Teambuilding – Walk Into the Future

80s day at work!

80s Beth and Calvin

“If work isn’t fun, you’re not playing on the right team”.

(Frank Sonnenberg)

The concept of FUN at work comes up often when discussing how to keep organizations moving forward. The quote above makes me laugh with the simplicity of the concept but it does have a place in the modern work environment.

Organizations that do not allow their staff members to unwind and have fun are doomed to have unhappy people in the workplace daily. I am not saying staff must be entertained daily but the concept of fun has shown to be an attractive variable for some well-known organizations.

Google leads the way for work environment fun with nap pods, video games and ping pong tables available daily for staff members. Who would not want to take a nap at work? Genius concept!

Texas Roadhouse is another organization that values fun at work. It’s right there in the mission statement: We are committed to our shared Core Values of Passion, Partnership, Integrity, and Fun with Purpose.

The staff gets to line dance multiple times during their shifts to some upbeat country music. It is great watching the staff members dance with huge smiles on their faces while enjoying being at work.

Well, if the Texas Roadhouse folks can dance at work, then why can’t I? That is a loaded question but one that we recently overcame in my current work environment.

Yes, there can be dancing at work! 😊

A friend at work and I started joking a few months ago about having a break-dancing contest in the parking lot. It was our little inside joke and it made us both laugh. We would mention the dance contest passing each other in the hallway and occasionally feign a dance move. A couple of our coworkers overheard us talking about break-dancing and offered we should have a dance battle at work—true story.

This led to others chiming in that we should have the contest at work and dress the part. The more this talk went on the more buzz the topic generated at work. A final suggestion was everyone in the building should wear 80s gear and we should make it an event. Please note, while at the FSU Career Center we had a Fantasy Career Day in October. Staff members dressed in gear to represent their fantasy career—one year I went as a golfer complete with golf shirt, shorts, and a golf club. This was the only time I wore shorts to work as a professional—it was great! 😊

This concept was the catalyst for us to create an 80s-decade event for our division. I went to my boss to let her know we were dressing in the 80s and her response was: I am coming as Madonna! I did not have to make a plea; it was as simple as that.

The entire campus caught the energy, and the Fall Celebration Day was established. The challenge went out to other divisions to dress in a preferred decade—we had dibs on the 80s. The 60s and 70s were quickly grabbed by folks on campus and the celebration was on.

We decided to go all in for the 80s and dress the part. I was a frequent eBay shopper as I looked for the perfect 80s outfit to enjoy the day. The great thing about the 80s is the multiple phases we all went through—so many great looks to choose from. I went with the mid-80s Hip Hop look as a throwback to some of my favorite artists—Eric B and Rakim, DJ Easy Rock and Public Enemy.

I was able to find multiple options for vintage Nike 80s track suit within my stated budget. I was also able to find a fake (plastic) gold chain to accessorize my look. A quick trip to Party City allowed me to complete the look with large rings for my fingers to really get that throwback look. One of my colleagues had an old boom box at home and allowed me to borrow it for the day to complete my 80s throwback look.

Fast forward to 10/29/21 and we produced old school flyers to pass out on-campus to promote the dance battle in our building. We wanted to ensure we had an audience and allow everyone to join in on the fun. There were several practice sessions so we could space out the dance battle and then bring in a few surprise guests—we kept the surprises close to the vest so it would enhance the event.

We coordinated a three round dance battle to get the crowd pumped and generate fun, laughter, and anticipation. The goal was to have fun!

I won the dance battle coin toss and elected to have my friend lead off with his first routine. We agreed to three rounds and then get silly with dances an old dude would do: the sprinkler, starting a lawn mower and the robot. The crowd got into each round and really enjoyed the process of two professionals making a fool of themselves at work—it was all for fun! 😊

We finished our dance sequences back-to-back in a B Boy Stance. We positioned ourselves directly in front of our VP—on purpose!

She pushed us both out of her way as the Salt N Pepa classic hit ‘Push It’ started to play. This was surprise #1 and she rocked it. She had been practicing for two weeks to get her moves right and started out with the 80s dance classic, The Roger Rabbit—the crowd went wild! We joined her after with a choreographed rendition from the Push It video—don’t think I have ever had that much fun at work.

We got everyone in the building up and dancing with a classic Soul Train line. It was fun to see others with HUGE smiles on their faces as they went through the Soul Train line multiple times. I went through the line about 5 times since we were buying additional time for Surprise #2.

We have a Performing Arts program on-campus and partnered with faculty to request a student flash. The students practiced the Michael Jackson’s 80s classic Thriller dance to finish off our dance party. I had our DJ adjust the music once I saw the students enter the building. We cleared the dance floor and let the students take over. They were a big hit with the crowd as they went through their Thriller routine—it was fantastic!

The last part of our event was the Electric Slide! Most of the folks hit the dance floor again as we did the Electric Slide—a great way to complete a dance party.

I have not seen people smile so much at work as they did during our 80s day! Several made a point to let me know this was the best day they have had at work. The smiles and happy faces made dances in front of colleagues worth the effort. Some have asked what we plan to do to top this event—I’m going to let someone else plan the next event, but we will continue to have fun at work.

What do you do to have fun at work?

“Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun”.

(Colleen Barrett)

Who are you? Self-awareness

Make Things Happen

“Self-awareness is the golden key to making life changing decisions and sticking to them”.

(Dr. Prem Jagyasi)

Dictionary.com defines self-awareness as conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires.

Sounds simple enough but I like to explore self-awareness more when I conduct teambuilding exercises. Self-awareness is needed within the work environment and impacts how well the team functions. We all bring different things into the work environment daily and need to understand how and what these things are. I routinely ask the following question when I start the teambuilding process:

Who are you?

Take 2 minutes and ask yourself the question Who are you? multiple times. Record each of your responses. My examples to this exercise are:

Who are you? Black man
Who are you? Blogger
Who are you? Leader
Who are you? Running tourist
Who are you? Son
Who are you? Uncle
Who are you? Mentor
Who are you? Friend

Now it is your turn—answer the question and record your responses—I will wait! 😊

How many responses did you list to the question?

The answers may surprise people you work with and maybe yourself. There is not a right or wrong way to supply responses to the question. The major point is everything you listed enters the work environment with you daily.

This is an important point as we build teams and help staff members get to know others on the team. I have used this teambuilding exercise multiple times to enhance the work environment and help with team growth.

The point of this process is to allow team members to fully understand what they bring to work. It also shows a new level of self-awareness and how we interact with others. This exercise enhances team awareness and shows everyone they have more in common than they thought.

True leaders can use this data to ensure they treat staff members as individuals and not let their self-awareness impact how they treat others.

Example: I do not have kids–this should not impact how I deal with a parent who needs to leave work early because of a sick child. Some people in leadership positions make decisions based on their worldview only. This is a horrible way to lead a team.

Authentic leaders understand how they are viewed and the impact this has on the team. Self-aware leaders create more self-aware leaders.

So, I ask again—who are you? How does this level of self-awareness impact your daily interactions?

“What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself”.

(Abraham Maslow)

Walking with a positive work environment (Repost)

(Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay)

“Positive work environments outperform negative work environments”.

(Daniel Goleman)

Positive people make positive things happen is one of my favorite sayings to inspire people in my world. I created this as a mantra when I enter a work environment to help my team understand the mindset, we need to get positive results.

I was introduced to Positive Psychology during my course work and it remains with me daily. One premise of Positive Psychology is people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. This could be on a personal or professional level. I like leveraging Positive Psychology within the work environment to show direct reports how our mindset influences work outcomes.

I mentioned in an earlier post, my daily response to how I am doing is to say fantastic. This is not a way to hide my true thoughts or feelings but a way to energize myself. I found by saying I am doing fantastic provides a new level of energy for myself and it can inspire others around me to join in on the fun. The word fantastic is not used very often in daily life so it makes people take notice and encourages them to get on The Energy Bus.

Now imagine if you had a leader who was always negative and never had anything nice to say. How would this person impact the work environment? I am sure this negative mindset would translate to everyone in the work environment and would not be a pleasant place to work.

Leaders must be cognizant how their energy (positive or negative) impacts the work environment. This knowledge will go a long way to build a positive work environment culture to ensure positive things get done daily. Sounds simple, huh?

It takes a while for this positive process to take hold within a new work environment. The speed of this process can be enhanced when everyone is ready to engage. One negative teammate can slow or aggravate the process, but this can be mitigated by the rest of the team pulling in the same direction. A new initiative for me is to follow Rule #6 from The Energy Bus—I have a sign posted that reads No Energy Vampires Allowed in my office in a prominent location. I will point to the sign when the tone of a conversation starts to become negative. I welcome different views and opinions but look to negate negative tone, language, or interactions. It takes time to eliminate the negative, but the goal is to move forward in a positive manner. I struggle sometimes because I want everything to head in a positive direction but also know things take time.

A positive work environment is a place where everyone can thrive, grow, and provide input. We spend a large amount of our lives in the work environment and I strive to create a space where we can work hard, laugh, and enjoy the process. Leaders who understand work does not have to be stressful create a space where productivity can be displayed daily. I have worked in places where people dreaded coming to work and I made a vow to never duplicate these types of environments when I reached the big seat. Well, I have been in the big seat for a while now and smile whenever one of my tree branches reach out and say they want to work with me again.

I am sure not everyone feels this way, but I have enough of these folks to form my own wolf pack. 😊 Still learning and growing but will continue to promote positive work environments because they are productive and fun. Imagine that, fun in the workplace! Guess Google, Microsoft and Apple understand what people want in the work environment. I do not have ping pong tables, yet, but play a lot of reggae in my office. Irie!

What do you see as the benefits of a positive work environment? How do you contribute to ensure your work environment remains positive?

“Positive anything is better than negative nothing”.

(Elbert Hubbard)

Leading from a distance

(Image by FelixMittermeier from Pixabay)

“Leading remotely makes the complex role of leading even more complex”.

(Kevin Eikenberry)

The year 2020 started with a bang for us all and the promise of a fantastic year.

The term 2020 Vision was used to highlight the promise this was going to be the year where vision became reality and positive things were coming.

2020 has been a lot tougher than most of us would like but there have been positive things to be thankful for. We must remember tough times now can lead to positive outcomes in the future.

One area of my Walk into the Future where I really needed 2020 Vision was after accepting my role in Fort Pierce and discovering my entire team was working remotely. Imagine moving to a new city during a pandemic, taking over a work environment and meeting your entire team on your laptop. Strange times but quickly discovered all my leadership training, speaking, and consulting experience were needed for me to make positive things happen.

I have read a lot of leadership books and written multiple articles on authentic leadership. There is not a manual on how to come in on day one and begin to lead a remote team. Trust me, I searched for that book for days!

You always want to make a great first impression, but it is tough to gauge your direct reports via a laptop screen. Things are progressing but I continue to learn new tools and techniques daily. 2020 Vision has morphed into a new mantra to remain focused and control the controllable.

Teambuilding

A first step to build a great team is to ensure teambuilding is a central focus to get everyone on the same page and moving in the correct direction. I have written about several teambuilding exercises we have completed (MBTI, The Energy Bus) and the need to help each team member grow professionally. We completed these activities in a complete physical distancing environment where staff members engaged each other via computers from separate offices. Let’s repeat that…we were together via a Zoom like application (Blackboard Collaborate), in different locations, and working on our teambuilding activities. Not ideal but it can be done.

Never imagined this was possible but got the 2020 Vision to try this and tweak as needed. We have been able to enhance team dynamics and maintain our physical distance from each other. I continue to look for interactive ways to engage the team using computer technology and ensure we have fun with the process.

Work schedules

2020 Vision allows me to understand the traditional concept of work schedules went out the window earlier this year. Not saying people do not have to work but the COVID-19 pandemic created a huge work from home dynamic. Jobs traditionally done within the office environment were rapidly transformed to work from home. This was a major change for everyone, and work schedules had to change as well. Gone were the typical 8 am – 5 pm work schedules since people had to juggle work, childcare, home schooling and a myriad of other tasks daily.

I learned quickly when staff needed time to take care of their home life. Also learned the work from home mindset is not the same for everyone. Some folks are just as motivated working from home as they were in the office. I came to understand that some are not as motivated working from home—human nature kicks in for these folks.

My role has evolved to ensure everyone can use the technology we have available to complete work assignments. We needed to create communication channels to check in without being overly connected daily. I am still learning and evolving in this area, but we are getting things done.

Mental well-being

My initial thoughts for this section was to write about helping my staff with their mental well-being. We do that daily but one aspect I continue to focus on is my mental well-being. My workouts and running program are great escapes for me from the daily grind of leading a team from a distance. This new world of work seems to always have someone trying to schedule a Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Blackboard Collaborate meeting—they never stop! ☹😊

Finally had to tell some coworkers to ask before just jamming a virtual meeting on my calendar. This is a constant reminder the world of work has changed—mostly for the good but there can be a bad side to always being connected. I work to connect with my staff daily to make sure they are doing well. I do not email, call, or text them after work hours to model behavior that honors a true work and life balance. Small steps!

I am still learning how to operate in this new world of work.

What techniques do you use to not be connected all the time? How has your 2020 vision changed from earlier in the year?

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something”.

(Plato)

Walking and the importance of networking

“It’s not who you know but who knows YOU”.

(Anonymous)

Dictionary.com defines networking as the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.

This definition provides a clean view of networking but does not limit how it can be done. I have written in the past about several podcast episodes I have been a part of. Each episode was done to share a specific message to the audience and help their professional growth. I engaged in multiple in-person networking events (Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tallahassee) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic with designs to meet people who could help me grow my consulting and speaking roles. So, as you can see, networking takes on many forms with the objective of connecting with others.

I got invited to speak on a local radio program last week to engage and speak with Fort Pierce community members about my new workplace and the work we do. Turns out the radio host is an Indian River State College (IRSC) colleague who happens to work on a different campus. We had not met prior to the event but knew of each other through work interactions.

I make a point to never turn down opportunities to speak about the great work we do for our students and alumni populations. The radio spot was a fantastic way for me to network with students, parents and employers interested in attending or coming back to IRSC.

The host for this networking opportunity works directly with underrepresented students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. She is always looking for new ways to engage students and members of the community on the benefits of higher education and wanted me to discuss how my office helps our students become career ready. Love being able to showcase the improved operations and services we are building. These new operational tweaks allow staff to reach more students and add value to the overall college experience.

I especially enjoyed participating in the radio program since I could speak directly to employers in the local Fort Pierce area who did not know they could recruit talent on our campuses. We are not hosting in-person events in the fall, but employers are able to post their openings for free with our office. We are in the process of finalizing our Virtual Career Fair platform and wanted to let employers know they have multiple access points to recruit on-campus. The radio program reaches our four-county service area and should enhance our reach to help employers understand how we can help them moving forward.

A secondary aspect of participating on the radio show was to let the community know enrollment for the fall semester is open and we are still recruiting new students. COVID-19 has had a major impact on college and university enrollments across the country and we are no different. Going on the radio allows us to let folks know we are here for them and want to share ways we can help with their success. Two-year colleges are very affordable and can be an excellent way to launch into a four-year degree if that is a goal.

The new term for me in this environment is UpSkill. We talk with prospective students and employers on the benefit of in-demand certificate programs to UpSkill their careers or improve staff outputs. This process is still new to me since I came from the four-year university model but UpSkill is a great way to impact local economies by training students to meet local career demands.

I am scheduled to speak on another radio program later this month hosted by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and will look to continue to network to help the Treasure Coast grow. Excited to see the impact of these networking opportunities! 😊

What networking opportunities are you working on? How can networking help your organization continue to grow?

“Networking is the #1 unwritten rule of success in business”.

(Sallie Krawcheck)

Listen to the show here—I speak around the 5 minute mark: http://wjfp.com/ondemand-wjfp/player.php?wrspot=72816

Making a difference–the first 100 days!

(Image by Free Photos from Pixabay)

“If you are walking down the right path and you are willing to keep walking, eventually you will make progress”.

(Barack Obama)

Love starting Walk into the Future blog articles with quotes to introduce the topic for each week. The quotes are selected to get me into the right frame of mind to generate content my followers will enjoy. I try not to overdue my Barack Obama quotes but he provides inspiration on multiple levels and I can always find something generated by #44 to help me find the words to make a positive impact with my writing.

I am an avid reader and discovered author Robert Hargrave’s book, Your First 100 Days in a New Executive Job: Powerful First Steps on the Path to Greatness prior to taking my role in Fort Pierce. Decided to leverage my first 100 days in my new role to find ways to make a positive difference in our daily operations. The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has on normal operations was a huge challenge to me. I accepted my position at Indian River State College in March 2020 with hopes the pandemic would be mitigated during the summer and we would get back to what use to be normal workday activities. The COVID-19 numbers exploded over the summer and most of the country remained in a work from home mode out of necessity.

I did not let COVID-19 limit my focus on making a difference daily. Referred to President Obama’s quote daily and looked for ways to chip away towards the progress I sought. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you make workplace progress? One project at a time.

My first 100-day point at Indian River State College was 7/28/2020. The Career and Transfer Services (CTS) team was not briefed on my 100-day plan but were key players to ensure we got the results I wanted us to gain. I take a lot of pride in being able to organize and execute action plans and set about getting a lot of things completed in the first 100 days.

Vision

One of my first tasks was to create and then share a vision for the CTS team. This process allowed me to educate the team on how we would work together to help generate wins for our operation. Robert Hargrove advises to seek out as many wins as possible in the first 100 days—it builds positive energy.

I went on a listening tour (virtual, phone, in-person) to speak with staff, colleagues, students, and faculty to understand the best way to partner with each of them. I learned a lot during these conversations (good and bad) and discovered who I needed to mend fences with. It was not important when the fences broke but it was my responsibility to get things moving in a positive direction.

The team conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis to identify what we did well, our weak areas, improvement opportunities and organizational threats. This was an eye-opening experience for the team because they had never analyzed the operation at this level. I needed a full view of our operation to make the first 100 days productive.

We created action plans to mitigate weaknesses and threats (wins) because we could not grow without addressing these two areas. This process led to improved training, better communication, and improved team interactions. The SWOT analysis is a living document and will extend beyond the first 100 days but is a positive step.

We leveraged multiple teambuilding activities during the first 100 days to ensure our continued growth. We leveraged the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), created team values statements, enhanced professional development training, and got on The Energy Bus. Each initiative built on the previous one to help us all grow as team members.

This teambuilding process allowed us to create additional wins:

Produced a Career Ready Infographic
Created and produced a Resume Guide
Created and produced a Resume Rubric
Created and produced a Mock Interview Rubric
Created CTS branded PowerPoint template
Developed a CTS workshop library
Developed employer specific marketing

These are a few examples of our wins in the first 100 days—excited to add a few more wins as the team continues to grow together.

We continue to walk on the right path and progress is evident daily!

How do you measure your progress? What steps do you leverage to continue to move forward?

“Little things make a big difference”.

(Picturequotes.com)

Walking with a positive work environment

(Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay)

“Positive work environments outperform negative work environments”.

(Daniel Goleman)

What do you see as the benefits of a positive work environment? How do you contribute to ensure your work environment remains positive?

“Positive anything is better than negative nothing”.

(Elbert Hubbard)

The Energy Bus—team building program!

(Image by Marek Studzinski from Pixabay)

“Thoughts are magnetic. What you think you attract”.

(John Gordon)

Dictionary.com defines teambuilding as the action or process of causing a group of people to work together effectively as a team, especially by means of activities and events designed to increase motivation and promote cooperation.

I have always been a fan of conducting teambuilding activities throughout the years to keep teams focused and pulling in the same direction. I have been fortunate to create teambuilding platforms at UCF and FSU to enhance our team dynamics and set us up to accomplish our work goals. Teambuilding is a critical component to organizational success and is necessary to remind each team member how interconnected we are daily.

I have leveraged the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) at every stop I have made since I left the Air Force. I find the MBTI an excellent way to understand team members’ communication style and allows us to adjust to how individuals prefer to communicate internally and externally.

My MBTI is ISTJ (Introverted/Sensing/Thinking/Judging) and is displayed on my desk to remind my team of my preferred communication style. Each team member gets a desk placard highlighting their MBTI to help them communicate with others and serves as a reminder we all have different preferences and work styles. One is not better than the other, simply different.

I was introduced to Clifton Strengths while at UCF. I was charged with building a teambuilding program for Career Center staff and Clifton Strengths provided us with a platform to build on the strengths of everyone on the team. We reached out and hired a certified consultant to come in and work with us to learn how to maximize team strengths so we could grow the organization. This was an eye-opening teambuilding experience for the group and has remained an integral tool for me when working to build my respective team dynamics.

Ice breaker activities are another great way to bring teams together and enhance socialization. The ice breakers used do not have to be elaborate but should have an element of fun while the team learns more about each other. The platform should enhance communication and help the team find ways to discover new things about teammates.

My latest teambuilding adventure was introduced to me by one of my new team members. She found out I am a huge reader and shared a leadership book from her library with me. I had never heard of the book but was intrigued by the concept after she explained the premise of the book. The full title, The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel your Life, Work and Team is an international best seller and the author, Jon Gordon is sought by organizations to share his Energy Bus knowledge and help people continue to grow. I watched several of his talks on YouTube to get a better understanding of his concept to determine if this was something I could utilize. He has a ton of stuff on YouTube so recommend taking some time to explore his work to see how it can help you and your team move forward.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jon+gordon++

The book is an extremely easy read and reminds me of the classic, Who Moved My Cheese but in an actual work environment. I was impressed with how his concepts could be applied to my current work situation as I had to find new and inventive ways to conduct teambuilding while maintaining physical distancing due to COVID-19. Never imagined 6 months ago I would be able to implement teambuilding activities with team members in 8 different locations via virtual platforms. I chose the Energy Bus because the 10 rules identified are easy to follow and fit where I wanted to take the team. We must get creative with our work products now and needed them to understand we must pull in the same direction.

Leveraging the https://www.theenergybus.com/ site, I was able to send each team member a bus ticket to invite them onto my bus. It felt funny generating the ticket, but it seemed to excite people when they received the invitation. Most of the team reached out to ask if they needed to present their ticket at our scheduled teambuilding session. It was not required but a lot of them had their ticket ready just in case. 😊

10 Rules for the Ride of Your Life

You are the driver of the Bus
Desire, vision, and focus move your bus in the right direction
Fuel your ride with positive energy
Invite people on your bus and share your vision for the road ahead
Do not waste energy on those who do not get on your bus
Post a sign that says “No Energy Vampires Allowed” on your bus
Enthusiasm attracts more passengers and energizes them during the ride
Love your passengers
Drive with purpose
Have fun and enjoy the ride

We were able to go through the 10 Rules and discuss the impact each had on our new team adventures. I gave the team my view of the 10 Rules and how I planned to leverage each of them. We went around the virtual room and had each team member provide their feedback on each rule and how they would incorporate the rule daily. I was pleasantly surprised when one of my teammates asked if she could give a full rundown for ALL the rules. She did a fantastic job summarizing each rule and how it would be incorporated in her daily interactions. This set the tone for the rest of the teambuilding session and let me know we are heading in the right direction.

I am always looking for ways to get the team to the next level. Will continue to research teambuilding activities but highly recommend The Energy Bus if you are looking for ways to bring a team together.

What teambuilding activities does your organization use? How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your team’s ability to gel?

“Your positive energy and vision must be greater than anyone’s and everyone’s negativity. Your certainty must be greater than everyone’s doubt”.

(John Gordon)

We all win with diverse work environments!

Photo by Ingo Joseph on Pexels.com

“Diversity may be the hardest thing for a society to live with, and perhaps the most dangerous thing for a society to be without”.

(William Sloan Coffee, Jr.)

Merriam-Webster defines diversity as the condition of having or being composed of differing elements. Clear as mud, right?

Organizations with diversity initiatives need to ensure they fully understand what diversity means. Simply making a statement does not ensure diversity in the work environment will happen. Diversity must be examined in order to identify how it can be fully implemented and embraced in the work environment.

Some organizations define diversity on very short-sighted components i.e., men, women, race. These components are all intertwined when discussing diversity but there should be more components included in a truly diverse work environment.

Leveraging background dynamics, educational and life experiences as well as demographic components will help generate a new level of diversity for organizations who truly seek this in the work environment. There are some organizations who say they want diversity but continue to hire clones of the staff currently working there. This is the opposite of the Merriam-Webster’s diversity definition.

“We need diversity of thought in the world to face the new challenges”.

(Tim Berners-Lee)

Diverse work environments value different perspectives. This includes skills, experiences, backgrounds and education. This concept brings a variety of ways to get things done. Bringing diversity into the work environment allows the organization to grow and avoid the groupthink mentally that stifles new thoughts.

New thoughts in the work environment leads to increased creativity when facing a problem, change or new procedure. True diversity brings together people who will see the same problem from different perspectives and sharpens everyone because of this exposure. The creative impact on the organization increases because staff hear, see, feel, think differently and exposes others to different ways to get things done. This creativity process may also impact innovation within the organization.

Decision making and problem solving are other areas a diverse work environment can enhance. Again, a diverse work force brings new thoughts, ideas and ways to get things done to the workplace. Leadership receives diverse solutions to organizational problems and has multiple options to select from. This leads to faster problem solving and allows the organization to tackle new challenges.

A caution, leadership must be willing to accept the diverse solutions and not revert to business as usual. The worse thing that can happen is for leadership to say “we always do it this way OR that will not change as long as I’m here”—the quickest way to deflate staff and eliminate their voice in the work environment.

A diverse work environment can also help retain staff members. A diverse and empowered work environment helps staff members feel accepted and valued. This creates a happier work force and may lead to staff staying with the organization longer.

So, let’s examine the Merriam-Webster diversity definition again:

The condition of having or being composed of differing elements.

A few elements to consider for workplace diversity:

Race
Gender / Identity
Education / Educational Institutions
Geographic region
Age
Experience

A final thought on diversity is it impacts your clients as well. A more diverse work force can enhance an organization’s ability to attract diverse clients. Example: an office with diverse staff will be able to attract diverse clients because they see someone similar. Don’t overlook the importance of how diversity impacts your clients.

What does your organization do to ensure a diverse work environment? How can diversity be improved?

“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance”.

(Verna Myers)

Thanks for walking with me!

neon signage — Photo by Ivan Bertolazzi on Pexels.com

Leverage individual communication styles to enhance team operations

top view photo of people near wooden table — Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com

“In teamwork, silence isn’t golden, it’s deadly”.

(Mark Sanborn)

There are no two teams that are exactly alike. Not the most prophetic thing I’ve ever written in this blog space but worth stating.

Teams have different dynamics and function based on these things and the people who make up the team. The most successful teams can leverage the talents of each team member into the overall organizational dynamic to ensure successful outcomes.

We’ve discussed team communication strategies in previous posts with an angle to strengthen your team. Individual communication styles and preferences should be reviewed and discussed when you add someone new to your team. I’m sure everyone strives to hire the best candidate to fill an opening on their team. How much thought do you put into understanding how to integrate the new team member’s communication style in with others?

I’m a firm believer that leaders should know direct reports’ communication style and preferred way they want to receive information. This knowledge allows leaders to seek ways to ensure they communicate in a way to maximize operational needs. This knowledge has helped me when assigning tasks to team members.

Example #1: When faced with a project that has an extremely quick turnaround time, I normally assign this project to my ENFJ (MBTI) staff member. This type project excites the staff member and I know they will get things done quickly with enough time for review before the deadline.

Example #2: When faced with a project due four months from today, I normally assign this project to my ISTJ (MBTI) staff member. This type project allows the staff member time to plan, strategize and ask all the questions they need to for a successful outcome.

MBTI refresher: https://eu.themyersbriggs.com/en/Using%20Type/Head%20Type%20table

The examples listed above are two actual scenarios I’ve tackled in the past. Both had successful outcomes because I knew and understood how to engage staff to maximize their talents. This in turn produced successful outcomes for the organization.

Knowledge of individual communication styles also provides a blueprint to help build training plans to help staff members grow. Introverted staff are not exempt from ever getting a task with a quick turnaround. The leader needs to provide a more detailed set of instructions and understand they may have to follow-up with the staff member. This process begins to stretch the staff member and helps their professional growth. This also provides the leader with another staff member who can handle future quick turnaround projects and not wear out the extroverts. Also, extroverted staff are not exempt from being assigned long term projects—training applies to all staff members.

There are multiple ways to engage staff to understand their individual communication style. MBTI and CliftonStrengths are two tools used in my work environments. These tools allowed me to get a better understanding of everyone on my team and integrate this knowledge to help teammates understand each other as well.

What’s the most successful way for me to understand how to communicate with my team? I sit down with them and ask everyone how they like to receive information. Simple, huh? Then I make sure to communicate with everyone in a manner they identify (as much as possible). Things pop up but I try to remain consistent with the communication process. Direct reports seem to appreciate this fact and respond in a positive manner.

A final note, leaders need to ensure their team knows how they like to communicate as well. The team shouldn’t have to guess how to approach a leader. This creates undo stress and is not productive.

How do you account for individual communication styles in the work environment? Can this knowledge impact your current organization? (Please respond in the comments section below—thanks!)

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something”.

(Plato)

blackboard business chalkboard concept — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

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