7 Keys to Culture in the Workplace – Understanding
Friday, October 20, 2017 - Joe Kiedinger
Understanding is our first “U” in delivering a deliberate C.U.L.T.U.R.E.
This word is used casually in our lives.
Kids often use the statement, “You just don’t understand.”
At work it sounds this way, “Oh, I did not understand what you meant.”
To understand is to dig deeper. To truly understand your child, you must understand their world: social media, digital, gaming, lack of privacy, etc. Their world is not what your world was. You may have been fourteen in 1984, but you were never fourteen in the year 2017! It’s harder now.
The same goes with employees. To truly understand where an employee is coming from one must dive into their perspective. Companies that have a rich culture really know their people—at least every manager knows each unique person on their team. Real conversations on understanding need to be had. Not just when a person makes a mistake.
Speaking of mistakes, this is an obvious opportunity to discuss this topic when mistakes do occur. I’ve come to realize that the majority of mistakes come from misunderstandings. We must know what motivates each person, where their strengths are, and truly help them connect their gifts with their current role.
For example, there are people who learn quickly. They love tasks and have a natural ability to connect quickly and execute. On the other hand, there are very talented people who need more time understanding the task, but once they do, make excellent trainers and executors of the task. These folks make excellent mentors.
We all have our likes and dislikes, gifts, and challenges. Let’s be transparent and talk about it. Only in the valleys of a relationship can true understanding emerge!
So how do you get better at understanding people? We use our proprietary invention called dignify (www.dignify.com). It reveals in minutes what drives a person: their WHY, WHAT and HOW; why they behave the way they do, what motivates them, and how to communicate with them effectively.
Companies who have a great culture use technology to better understand their people to get the conversation started. They allow for short, but meaningful dialogue around these values. When a company’s values align with an individual’s values, it results in high engagement. It’s a starting point.
I encourage you to take a step in getting to know your team. Doing something is better than doing nothing. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does need to be a focus in today’s workforce.
Joe
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