Having a bit more time on my hands these days I have the pleasure of helping one day a week with my daughter’s school crossing.
This week I asked my youngest daughter Edie and her friend to say good morning to everyone who crossed.
Though both were anxious at first, eventually they got into the swing of it.
Why?
Simply because being outwardly friendly to someone, even those they completely did not know, got an outwardly friendly response and more – smiles, changes in demeanor, changes in body language; ‘the works’ really. No negativity whatsoever.
Really it’s not hard.
Say hello the first time.
Try and get their name in as well the next time.
And then move on up to asking how they are doing or wishing them a pleasant day.
At no cost, you feel better too.
Observe carefully and you’ll notice most awkward moments are created by what we don’t say rather than what we do – it’s just that we take more note of the few awkward moments we create when we say the wrong thing.
I’m not sure when Corporate culture became a thing – it certainly goes back to the eighties; you could spot IBM employees from 100 metres away, the confident swagger, fresh-pressed clothing and overt conversation.
Somewhere along the line ‘we all fall into line’, well, actually, no.
If our corporate culture and management style doesn’t recognize the individual we have neither an enviable culture nor a valid management style. Just because you have a great corporate culture doesn’t mean it’s a place all the people you ‘need’ are going to love it.
I’m still unsure if this sign was serious!
I predict the next big movement will be ensuring personal identity is built into and supported by corporate culture.
This will be a ‘thing’ because increasingly companies are realizing they need all manner of personalities and styles to make their company hum and high turnover of staff in any single area is a significant problem. If, however, they can embrace differences in individuals while integrating the corporate culture and company objectives then rewards will follow for everyone.
In the early stages of my own career, I was wooed by employers who thought the best way to retain my services was simply to pay more. The answer to keeping me happy was much more complicated – the mentoring I craved and the engagement I sought with senior management was most of what was required.
I stayed with and worked hardest for those where my identity was strongest – provided the basic culture was aligned with my values in the first place – though mostly I expect those things to go hand in hand (if the ‘outside appearance of the culture of a company doesn’t align with your values, don’t go there).
If you believe in your staff you need to feed them, and when you do, be aware that while some want steak and chips others want flowers or simply someone to listen to them. Almost anything can actually be accommodated with all but the very worst of corporate cultures and/or employees if you just take time to lean in and learn.
Collectively the individual identities in your organization will always be bigger, stronger and more enduring than your corporate culture, just imagine the strength of what that would create if they could all fit together in a dynamic ‘living’ organization.
One of the best books I’ve read this last decade is Andrew Solomon’s Far From the Tree. It is both heart-wrenching and reaffirming, honest without judgement and a candid look into the struggles of the author himself.
The subtitle is Parents, Children and the search for identity. The exploration is of value to everyone. At its simplest, it’s the two sides of the coin that people with disabilities (which Solomon applies in the broadest sense) both face and find themselves on. It provides reflection for understanding the very grey/gray area surrounding all of our stories; what they mean to us and how they are perceived by others.
My current read is Michael Pollan’s How to change your Mind in which Pollan explores (as researcher and exponent) the world of Psychedelics. Apart from the fascinating history and recounting of experiences, one brief excerpt really struck me having read several of Pollan’s books.
Pollan is completely candid in response to his own question of whether he really wanted to go into the depths of where psychedelics would probably take him:
“…No!-to be perfectly honest. You should know I have never been one for deep or sustained introspection. My usual orientation is more forward than back, or down, and I generally prefer to leave my psychic depths undisturbed, assuming they exist.”
Boom! There goes my long-held belief that everyone wants to dig deeper into who and why they are here, and all that stuff.
No, they don’t!
I’m not sure if I’m envious or sorry for those who don’t want to delve like I do. And so I loop back to Andrew Solomon, his wisdom informs me the correct response is to ‘accept’. It is what it is, it just is.
Everyone deserves to be and, I expect, wants to be, validated. Without such a ‘process’ “identity” can be challenging or even impossible to find.
When I find others who “want to know more about themselves” it validates who I am, and because of that I readily validate them.
What do we do when we encounter those whose identity is different to ours? Do we reach out to validate or do we shy away? Do we attempt to understand or do we avoid the dialogue?
I suspect we are all ‘guilty’ to varying degrees of staying within our own ‘identity cocoon’ when so much richness lies just outside of it. I also accept that occasionally my own responses have strayed into the realms of ignorance, conceit and arrogance.
What if we start each interaction with Stephen Covey’s Fifth Habit “Seek first to understand and then be understood.”?
If you read Pollan’s book you may believe the simpler answer is that we all just try some psychedelics, but given the challenge associated with that, how about we simply begin with a change in mindset with how we approach each day:
Who’s identify can you validate today?
How could you do that?
*Note this is the first in a brief series of posts I have written around the concept of identity. Post to follow are:
Te Reo and my search for identity.
Corporate culture and personal identity.
Why we need to be able to greet in multiple languages.
Excuse: I’ve been busy so haven’t got around to posting another blog.
Reason: I’ve been distracted lately and haven’t given this blog the time it needs.
A somewhat benevolent Chairman once pulled me up for giving an excuse. It was a lesson well learned and a cue I since have used often for self-improvement and to tune into the conversations I have and assess the credibility of those I’m engaged with.
Anyone who talks with genuine reasons is well ahead in the credibility stakes. Just pouring out excuses is an easy habit to slip into but an unattractive trait to wear:
Excuse
Reason
Sorry I’m late the traffic was unbelievable!!!
Sorry, I failed to allow for the traffic (which I know about) and left later than I should have.
Sorry I didn’t do “x” I’ve been so busy lately.
Sorry, my bad, I didn’t give “x” the priority I implied I would and I overlooked it. I will have it to you by 4pm today.
Sorry I meant to call but forgot.
Sorry, I should have called you. (No reason, but an admission of fault)
I forgot to do my homework, I was busy with other things.
Sorry, I wasted too much time on my tech and didn’t do my homework.
I know I said I wouldn’t do it again, next time will be better.
I let you down, and I let myself down, I’m sorry.
I didn’t mean it.
Sorry, I should not have pushed my sister.
I didn’t mean it.
That was unkind and unthinking of me. I apologise.
It’s likely some of these will resonate, we all have our guilty moments.
The strength is in acknowledging ‘guilt’ or fault and not falling into the 5-year-olds plea of “It wasn’t me”.
If you can add a commitment to a genuine reason then the value of the apology goes up significantly:
I will have the work to you by 4pm…
I will call them straight away (and you do)…
I’ll work late tonight and have that on your desk in the morning (and you do)…
I promise not to use any tech until my homework is completed.
But mostly, next time you are addressing an incomplete task or action, contemplate whether your response is the real reason or the excuse of a 5-year-old.
In current times it’s inevitable that some of my posts will veer into politics.
With the surreal event taking place in Singapore at present I can’t resist passing comment on how our egos interfere with our effectiveness.
Safe to say if you’re reading this blog your ego is nowhere near the issue it is for the two men meeting in Singapore (which will be like Cage Fighting in suits with no physical contact).
However, we all have egos and they both serve and hinder us.
When you see things upside down, the ego can be extraordinarily funny; it’s absurd. But it’s tragic at the same time.
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
If we carefully observe ourselves we’ll see our ego interfere with our lives on a constant basis, sometimes for good, but also to the detriment of doing the right or best thing:
When we feel embarrassed – resulting in inaction when action is what is required.
When we fail to acknowledge somebody – because we’re either a tiny bit underwhelmed or a whole lot jealous, or mostly because we are too full of our own importance.
When we do something we know is ‘not right’ – because it’s what we said we would do and can’t deal with our imagined ignominy in changing our course.
When we lose focus on a conversation – because no one is listening to us (possibly because their egos are working overtime too, or, simply we are a bore).
When we interject (my own personal Achilles) – because our ego can’t wait to show ours is bigger, brighter, funnier or more important (yeah right).
Though we may sigh in despair about the events unfolding and the painful rhetoric which will follow, we also need to take a moment to listen to and observe our own ego.
Imagine life if we trained our ego to understand what a good time can be – where it considered not just you but for those around you.
We need to both feed and nurture our ego but at all times be aware it’s with us.
Even if it’s not raging like some of the more public ego’s we see today, we need to actively manage our ego’s impact on ourselves and those around us. It’s a constant work in progress.
Where do you see the biggest impact of ego – either personally or from others?
What can we do to turn this ‘force’ to positive use?
This graphic is a simple illustration of why some things never see the light of day.
The return to my blog while not “new” is a new beginning. It is a true reflection of the tension illustrated here.
We can spend much of time answering questions that haven’t been asked or answered other than inside of our own heads:
Why do this? Will anybody follow or benefit?
…and the answer to almost all of these types of questions – is that other than yourself
“Who cares?”
If you’re not doing it, nothing is happening.
If it’s not out there, nobody is judging you, nobody is looking.
If you’re not speaking with an independent voice, then how are you relevant?
To paraphrase Seth Godin – don’t keep waiting for the perfect horse on the carousel – just get on they are all going to the same place.
So here I am.
I’ll be reflecting on many things, and hopefully doing it in a way that reflects an attitude of dancing like nobody is watching.
I will be dipping into:
How and why we change
What we say and how we say it
How we respond and how we react
What blindsides us and what truly motivates us
Assumptions we make
Things we fail to challenge, and those that we do
Challenges we fail to take and those that we choose to pursue
I beleive:
That we care more deeply about each other than most of us care to or know how to express.
That community is at the core of humanity.
That we all wish for a better world – the world that we share, but at present not so well.
I hope to bring something to that discussion
My primary motivation is that this blog may change somebody’s life for the better – bring more clarity, more insight, and more reflection at a time when they need it, now or in the future. I also hope people will use this to look back and reflect on their own experiences and take the learning forward.
Being a father of 2 wonderful daughters this also serves as a capsule for them to understand me and perhaps even themselves better in years to come when I can’t be around to explain myself.
I’m on this blog knowing that it makes me more real, more vulnerable, more reflective and considerate.
Really it’s not hard.
cROADWORKS 