The post Podcast: The Great Resignation? Reshuffle? Reimagination? Renegotiation? appeared first on gothamCulture.

The post Podcast: Leading With a Learning Lens appeared first on gothamCulture.

A foundational element of that work is helping clients make meaning of their long-held understanding of the ideas around “Strengths” and “Weaknesses.”

The lens we use instead focuses on the idea of “well-developed,” and “less-developed” capabilities and attributes. A recent blog by my colleague Lisa McNeill so eloquently described those concepts.

Each of us has many well-developed sides. One example may be an ability by some leaders to speak and make their voices heard. For others, it may well seem to be almost the opposite, with attributes of listening and appreciative inquiry.

So, too, do each of us have less-developed sides that we can explore in coaching to help expand our range. The person who commonly uses the well-developed ability to speak can use choice, for instance, to include pausing and listening. The well-developed listener can expand their range to include expressing themselves more. It takes awareness and practice to expand their range as leaders. And it also takes an appreciation that they need not give up the “well-developed” attributes – just know when they are using – or overusing – them and choose to move towards their less-developed capabilities.

It is often a revelation for individuals to realize that the appreciation of where they are “well-developed” are attributes like muscles that serve them and that adding other muscles – the “less-developed” capabilities – expand their range.

Consider this: I once worked with a client who described himself as “stubborn.” He characterized it for me as a weakness. Through a series of questions, I asked if being stubborn had served him in any way. He admitted that he was not the type to give up on a project or in working to develop a subordinate.

“And how would you call that a weakness?” I asked.

“Well, I guess it isn’t always that way,” he said.

We explored more together and it emerged for the client that being stubborn had served him throughout his career. He was the person who saw things through to their completion. He had devoted countless hours towards the success of his company. His well-developed “stubbornness” was the grit and determination of a leader.

In our sessions, he realized, too, that at times his stubbornness had come at some personal expense.

“When did that happen?” I questioned.

“Well, sometimes I just don’t give up, even when I know the project is a dead end.”

“Anything else? I asked.

“Sometimes it is hard on my family as I work all night long to complete an assignment.”

Then he admitted: “And there are times I don’t accept an idea that differs from my own.”

Such moments can serve as breakthroughs for a client, as they realize that their well-developed sides serve them, but, if overused or if they become habitual, can stop serving them or even cost them.

As Gestalt coaches, we often use the concept of “polarities.” Using the example of the “stubborn” client, I invited him to think of a polarity related to that attribute. His answer: “flexibility,” along with “receptivity,” and “openness.” I asked him how he would “glide” between his stubborn side and his flexible one. Neither side was good or bad, strong or weak – they were both attributes that could assist him in his leadership style and personal interactions with those around him.

Throughout the next few sessions, the client spoke about how he wanted to “try” using both his well-developed and less-developed sides. His practice with a new capability grew through his own intentions and choices he would make working with others. He became skilled at reading a situation and knowing when to use his already-developed “stubborn” side, along with his developing “flexible” one. He became more adept the more he practiced and reflected on his success in our sessions together.

Working with clients as a coach teaches me more than I can relate, and it serves me in helping leaders throughout the world. Expanding our range is a worthy goal for all of us – and appreciating our own “well-developed” sides is such a great first step!

This article originally appeared on Bostonexecutivecoaches.com.

The post Can I Overuse My Leadership “Strengths?” appeared first on gothamCulture.

Organizations in every industry, across the globe, are experiencing perhaps the greatest disruption of our time, with the pandemic COVID-19. We haven’t experienced a public health or economic disruption of this scale in our lifetimes. And yet, (strike this – over the past 20 years), individuals and the organizations that we work in have been no stranger to the experience of serial disruptions. Whether that be the way (italicize to emphasize these words) we work – through advancements in technology, where we work – with the continued expansion of globalization, and with whom we work – and the growing workforce demographic to include 3-4 generations working side-by-side. Michael discusses strategies for how leaders can “meet the moment” and evolve their narrative. In this podcast, we learn practical ways to move our teams and organizations from the story of the past to the story of the future, by first recognizing and reflecting on what comes with the place of ‘no story’ – the place of in between.

Released: May 20, 2020

The post Podcast: Storytelling in the Age of Disruption appeared first on gothamCulture.

The loss of control and isolation that many people are feeling globally as a result of the coronavirus pandemic is affecting them in a variety of ways. Some people seem to have lost hope while others seem to hold out unreasonable hope that things will “go back to normal” on a certain date only to be let down when their hopes aren’t realized. In this episode, we talk to Ralph Galati, a former Air Force officer who found himself shot down over North Vietnam and who then served as a prisoner of war for 14 months before being freed. Ralph shares his perspective on what people may be feeling during this time and how to draw upon the internal and external resources you have to not only survive but thrive in uncertain times.

Released: May 5, 2020

The post Podcast: How to Survive and Thrive in Uncertain Times: Lessons from a former POW appeared first on gothamCulture.

There are countless strategies and approaches agency leaders can, and have, tried to address these complex challenges. But, building organizational empathy may be just the tool HR leaders need to make a near term impact.

Building organizational empathy is a strategic element for organizations trying to hire and retain top talent in an increasingly tight labor market. Research by the benefits technology firm, Business Solver in their State of Workplace Empathy report reveals that empathy is a key driver of retention, motivation, and productivity. More than 90% of employees surveyed indicated they were more likely to stay with an empathetic employer. In fact, respondents were even willing to trade off hours and pay in favor of increased empathy.

In an increasingly competitive talent environment, building a culture of empathy should be a key part of the people strategy in all organizations.

Building Empathy in Your Organization
So, how can leaders increase empathy in their organization? A 2016 report by the World Economic Forum looked across highly empathetic companies to identify common practices that any organization can apply to improve empathy:

1. They care about their cultures – Every organization has a culture that shapes behavior and drives performance. In the most empathetic organizations, the culture is intentionally shaped and managed. Leaders prioritize creating a workplace where people-centered behaviors are recognized and rewarded. And individuals are consistently recognized for delivering empathetic customer experience. By intentionally creating cultures that inspire engagement and commitment, high empathy organizations improve outcomes through high-quality employee experience.
2. They insist on transparency – Companies scoring high on the empathy index resist the urge to cover up and deflect attention from uncomfortable truths. Instead, they see full disclosure as the first step in dealing with challenges. They embrace the opportunity to engage their workforce in productive problem-solving processes that drive progress toward needed improvements. And, they recognize and reward efforts to challenge the status quo.
3. Their social media practices reflect strong empathy – Social media provides an unprecedented capability for organizations to dialog directly with their customers and employees. Organizations high on the empathy index capitalize on the opportunity to interact with their stakeholders through social media. And take advantage of the opportunity social media provides deliver messages with authenticity and humanity to a broad audience.
4. They see customer complaints as opportunities for insight – It can be tempting to ignore customer complaints or chalk them up as coming from the far extremes of your customer base. And, in fact, a 2011 study by research company evolve24 found that only about 29% of customer complaints on Twitter received a response. But highly empathetic organizations recognize that even the most extreme negative feedback represents an emotional response from the customer that provides an opportunity for insight. Learning to learn from all forms of customer feedback is key to building a more empathetic organization.
5. They make ethics a priority – Similar to the bias towards transparency exhibited by high empathy organizations, organizations scoring high on the index also prioritize ethics. In the words of the World Economic Forum, high empathy organizations always have someone asking “should we” instead of “can we”. Employee expectations around ethical conduct are high – as they should be. Organizations that want to retain key talent must maintain the highest standards of ethics in all aspects of operations and decision making.

Additional Resources
Building organizational empathy is a strong way to improve the employee value proposition for your agency. With serious commitment from leaders, becoming a more empathetic organization is a great way to address your critical talent shortages. For other retention strategies and tips, consider this advice from Scott Span or these insights from Ken Lee on GovLoop. Or check out this great tool from GovLoop if you want to build your own personal empathy at work.

This article originally appeared on GovLoop.com.

The post Building Empathy To Address Critical Talent Gaps appeared first on gothamCulture.

The Culture of Being Busy
A few years ago the Atlantic published an article asserting that “Ugh, I’m so busy” has become the status symbol of our time. And in 2018, sociologist Anna Akbari’s Psychology Today article challenged readers to define their success not by their lack of time, but by the quality time they dedicated to the people and things that they loved. It seems our culture has come to embrace busyness over all else. The idea is that to be successful and happy we need to constantly have schedules filled to the brim. That being important means battling multiple conflicting priorities. Or that productivity means just having too much on our plate to possibly fit in one more thing.

And I think I’ve taken the bait, hook, line, and sinker. I pursue hobbies with such zeal that they look more like vocations. And I work so hard to provide my kids with opportunities, experiences, and activities that I stay busy keeping them busy. But at the end of the day, I don’t think I’m any more productive, significantly happier or more well off because of how busy I’ve become. Nor do I think any of the other folks I encounter who are constantly busy are any of these things either.

Here’s how I’m fighting back

So, I’ve decided I’m going to take a day off from being busy, and maybe not just one. I’m going to start regularly planning not to be so busy that I can’t slow down, take time to breathe, think and reflect. Making time to build a deeper relationship with colleagues, clients, friends, and family. Or, as one of my favorite philosophers, Winnie the Pooh, puts it to, “just go along, listening to all the things you can’t hear and not bothering.” I’ve become more convinced than ever that I may be getting it all wrong. The weekend isn’t a time to relax, recover, and reset for the next 40 (or more!) hours of work. Instead, I work so that when the time comes I can appreciate the contrast in slowing down. And, it’s not that I don’t love my work – what I do really is fulfilling and exciting. But, I need to rebalance that time with intentionally not being busy so that I’m better able to appreciate the joy that comes from that work – and from the other important things in my life.

Being not busy can be hard. And the work you need to do is real. But the reward from finding just a bit of time to rest can make that work all the better. So, how do you make taking time off a part of your regular routine?

Here are a few tips I’ve found helpful in my journey:

• Start by declaring that you’re not going to be busy – and really mean it.
• Block out time when you will make space for rest and reflection and be diligent about protecting it.
  Invite others along for the journey. Use your time for rest and reflection to deepen relationships and invest in others so that they can be not busy too!
• Find someone to keep you accountable. That way when you slide back into busyness they can remind you of your commitments.
• Do it now. Don’t wait for the “right time” to start changing your habits and building in time to not be busy.
• Building new habits and routines can be hard. But if you, like me, have become fully immersed in the culture of busyness, I hope you’ll find time for a day off!

Want some help finding time in your schedule by improving your productivity? Here are a few tips that might put you on the path to “un-busyness.”

This article originally appeared on GovLoop.com.

The post Why I’m Taking a Day Off From Being Busy – And You Should Too appeared first on gothamCulture.

How do organizations not only survive, but thrive in today’s new operating environment? By developing resilience and agility. Knowledge transfer is critical to this, and talent development practitioners are positioned to help companies prepare. In “Knowledge Transfer: The Key to Organizational Resilience and Agility,” Chris Cancialosi details:

• what knowledge transfer is and why it is critical to organizations’ resilience and agility
• the role of effective knowledge transfer in the future of work
• ways to develop and strengthen an organization’s ability to effectively transfer and manage knowledge.

The post Knowledge Transfer: The Key to Organizational Resilience and Agility appeared first on gothamCulture.

It’s been over fifty years since Title VII, the section of The Civil Rights Act that prohibits workplace discrimination. But how far have we really come?

Fortune’s data team recently released their findings on the diversity and inclusion practices of the companies on this year’s Fortune 500 list. The big reveal?

Only 3% of this year’s companies are transparent about the demographics of their workforce. And of those sixteen transparent companies, 72% of senior executives are white males.

Now, more than ever, companies and organizations are feeling pressure to not only be more representative but also more inclusive of people from traditionally marginalized groups. Reports on gender and racial diversity in tech have forced the industry to make public commitments to increase diversity in their workplaces and inspired other companies to do the same.

Millennials are demanding more inclusive work cultures. Our sociopolitical environment has made conversations about the inclusion of marginalized people in every area of life absolutely critical. And according to Deloitte’s 2017 Human Capital Report, 78% of respondents now believe diversity and inclusion is a competitive advantage.

But if major companies can’t even talk publicly about diversity, what do conversations inside of these organizations look like?

Old-School Approaches Aren’t Working

“Traditional” approaches to diversity — training focused on compliance and avoiding litigation, or negative-incentive policy (i.e. “do this or get out”) — can actually backfire in terms of diversity outcomes at an organization. In fact, companies that implement required diversity training programs and directives have seen a backlash in the form of more animosity towards other groups; from micro-aggressions that push targeted groups out of decision-making and leadership, to outright discrimination in hiring and promotion decisions.

In spite of the training and policy, workplace culture hasn’t changed. There are numerous articles about how organizations are inhospitable for marginalized people. Giant bodies of research on implicit bias have shown that we continue to act in ways that don’t promote equality, even when we’re not overtly trying to.

These biases have major consequences in hiring and promotion decisions, but also play out in work environments themselves. Rather than confront these biases, most workplaces assume people will “do the right thing” to make the culture a welcoming place. But it doesn’t always happen that way.

So, how are things changing? And what do we have to do to keep moving in the right direction? 

Changing the Conversation About Diversity

As our approaches to diversity and inclusion evolve, so must our language. Diversity is no longer the only word in the mix. In fact, the term has been criticized as a word that actually softens hard conversations about inequality, to the point where folks in the majority absolve themselves of accountability for changing things or confronting their own biases. To really make progress, there are a few more terms we need to consider.

First, our conversations about diversity have evolved beyond a focus on whether different individuals are present in an organization, to focus on inclusion: How are different individuals’ perspectives included in important decisions? How often are peoples’ voices silenced? Is this an environment where people feel like they can “show up” authentically? Are differences valued, rather than merely tolerated?

Second, the conversation in organizations is increasingly about equity rather than equality. In a workplace, equity recognizes that not all individuals start from the same place. Equity aims to provide opportunities for historically underrepresented populations of employees to have equal access to growth opportunities and networks that will help close the gap, from leadership levels to all aspects of institutional functioning.

All of this means that organizations need to start having harder conversations. Conversations that recognize where well-meaning attempts at equality have resulted in unequal outcomes, and challenge assumptions about “what’s right,” “what we know,” “what works,” and “who should be in charge.”

Changing the Culture (Go Beyond Training)

If training doesn’t work, what does? Like most organizational changes, nothing will happen overnight. Real transformation will require intense listening, new knowledge, lots of role-modeling from leaders, and the organizational stamina to keep working.

Listen to the people who are marginalized: Have we ever stopped to consider that our old approaches aren’t working because they’re often prescribed by the people who already have power? Think about it for a second.

There are probably people in your organization who feel marginalized and are trying to talk about it. Talk less, and listen more to them. Give them a seat at the table and the authority to make decisions. Let them lead.

Knowledge: We absolutely need to increase levels of understanding on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The same research on the backlash from “what-to-do” training showed that when people were engaged in developing their own understanding of issues and developing solutions, diversity outcomes improved.

There are stellar trainings out there. Look for ones that engage participants in a dialogue about new concepts and help people figure out what to do with the information once they return to work. When people return from these trainings, they should be encouraged to talk about what they learned with their colleagues and supervisors. Remember, training is only one piece of the puzzle. It’s not the solution.

Leadership: There are countless studies that show employees take their cues from leaders’ behavior. Leaders have to engage in these same conversations and training and be seen engaging, perhaps imperfectly, in the hard work necessary to change the culture. A lot of this hard work (a lot!) is a willingness to listen (see the first point, above) and accept that there are things that need to change. For many leaders, this is tough. Lean into that. Be open.

Stamina: A lot of people don’t like talking about this stuff. It’s uncomfortable. It’s messy. But Jay Smooth has a great metaphor for this: He relates talking about race to hygiene. Rather than thinking of these conversations as a one-off surgery that takes away the problem (like a tonsillectomy), we have to think of them like dental hygiene: it’s a regular practice. When someone tells you there’s food in your teeth, you don’t stop brushing your teeth. And when the conversations on diversity, equity, and inclusion get tough, you don’t give up on bettering your organization. (See Jay’s whole talk, below.)

Make the Commitment Through Your Actions

Guess what? We at gothamCulture have recently acknowledged that even we weren’t talking about these issues as much as we should be. We realized we had some food in our teeth, and knew that there was work to do. We’ve only just begun, and we know it’s going to take a lot more time to identify what it means for our company to take diversity, equity, and inclusion more explicitly into consideration.

We not only recognize that our building our capacity here is necessary for our line of work, but that it will be a continuous process. One training won’t do it, nor will reading one article. It’s an ongoing conversation for the entire organization.

Ignoring the conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion is no longer an option for any organization, nor is there an “easy way” through. It’s time to make the commitment to more than training, and start having hard conversations to deeply change our workplace cultures in the long run.

The post Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: It’s More Than a Training appeared first on gothamCulture.

Think about the Internet. Most of us weren’t even aware of it until the mid 90’s, but where would we be today without it? Although I type here from the comfort of my office chair, my office is at home and I rarely need to venture into NYC thanks to technology. My office material comes from Amazon.com and my calls are handled over a VOIP platform. All driven by the web.

Knowledge management is a similar area you’ve probably never paid attention to. Maybe you haven’t heard about it yet, but knowledge management is already affecting how you live and work.

At home, no one owns an Encyclopedia Britannica anymore. We find that information elsewhere, like Wikipedia. When we’re on the go, as long as we have our smartphones, apps like Yelp, Waze, Groupon, Instagram, and YouTube are allowing us to contribute to and draw from knowledge management.

Can you see the commonality?

• Providing information to a group expressing interest in the topic
• Harnessing feedback from that group to further refine the content
• Further educating the group, turning them into subject matter experts
• Creating a “center of gravity” for experts and information alike

What is Knowledge Management?

The definition of knowledge management is how an organization creates, shares, uses, and manages information. It refers to improving the organization organically by making the best use of the knowledge at its disposal.

Imagine being able to extract the lessons learned from every piece of work in the company portfolio. Or finding what you’re looking for without rifling through folders or needing to ask dozens of coworkers. Wouldn’t that make your daily work life easier?

In the simplest variant, a Knowledge Management system consists of the following:

• A simple internal process to capture company knowledge
• A Community of Practice (internal experts) to review information that comes in
• Technology to support this process and the Community of Practice

The good news is this: Your company is probably already halfway there and you didn’t even know it! At work, are you using a Microsoft SharePoint server, cloud storage, or a shared drive for people to store documents instead of on individual desktops? Maybe you use Adobe EchoSign to quickly sign documents electronically? And it’s not just technology and software. Simple changes to staffing and process workflow can have equally large impacts (and should be considered prior to software purchases anyway).

The Benefits of Knowledge Management Systems

Now for the bad news. Knowledge management may provide large benefits, but you’re not going to get there overnight. You’re going to have to approach this step-by-step. To implement knowledge management the very first time, adhere to the following process:

1. Develop your problem statement / define the problem you’re trying to solve
2. Isolate a portion of your organization that you think is either interested in or is competent to brainstorm solutions to this problem. This becomes your initial network
3. Create a call to action and brand your campaign / get your entire organization on board and get them interested!
4. Develop a simple process to capture ideas (suggestion box/feedback card/website)
5. Solicit ideas/review ideas with your initial network
6. Implement quick wins & offer praise to the problem contributors

Organizational learning and development becomes more difficult to manage as your company grows. Without managing critical information, team members may take important pieces of tribal knowledge with them when they leave, new employees are forced to learn their roles without any guidance, and a tremendous amount of time is wasted learning and relearning the same processes in inconsistent ways.

But as an organization matures, it forms stronger linkages between leadership, culture, and strategy to allow for longer-term operations planning and enhanced daily operational performance. So why not start considering knowledge management to help support this?

Knowledge management helps gather the power from your entire organization and use it to incrementally improve your daily operations. It enables organizations to learn more intuitively, allowing companies to innovate better through knowledge-sharing organizational structures, processes, and tools. By making their jobs easier and providing a platform to learn new skills, you can engage your workforce by making their work more interesting and relevant. That effort ultimately leads to a series of advantages which, day by day, helps your company stack up better than your competition.

The post Knowledge Management: Did You Know? appeared first on gothamCulture.