Mission, Vision, Values… many organisations have a document defining those big words, often after much effort. In many cases it is filed or hung on a wall … and promptly forgotten.
Words are cheap! In our present political climate we see much effort going into the words that politicians use to ‘spin’ their way into parliament. We all know however that actions speak louder than words. And sometimes those actions lead to a very public destruction, instead of the construction of the “Vision”.
Are You Living & Breathing Your Organisation’s Mission, Vision?My Challenge To You
Let’s just say someone spends a couple of days working in your business and observing workplace actions, attitudes and behaviours. At the end of their stay, they are to answer the following 3 questions:
What are the values that this organisation holds deeply – the good, the bad, the ugly?
What would they write about your business? Would they feel the team lives the organisation’s mission and vision
What confirming behaviours do you think they articulate?
Many organisations have values around “Teamwork” “Collaboration” “Working Together achieves more”. Sadly for many this mantra is built on sand and quickly washes away through conflict, poor communication or a lack of open, honest conversation.
Is It OK To Have A Difficult Conversation?
Consider these 2 points honestly:
- What process do you have in your organisation to encourage difficult or open conversations?
- Do your leaders practice such important habits?
These critical habits are symptomatic of highly productive teams.
Yes, we have different views of the world, but because we choose to understand the others point of view rather than get ‘offended’ – a whole new world can open up. This is why high performing teams decide not to get offended by opposing views but to see to understand.
Handled the right way, conflicting views can be seeds to new opportunities, new gateways. Welcome them and ask yourself:
Do you want to encourage more open, honest conversations?
Are you taking full advantage of diversity in your workplace?
Would you love to see a high level of respect and trust running in your business veins?
Start with “Why?”
I love Simon Sinek’s You Tube ’Start with Why?’. Until we can connect to our deeper questions of why we do what we do, we are only dancing around the edges.
Just like this education team with whom I am working, we may talk about being passionate about students’ welfare, but our actions say that “protecting self” is a greater priority.
It Is Time To Act
At Bridgeworks, we are passionate about helping leaders and teams understand the true impact they are having on their clients and each other. Nothing in team dynamics is stable for ever. Even previously effective teams can stop generating inspired outcomes. So it may be time to review what is really happening.
Should any of the above hit a nerve for you, let’s discuss your challenge and consider some of the many solutions we have delivered for the past 20 years. I would love to take your organisation on the exciting journey towards positively engaged and effective teams.
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