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Greetings!
Thank you for reading about this request. The Character Community
Movement
(www.charactercommunity.com) is gathering stories and information
to support this significant initiative. The goals is to help create
healthy, productive workplaces, for the benefit of all. We believe
that solid, concrete examples will help all of us apply the principles.
The story doesn't have to be about an extraordinary
person but rather a person who made a good
decision in a difficult situation.
Content outline for your story:
- demonstrate good character (respect,
responsibility, honesty, integrity, compassion,
courage, inclusiveness, fairness, optimism,
perseverance and initiative),
- include a moment of choice (challenge, tension,
difficulty)
- culminate in an outcome that contributes to
people feeling more engaged, motivated, less likely to
look for other work etc.
The authors will be asked for permission to use their
name, as well as approve the final version/ specific
location of publication.
The length requirement is two to three hundred
words and we are delighted to help write your story,
if you so request.
Sincere thanks - The Character Business Team
In 60 Seconds Newsletter...
Honesty
and the 360 Degree Leadership Assessment
In the March newsletter we talked about honesty in the workplace
and received some really interesting letters! Your insights are
featured in Our Readers Speak Up! section. Thank
you and keep those cards and letters (actually emails!) coming
– we are enjoying a rich conversation.
In recent
months we have administered and coached extensively using our
Leadership
by Engagement 360° Assessment™
Completing
an anonymous assessment is a very specific kind of honesty – it
is about perspective. People don’t always know your intention –
they only see your behaviour/skill and are on the receiving end
of the impact. And, there is no option for a two way discussion.
This means that the person being assessed must completely understand
the implications of this choice.
There is often (I would say always, from my observation) rich
information arising from the assessment. The benefits are that
you can see the trends, the specific behaviours that people perceive
as either your strengths or, in contrast, identify a skill to
think about. Often “blind spots” are revealed which can be very
helpful in clarifying why you experienced certain results. Frequently
an issue is confirmed which had been ignored in the past.
The
downside is that once in a while an assessor will write something
blunt or assess in an overly harsh manner. It is advisable to study
the trends rather than one specific comment or score.
The debrief session is very important as people often focus
on the areas of improvement rather than the positive scores and
comments. A good coach will encourage you to focus on your strengths
and how to further leverage them in order to achieve the results
you are targeting.
360
Best Practices
- This assessment
is best used for developmental purposes rather than part of
the appraisal process
- You and your leader
choose a good bank of assessors who possess different viewpoints
- Only the individual
and the coach see the report. The leader collaborates with the
person being assessed on their Individual Development Plan which
results from the report
- The resulting development
plan should have two components: identification and further
leveraging of strengths and two or three areas of improvement.
Our assessment focuses
on the leader as a coach. A person who can clarify the culture,
respect themselves and others, harness conflict and build trust.
Please contact us if you would like more information on the assessment
tool and how we would administer the process in your organization.
Please
write to us with your experiences with this type of assessment
in your organization.
60 seconds has elapsed
- here is some additional information if you would like to continue
reading...
Our Readers Speak Up!
Here
are the letters from last months newsletter. Thank you to all contributors.
"Concerning Honesty,
I would like to add these words in your next issue:
A good friend from
Philadelphia (Dr. Glen Miller, Harleysville, PA), taught me a
lesson more than three years ago about honesty and feedback that
I have found very useful. As a consultant, he would use a simple
process of delivering feedback by saying what he observed and
what impact the observed action had on the given event. The observation
was delivered without malice in such a way that the individual
receiving the feedback knew exactly what was positive or constructive
without the consultant having to say another word. Typically,
I noticed that each recipient would "thank" the consultant for
honest feedback even though he had given only the observation
and a statement of results. It was interesting to me because the
process seemed so simple and garnered such amazing respect. Whenever
I think about honesty and valued input, I always remember his
example and try to keep my client observations simple and direct.
Often, the results are accented by a quick turnaround for all
individuals concerned because the client provided his or her own
judgment and corrective action. And, isn't that exactly what we
wanted in the first place?"
Eric J. Erickson
Northeast Utilities
107 Selden Street
Berlin-Main, BMNG-HR
Berlin, CT 06037
"Thought
I would share my thoughts on 'honesty in the workplace'. As mentioned
by you in your article, "explaining constructively when there is
a performance gap" and "asking openly for the "other side of the
story" when something goes awry" are two key aspects for honesty
to be valued and add value. However, in my experience they are also
two aspects that most people find hard to do. Constructive feedback
is not something that is happening as much as it should and people
also tend to make up their own minds even when they do as for the
'other side of the story'. This can be seen at the higher levels
of many organizations, and can be a demotivating factor for employees
who realize that the leaders / supervisors don't really 'walk the
talk'.
I have personally experienced the both aspects of this is prior
workplaces and firmly believe that honesty as described in your
newsletter is the way to go in any organization."
Authorship
confidential "My business is in
Image Consulting and I work with people to help them to market
themselves through their appearance and as well I help people
discover who they truly are, by bringing out their personality,
their power and their confidence through the way they dress.
For one thing, I find
most people are not honest with themselves and hide behind their
appearance, therefore, they do not let their true power show and
often sabotage their success.
Also, I have to be
honest with my clients too if I want them to truly benefit from
my services. I find that gently stating the truth with their best
interest in mind, works because it is surrounded with a caring
attitude. Every single time, it has been what that person has
needed to hear and they understood exactly what the next step
needs to be.
I also lead a Mastermind
group, and our policy is "Truth and Honesty." Speaking your truth
is important because if we enable members to keep on their track
of hiding behind excuses, then what is the point of even being
in the group, when we formed it to move ahead and be accountable
to one another? I have made it clear though, that if someone feels
hurt by a comment, then there is time at the end to approach the
other person and CLEAR any negative feelings. Again, since all
comments are made with honesty, sincerity and an attitude of caring,
we are often hear what is needed in that moment.
To me, one can be honest
without being cruel and in order to have better communication,
I think we have to step up to the plate more often with our honesty.
Thank you for your work in bringing this into business."
Karen Dorland
Image Connections
Thank you for your contributions, please keep them coming!
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