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In 60 Seconds ~ January 2009 |
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Kathleen is the 2009 President of the Canadian
Association of Professional Speakers, Toronto Chapter.
Click Here for meeting information. Your Workplace Annual Conference
Lois and Kathleen are speaking at the Your Workplace
Annual Conference in Ottawa.
Click here to read the first
chapter of Kathleen's New Book Click here to visit our store and purchase Leadership by Engagement. LeaderTalk Please Click Here to visit our website! |
This is a challenging time. Headlines further dramatize a challenging situation. We all know of people losing their jobs and companies closing. Our life savings have been diminished. Every day we are tensed up waiting for more bad news. Can this be the best way to meet our organizational goals in challenging times? Of course not! We can't permit this tension to paralyze and separate us. Or allow concerns about our personal situation to incite conflict. This is a time to truly exceed customer expectations and create deeper loyalty. The time is ripe to ensure that your team is breathing deeply, focused in one direction and mutually supportive. A recently published study reveals that the most common causes of conflict are “warring egos and personality clashes (86%), poor leadership (73%), lack of honesty (67%), stress (64%), and clashing values (59%). The authors state that “while negative outcomes are common, well managed conflict can result in improved working relationships, help drive creativity, and produce major innovations.”* In the last few months we have had the privilege of working with leaders who courageously chose to assess the level of engagement and unearth any negative conflict on their teams. These leaders decided to openly discuss the current situation, encourage team members to articulate their concerns, focus on what is possible during times such as this, develop strategies for more powerful engagement, increased morale, sharper alignment and mutual support. Debra Scott, President & CEO of the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce, recently led her team through one of our half day session. “Even though we had a good starting point the session was very beneficial and entirely worth the time. We learned about ourselves and each other, confronted key challenges and created a strategy for focus, support and ongoing authentic communication. In order to thrive we must exceed the expectations of our members and everyone must be on board to ensure that outcome. We are relieved and energized.”
Intentional Act of Character Hats off to the courageous leaders who can listen to and value perspectives that are surprising and unexpected. People don't tell the truth when they are fearful of negative consequences. And what a loss for leaders who require information in order to make good decisions. To be able to listen without debate, defensiveness or trying to “rescue” people from painful feelings demands an open mind, compassion and self control. It is no mean feat to understand each other, empathize and collaborate in order to generate mutually beneficial solutions. Innovation and progress are the fruits of these efforts.
"Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with
the people who are doing something you don't believe is right.” Two options for assessing your team.
Best wishes for high spirits, Lois Tori,
Don Cousens, * Warring Egos, Toxic Individuals, Feeble Leadership, A study of conflict in the Canadian workplace. Psychometrics Conflict Study. www.psychometrics.com |
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Centre for Character Leadership, Copyright © 2008 ~ 905.478.7962 ~ info@centreforcharacterleadership.com |
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