, how can these employees boost productivity, meet deadlines, and exceed the bottom line?

            Betty Freiden, who initially became well known for advocating on behalf of women with the classic The Feminine Mystique, writes in her book, Beyond Gender – The New Politics of Work and Family, that today’s working men and women should be classified as part of the “anxious class.”   And rightfully so! It’s chaos out there – both at work and at home.  What can companies to do assist this “anxious class?”  How should organizations respond to this call?

            Futurist Alvin Toffler has said, “In every company new ideas, new products, and new people are waiting to be born.  The leader’s task is to get them out and breathing.”  So, how can leaders get them out and breathing?  How can organizations develop their people to move from mediocrity to peak performance in these uncertain, chaotic times and at the same time realize progress and profits?

            Growth and balance in all areas of work and personal lives is key. Think of organizations and their people as separate yet connected wheels in motion.  One wheel moves in tandem with the other in a desired forward motion as long as the organization and its people are working in alignment with each other.

            To develop this mutual alignment we begin by looking at the role of the organization in the life of the employee.  Several approaches to develop the employee on the work side include: 

·     Making sure employees understand the strategic plan of the company and their particular contribution to that plan. (Don’t have a strategic plan?  Whoa, you need to take a step back and work on this important piece of the puzzle! If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? How will you measure your progress along the way? We assist organizations with this crucial step – call us to begin this process!)

·      Making sure employees have the skills and tools necessary to complete the processes entrusted to them and to see areas for improvement as well.

·      Making sure employees know and feel their value as an integral part of the organization’s big picture and mission.

             An article that appeared in Capital District Business Review stated, “Employees list the number one reason for leaving a job as lack of personal fulfillment.” Author Kenneth Rawley went on to report that the second reason is lack of opportunity and lagging behind as the third reason is not enough pay. So, at the same time we need to encourage our people to develop selves on a personal level as well. When the inner self is fully engaged and aware, this sense of purpose and motivation is reflected in the outer self as well.  We can support our employees to strive for growth in all areas of their personal lives including:

·             Career and Life work

·             Family and Relationships

·             Hobbies and Recreation

·             Contribution to Community and Humanity

·             Spiritual and Self         

             Here at Miller Institute, we guide organizations in developing their people so that the outcome provides benefits for work as well as personally.  Investing in this human – authentic – element of employees in a genuine manner provides high returns in ways you will see, hear, and feel.  Certainly for the organization the measurable benefits are priority - increased productivity and innovation, creative problem solving, reduced turnover, and lower absenteeism - and all affect the bottom line directly and positively. 

            In addition, organizations realize added value because when employees engage their authentic selves and become more personally fulfilled, their alignment and sense of commitment to the organization and its community soars.  Furthermore, this movement can occur across and through all levels from executive management to the front line, creating alignment across department and process lines as well.

            This idea of alignment all sounds great, right?  But, how can organizations take action to begin to implement such practices, and on a limited budget, too?  Start from the top of course. Here’s why. In most every workshop I conduct that involves the workforce, one (or more) participant will inevitably point an index finger toward the sky and proclaim, “When they do it, I’ll do it!”  And I have to agree that they will.

            In the Study of Business Performance, Wilson Learning Corporation found that almost 40% of the variability in workforce performance can be attributed to the personal satisfaction of the staff and leaders.  We’ve been talking about that.  However, in addition the study noted that modeling of such satisfaction from the leaders is key. Consulting group Senn-Delaney™  calls this the “shadow of the leader.”  It works the other (negative) way too… Yikes! Remember – when they do it, I’ll do it- and they will.

            Begin with leadership.  Encourage your executive management group to be models of authenticity. Make sure they feel properly aligned with the company and the company to them personally.  Are we doing what we can as organizations to help our people experience growth and balance?  In his book Finding Contentment, Dr. Neil Warren Clark noted, “People need leadership from someone who has already achieved authenticity and is willing to show the way.”

            While we typically begin this process of alignment on high, consider in the beginning also including any employee that you sense already lives and works authentically.  The shadow of this kind of leader radiates not only down, but up and around as well!  Try introducing these concepts of authenticity and alignment to vertical slices of the organization to encourage alignment across departments as well.  You may have a “mediocre” employee who can begin to shine in a different area of the company.  Who knew?  How would you have known? Think of it as a simple form of cross training.

            When we work with organizations on this alignment process, we encourage a mastery of both organizational and personal essentials.  Let’s return to our earlier example of the organization and its people as two separate yet connected wheels.  If one wheel is dragging or is flat, forward movement will be sluggish at best.

            The organizational wheel includes the development of these essentials:

·           Company Strategic Plan - including goals, vision, management, and so on

·           Understanding Processes

·           Total Quality Improvement

·           People As A Resource

·           Skills & Tools to Get a Great Job Done

·           Alignment of the company to its people – investing in the authenticity of these jewels called employees

             Essential components on the personal wheel include developing:

·           The employee’s contribution to the strategic plan

·            Awareness of value as both an employee and an individual

·            Our grand purpose as human beings/human spirits

·            Developing and engaging our authenticity, autonomy and accountability

·            Achieving growth and balance in all areas of life

·            Inner self excellence leads to outer excellence.

·           Aligning to the organization, community, and the world – personal pieces of the puzzle

             Finally, to keep these wheels in tandem and moving forward, we assist organizations and their people in developing and implementing a plan of action for continuous growth and progress.  Here’s the secret formula: 

Develop a plan of action

Commit

Take action

Face obstacles and make mistakes

Re-commit

Take Action

Face more obstacles and make more mistakes

Re-commit….Take Action….and so the cycle continues. 

            The secret to reaching outcomes is commitment.  Commitment without action is simply planning or dreaming. Know that when true commitment is made, the whole universe begins to open doors and things happen in tandem with our action.  The mystery of making true commitments is figuring out why we don’t commit. If we have one foot stuck on our jumping off point, we can never reach the outcome we’re striving for.  Perhaps we have jumped but have attached a tether line or strung a safety net.  These things, while we may believe they are back up plans, keep us from our outcome just the same.  

            To ease into a commitment, perhaps you’ve left a back door (or two) open.  For example, you have (loosely) committed to taking a well-deserved and overdue family vacation. However, you’ve made sure you booked the package with a “Refundable Rate” at an increased price…just in case.  You have just included an escape route in your plans!  Most likely you’ll use it, too. Eliminate these back doors and focus 100% on the outcome you desire.  This is true for organizations and individuals.  Don’t leave anything behind.  Make that irrevocable decision!  Still the obstacles and mistakes are inescapable, but your commitment will serve you well as you move steadily along the plan of action toward the desired outcome.

            Here at Miller Institute, we work with organizations who want to develop their people, and with people who want to develop inner selves.  This encourages alignment and authenticity which in turn creates a wonderful synergy – a rock solid foundation for those days when chaos comes knocking – and it does just about everyday doesn’t it?

            Sydney J. Harris, American Newspaper Columnist, said, “90% of the world’s woes comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues.  Most of us go all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves.”  I challenge you to beat those odds! Know that when organizations and their people align to one another, we can.

            I hope that I have inspired you to commit to and engage your authentic being to your personal life, your organization, and your community.  You see, we each hold a unique piece of the world’s puzzle – and what the world needs now, very desperately, is YOU!        

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