Tag Archives: environment

Peace on earth (or at least your little corner of it)

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Peace on earth may seem like a tall order, given the state of the world. However, there are ways you can foster a more peaceful climate in your organization. In this context, peace means a calm, nonviolent and civil (at the bare minimum) workplace. Why bother? As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to do what we can to encourage productivity. Peace of mind eliminates distractions, creates focus and clarity and allows people to bring urgency to the important work at hand.

To create more peace in your corner of the world, try these strategies:

Start with you. Manage your own emotions before you expect it of others. As Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence guru, says, you need to be intelligent about emotions rather than acting from them. Don’t bottle up feelings, and seek wise counsel if you feel that your emotions control your behavior.

Confront unacceptable behavior. Set and enforce standards for civility and care, regardless of the degree of frustration or emotional intensity.

Uncover pockets of disharmony. Your people will disagree and argue, and that can be extremely fruitful. However, when disagreements turn personal or ugly, or when it’s a daily ritual without resolution, you need to get involved. If necessary, bring in a neutral party who can help the warriors resolve their issues and set new guidelines for disagreeing well.

Keep peacefulness on the front burner. Use a visual cue to remind you of how important it is to maintain inner peace and outer harmony.

Creating peace in your organization doesn’t mean that you hold group meditation sessions or create bizarre rituals. It may mean taking two minutes at the start of each day to center yourself and think of what really matters. Encourage others to do likewise. You have the ability to contribute to a workplace culture that enhances a person’s life, rather than decreasing its quality. “If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another” (Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama).



Most rules are unnecessary and some are really dumb

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Let’s just clear this up, for those of you who are rule followers: Yes, there are a few rules that organizations need in order to comply with the law and create necessary structure and standards. Other than a scant supply of dictates, what more do you really need? (Even Moses came back down the mountain with only 10 commandments!)

The whole question of rules was reinforced by a blog called “What Every Manager Should Know About Managing Gen Y.” It advised leaders to create ‘Gen Y-friendly rules.” In fact, the authors recommend that you review all rules that people seem to try to work around.

Better yet, put all rules on the chopping block. Start with these:

Rules you can’t or won’t enforce. If people are breaking a rule right and left, ditch it. Either it’s impossible to enforce or the organizational will isn’t there. Lack of enforcement promotes cynicism and apathy about rules in general, even the ones you really need.

Rules that upper management folks break. If rules apply to some and not to others, get rid of them. Selective enforcement of the rules contributes to a toxic work environment.

Rules that don’t help you achieve your goals. We could insist that all of our staff maintain X hours of office time. We don’t because we realize that time in the office has little, if any, relationship to our goal – delighted clients. Keep your eyes on the prize and only create rules that are necessary for achieving it.

Rules that are micromanagement in disguise. Rules that tell people what to do and how to do it should raise alarm bells. Instead of dictating the “whats” and “hows,” only require that people orient towards the right goals and adhere to your ethical standards. Then let them exercise judgment and creativity in their work.

There are some pretty outrageous rules out there, if online postings are to be believed. Even if your policies don’t include a requirement that you give 2-weeks’ notice before dying, you may want to review your list. There may be some oppressive or just unnecessary rules that are doing your organization more harm than good.

Lots of rules may be an indicator that you’re spending way too much time on the activity of work – what you will DO. When your focus in on what you will ACHIEVE, you need fewer rules. Organizations can’t dictate their way into success – that requires an unrelenting focus on where you’re going and the crucial few non-negotiable rules that will help you get there.

Have a question about this topic or want some input from Humanergy? Contact us!

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng


Is your organization a great place to work?

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happysunWhat response would you get if you asked employees how it feels to work at your organization? “Not bad” or “depends on the day” might be among the answers. Humanergy recently asked its employees what they thought, and their unanimous response was, “This is a great place to work!”

Okay, we are a very small business. We don’t have hundreds of employees. Maybe you’re thinking, the more employees, the more likely you’ll have disgruntled ones. Maybe.

We think that building and nurturing a great place to work can be a reality, no matter what the size of the organization. We cultivate our positive work environment through four fundamentals:

Be transparent. We say this a lot, and it bears repeating. We value and practice open communication. As a team, we share everything from financial data to vacation stories. We share personal struggles and work challenges. When good things happen, we celebrate together. One employee noted in our recent survey, “I know I can speak frankly with my team and they can speak frankly with me.” Another said, “[Open and honest communication] takes work and is a conscious choice.”

Share the same big picture. We have a set of goals called our TrueSuccess. One of these goals is to make a real difference in the world. Rather than being lofty and unrealistic, the aspiration to make a difference keeps us grounded on what is really important. We approach each phone call, coaching session, email and meeting with the right attitude. We walk away from each encounter asking, “Did I do my best to make a positive impact on that person? What could I do better next time?”

Think and act like owners. We’ve evolved from a two-person partnership to a group of people who make decisions that are in the best interests of our clients and the company. The owners consistently encourage all employees to “think and act like owners.”  They’re not just saying the words. They know that each person’s actions do impact the organization’s outcomes. All employees are empowered to seek input as needed and make decisions that are supportive of the greater good. Goodbye, bureaucratic minutia! Hello, great decisions!

Make good stuff better. Feedback, feedback, feedback. Our success is built on improving as individuals and as an organization. We give immediate feedback and resolve conflicts right away. We use a “24-hour” rule, which means that issues need to be communicated directly to the person within 24 hours. This minimizes distraction, resolves issues and allows everyone to move forward. We regularly acknowledge successes, growth and performance gaps. One Humanergy employee noted in the survey, “We have high standards of performance because our clients have high expectations.”

Oddly enough, we don’t talk a lot about issues of morale and organizational climate. Maybe Dwight Eisenhower was right when he said, “The best morale exists when you never hear the word mentioned.” We focus on the fundamentals, and periodically seek formal feedback on how we’re doing.

Ready to make your organization a great place to work? Start by finding out what your people think now. One low-cost resource is surveymonkey.com, but there are lots of user-friendly options for surveying staff. Want tips for where to begin? Just email Humanergy at info@humanergy.com.

Have a question or want some input from Humanergy about this topic? Contact us and we’ll get right back to you!