6 tips for growing as people and organization
What happens when you inspire and empower each other?
You achieve joy and great results.
Growing as a human and an organization
Innovation, transformation, and empowerment and growth are 4 key words for achieving top results as a company, now and in the future. In 2021, companies are focused on cost reduction, performance enhancement and process optimization in all areas of their organizations. They also want to attract the right people and keep them satisfied. This is important for both external partners (customers and suppliers, and internal partners (employees). However, dealing with people intrinsically means that you will also deal with their individual issues. That is why it is important to incorporate authentic leadership, to empower and challenge each other. Read our 6 TIPS to see how you can grow as a person and an organization.
Leadership and empowerment
When we take on authentic leadership, inspiring and empowering each other and ourselves, we create a dynamic that energizes and truly empowers people . As a result, we achieve strong results both as individuals and as a team, and we also feel valued and powerful. Empowering people means enabling people to make optimal use of their talents and so that they can optimally use their talents and capacities so they grow and continue to be engaged.
TIP 1: Keep your focus during the conversation
This means that you must be fully aware of your own "State of Being". How do you show up? Powerfully present? Or accidentally absent? A brief moment of self-reflection and awareness will help with this. Ask yourself:
- Am I 100% present and focused?
- What language and tone am I using when I speak? (e.g. aggressive, judgemental, powerful, manipulative, confused)
- What do I need to change to be fully focused?
- What is the purpose of my conversation?
If you're not focused and powerful, it's impossible to achieve top results . Undoubtedly you have already had the experience that someone was not fully mentally present during a conversation. This leads to (subcutaneous) irritation or resignation in the other(s), so that the total experience and result of the conversation is not optimal. This is a missed opportunity and a waste of time and resources.
Tip: Connection with yourself, creating a powerful "State of being" is essential as a leader. Only then can you empower others. Ensure that you are being authentic as people can quickly see through a mask. Also, find out how things are going with them, so you know if there are any concerns that need to be addressed.
TIP 2: Listen without judgment
Our brain continuously produces thoughts. We often judge people or situations and experience strong "likes" and/or "dislikes”. This is often reflected on social media. It is easy to put labels on people. In the other hand, it takes a lot of effort to remove them. Where does that judgment come from? Is it based on a belief, your own opinion, your ego or past experiences? Is it something that we have learned from training, media or someone else's beliefs?
When we listen, we often judge by these ingrained beliefs. Because of this we hear and see things with a filter on. Just as the UV filter in your sunglasses distorts the colours, we do not see reality when we have a filter on. We make our own story. Some people take their own story as the absolute truth . When others disagree with that "truth", they often withdraw, fight or go elsewhere. This also applies in the workplace. The truth is often a combination of different factors and opinions. That is why it is a challenge to ensure that teams or cross-functional project teams function optimally. Everyone delivers value in the organization. Together, every individual can deliver insights, each from their own point of view or from the role they play in an organization. By being present and listening without judgment, empowering each other, you create connection and trust as a leader.
TIP 3: Ask these 7 open questions
- WHY?
- WHAT?
- WHEN?
- WHERE?
- WHO?
- HOW?
- HOW MUCH?
In coaching we use the technique of asking open questions. When asking open questions, you allow yourself and people to think deeply so that you get a meaningful answer. This will help to get clear insights.
Tip: Also dig deeper and repeat the "Why question" several times until you get to the point . If you don't do this, you may solve challenge X while the root cause is Y.
As with a leak in a pipe or process. You can fix the leak but if no clear cause has been found we only treat the symptoms.
If no clear procedures and responsibilities have been set, communicated and followed in a companay, or people do not assume their leadership , sooner or later you will end up with the same problem on your plate. As an organization, you keep running in circles and putting out fires instead of growing.
TIP 4: Show empathy
It is important to understand your own needs and the needs of each other. You also want others to show empathy for you, right? Every human being has needs like physical needs, safety, recognition, connection, self-expression or wanting to belong. (cfr. The 5 levels of "Hierarchy of needs", the pyramid of Maslov)
We often also put people in boxes. When we meet someone who is different, we tend to consciously or unconsciously , label that particular person. For example, sales people are extroverts, IT people are introverted, etc. ....
Another pitfall is that each department has its own culture and specialist language. Often, we do not understand the other. Procurement speaks, among other things, about cost reduction and spend analysis. Marketing , among other things, about the marketing offer and lead generation. If you really want to work together and achieve excellent results, it is important to put yourself in the position of the other person and understand their language, and show empathy for the real needs of each other and the organization. Showing empathy is essential when we want to empower people towards more leadership and the optimal use of their talents and capacities.
TIP 5: Detect the blind spots
If you want to transform yourself and your organization, you really need to understand what is happening on a deeper level. We often fail to see the blind spots of ourselves and our organization. You can't fix blind spots yourself because that's why they are called blind spots.
What happens if you don't expose these blind spots? You keep wondering: What's going wrong? Why is the collaboration difficult? By listening to each other, giving/, asking for feedback and empower each other, you make the blind spots visible. Only then can you act effectively and continue the transformation process. For this reason it is also important to guide managers and teams to make those blind spots visible. In the organization of the future, leaders will need to develop their soft skills even more.
For this they also need to develop further their coaching skills. Especially with the current young generation millennials and the emerging generation Z where the "Why?" is important. If we want people to grow, it is essential that they also receive the tools for this and receive professional guidance . This can be done internally if the competences are present or via an external facilitator in the role of a business coach.
Detect blind spots in the organization together
We can have blind spots as an individual but also as a team and organization. A practical example of making blind spots visible: We question a monthly ICT maintenance contract. The contract concerns the maintenance of an old ERP package that is used sporadically to retrieve old data. For this it is necessary to map out the complete service next to the needs of the business and the user.
Tip: Some helpful questions were:
- Why is this necessary? (repeat several times)
- What is the goal?
- How long do you still need the data?
- What are the risks if this maintenance is not done monthly?
- After how many months is maintenance required to ensure continuity and quality on an annual basis?
Ultimately the answer turned out to be once per quarter so the maintenance contract could be adjusted from monthly to quarterly. The result was a significant cost saving, without impacting the end user and the business .
All too often we keep using the same approach because "That's how we always do it". Looking critically at it, analyzing it, discovering blind spots and empowering each other to come up with new solutions is only possible if we show understanding for each other and the willingness to go for it together and learn from each other.
TIP 6: Recognize and acknowledge people
It is important to see each other as human beings. Therefore, recognizing yourself and others is a way of showing that your and their contribution is valuable . So how and when do you give recognition to yourself and others? Do you want that people feel involved in the organization and grow? Then recognition is an absolute rerquirement. When we recognize people, people feel seen and appreciated. This coincides with the 4th level of Maslov's pyramid.
In HR there is a clear evolution that more and more attention is being paid to the employee experience. Employees are seen as human beings and not as numbers in the organization. Companies and leaders of the future have pay a lot of attention to their employees in the organization. It is the task of HR to take initiative and a leading role to help transform the culture in innovative ways.
For procurement it is important that suppliers are evaluated but also recognized. To what extent are suppliers involved and do they receive recognition? Do they also support your goals and have the capabilities to groww together? Ultimately, anyone involved in your organisation can be an ambassador for your company and this works in both directions.
Transformation as an organization
We all function differently. That's why we enjoy connecting with people with whom we share the same beliefs, behaviors or thoughts. Some people prefer to distance themselves from someone who is different . Often because they don't know how to deal with those differences. Or they are strongly biased by judgment. The result is that as a company we miss opportunities by not harmonizing those differences in culture and competences.
Growing as an individual, as an organization and even as a society requires leadership, empathy, focus and an open mindset. Communication is the key in this process. In this way we can learn from each other, strengthen each other and grow together. When we empower each other, we also create a new inspiring dynamic, joy and harmony throughout the entire organization.
2 HUM
This is also the reason why 2HUM exists. Our mission is to help people in companies, and organizations to grow in this transformational process. Learning to work together where everyone wins. Redefining new opportunities from leadership, for yourself and your organization. Allowing your company and organization and everyone associated with it to grow sustainably.
- What are your challenges?
- Where are the growth opportunities?
- What culture is there in cross-functional teams?
- What and where are the blind spots in your organization?
- How does the cooperation between the different departments run?
- Why isn't everyone with us?
Let's talk about it, so we can find a solution together.
To schedule an appointment, send an email to christian@2hum.com, or call Christian De Sterck at +32 499 56 58 69.
Grow together