Harnessing Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Model for Organizational Success

 

Leadership And The Lost Art Of Listening

 I heard Richard Branson on the Diane Rehm show, and he spoke about something extremely important for successful leadership: listening. I find Branson’s comments on listening to be spot-on:

“I think not enough business leaders know the art of listening. They love to hear their own voices. And I was fortunate to learn from a young age that other people — by listening to other people, you learn an awful lot more than by listening to yourself.” — Richard Branson

From my experience, listening is a lost art. This holds true particularly for leaders and entrepreneurs.

Why don’t leaders listen? Though Branson jokes that they love to hear their own voices, there are two main reasons. For one, we are never taught how to carefully listen. And secondly, society sets leaders and entrepreneurs up to be expected to have all the answers.

In this clip from my interview with Cornell University, I talk about the three levels of listening, and how leaders can develop relationships and trust if they are able to use all three. I also talk about how important it is for leaders to ask questions. Asking and listening go hand in hand.

Do you find that you are good at fully listening to others? Is listening to a challenge for you? I’d love to hear your ideas about why listening may be difficult for leaders. Also, if you have experience working on your listening skills, let us know what steps you have taken.

Read the full transcript of Richard Branson’s interview on the Diane Rehm here.

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Why I’m A Hypocrite And My Challenge With Mental Energy

 

I’m a hypocrite. There, I said it.

Leadership, both personal and professional, is an energy game. But it takes more than physical energy for peak performance. Leaders need abundant physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy to manage their stress and perform their best. And just like professional athletes, leaders need to train properly, regularly and on purpose to achieve the results they’re after. I help leaders do just that in Lunch & Learns, half-day workshops and even 8-week online courses.

 

 So here I was—teaching leaders how to balance their energy—yet grinding my teeth at night. Waking up in the middle of the night with my heart racing, thinking about work and then getting up at 3am to answer emails. Snapping at my team for no reason, putting undue pressure on them.

I’m Good at Talking the Talk, But I Haven’t Been Walking the Walk

I was not walking the walk and practicing my own teachings. It was time to step back and assess what was going on. I was totally out of whack! So I did an energy assessment of myself, just like I would for a client.

My Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Energy Level Assessment

• Physical: I eat well and exercise regularly. My recent check-up showed that I had the physical energy of someone a decade younger.

• Emotional: My EQ is fairly high. When I’m not stressed, I can manage difficult situations and people with empathy and patience.

• Spiritual: I know my values and refer to them regularly.

• Mental: I have the attention span of a flea; I can’t focus on anything for more than a few minutes, and my brain is on constant overdrive. No surprise that this is my weakest area. In fact, my husband calls me a shark, because I literally can’t sit down for more than an hour without jumping up to do something.

I Have the Attention Span of a Flea

Hmmm.. this is going to be a challenge. Ask me to run a marathon and I’ll train daily for it. Tell me to go gluten-free and I’m on a baking frenzy. Offer me the chance to work with emotional teams and I can’t wait. Tell me something ‘can’t be done’ and I will find a solution or at least a work-around. Yet, invite me to sit and read a book? I read the first chapter and then the last chapter (no joke) to save time. Buy me a cuppa? I’ll start getting antsy after 30 minutes. So working on my mental energy to improve my focus is going to be hard.

Very hard.

My Shark-Like Behavior Was Impacting My Family and Team

 

Yet I had to do it. Not only was my shark-like behavior impacting my sleep, it was also impacting my team and family. In addition, I felt like a total hypocrite. It’s like Ellen Page saying she had to come out while filming Freeheld; I can’t teach energy management and not practice it myself.

So where to begin on this journey?

I Started With My Limiting Beliefs

First, I had to look at my limiting beliefs, or the things I thought were true that held me back from changing my behaviors. In general, our society is addicted to activity, and rewards constant busyness. We applaud the person who pulled the all-nighter; we recognize the person who stayed late to get the job done. Yet there is no such fanfare for the person who leaves at 5pm; in fact, those people are ridiculed in certain organizational cultures as weak or not team players. In addition, it’s frowned upon to take all your vacation time or take any downtime at all.

This perception is problematic for many reasons but one of those reasons is factual. The University of California put out some interesting research on the upsides of downtime. The research says:

“You can’t think without space. If you’re always doing something, there’s no way to get anything new into your mind; there’s no way to reach new conclusions.”

Why? Because unstructured time stimulates the ‘default mode network’ part of the brain, where creativity and problem solving happen. When we perform any task at all, no matter how small, our brain switches to the ‘executive network control’, which is related to deductive reasoning. So it’s when we sit back and let our minds wander, that the creative ‘default mode’ kicks in.

Even Though I Fully Knew the Benefits of Downtime, I Was at Super-Shark Speed

My limiting belief was that ‘downtime is for wimps’. The research proved me wrong. My mind was buying into the idea but my body was resisting. Even though I fully knew the benefits of downtime, I was at super-shark speed, racing around the house to get things done.

What would I tell a client in my position? I’d tell them they needed to practice downtime.

I’m a kinesthetic learner, which means I need to touch something to learn it well. So I had to find a role model to physically, literally show me what down time looks like. I had no idea how to ‘do’ downtime.

 

 

Thankfully, I didn’t have to look too far: my husband. He cherishes his downtime; I don’t mean just an hour here or there. He is fully committed to detox Sundays, where he just kicks back and reads the newspaper…the old fashioned thing made from trees. He totally unplugs and sometimes won’t even get in a car.

I Started My Practice Small, Slowly Building Mental Muscle

So I started small. I sat down for 15 minutes to read a magazine. Then I got up to plan my work for the week. Then I sat down for 20 minutes to close my eyes on the couch. Then I jumped up, feeling guilty that I hadn’t wrapped the holiday gifts. Then I allowed myself to watch a TV show, once all the ‘work had been done’. Little by little, week after week, I taught myself to chill. Stare out a window. Pet our cats. Listen to music. Snuggle in bed with our daughter. Sit on a plane without compulsively checking email. It was torture. I wanted to jump out of my skin. I wanted to do something, anything, please give me a task! Yet, I knew that I was slowly building a muscle, just like going to the gym.

I Taught Myself to Chill

And the impact was clear, both at home and work. At home, I was more patient and easier to be around. I stopped grinding my teeth and actually slept through the whole night. At work, I started enjoying writing again. It was no longer a chore. The ideas flowed out of me and actually became my most popular leadership posts, such as this one on surfing and this one on EQ. And my best product ideas and client ideas came from daydreaming out the window.

The best part? I no longer feel like a hypocrite. I’m a leader who inspires other leaders to manage their energy, all of it, for peak performance.

Do you think you need more practice managing your physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual energy? I’d love to hear what challenges you have and how you face those challenges.

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Using Growth Mindset for Career Success

 

In today’s rapidly advancing world, continual learning is a given. In the future, people are less likely to be hired for what they “know” and more likely to be hired for their ability to learn what they “don’t know”.

Why is continual learning important to you? According to a survey conducted by Evolution:

• 96% people see a positive impact of continual learning on job performance

• 78% people see continual learning as a factor in promotions and career advancement

• 87% people say continual learning correlates with increases in compensation and salary

So how do you create a habit of continual learning? One way is to apply Growth Mindset, which is finding yourself in a new situation and not knowing what to do – but then figuring it out.

What is Growth Mindset?

Growth Mindset a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself. It influences how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation. People with growth mindset see failure as an opportunity to grow. They see challenges as a path toward growth and let their effort and attitude determine their abilities. They are inspired by the success of their team members and take feedback as a constructive way of improvement.

Source: Fixed v. Growth Mindset. “Mindset” by CarolDweck | Medium |

Beliefs and Behaviors of Growth Mindset Leaders

Leaders with growth mindset put growth first and unite the business goals around it. They back the risktakers, knowing there is a possibility of failure. The focus is toward action rather than perfection. These leaders infuse those around them with a purpose.

What sets a leader with purpose apart from one without purpose? There are three core elements for experiencing purpose: positive impact on others, personal development, and delivery of work through strong relationships. A purpose-driven leader fosters these experiences for her team and has a mission for her work. This mission is something that every team member knows because it’s communicated repeatedly by the leader.

Working with a growth mindset involves delegating work and having confidence in the people around you. Delegation goes beyond just handing off the job. It includes setting performance expectations, accountability, and providing feedback.

Breaking the Fixed Mindset

The most important factor when building a growth mindset is seeing the value in your journey. When the focus is just fixed on the end result, you miss out on all the things you could be learning during the journey.

If you’re not able to perform a certain task or activity, remember that you just haven’t become an expert in it yet. By using the power of “yet”, you can overcome many obstacles. Mistakes are one of the best ways to learn, so, instead of running away from challenges, take them head-on.

Tips to Build a Growth Mindset

Here are three tips to build a growth mindset:

• Counter stressful situations: Much of the anxiety we experience is due to the uncertainty caused by things outside our control. The best way to combat that is to focus on the things we can control – like our effort, our attitude, and how we treat people.

• Adapt to change: Sometimes the wave of change is headed your way full force whether you’re ready or not. You can either let the wave crash against you, knock you down and pull you under, or you can face the same direction the wave is headed and catch a ride to shore. Make the decision to ride the wave and accept the change.

• Keep a watch on non-verbal emotional cues: Often people express one thing verbally, but their body is telling a completely different story. So, focus on the non-verbals while communicating with others.

Have you worked with a colleague or leader who has a Growth Mindset? How did it effect you and the organization?

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Leadership in the Zone – How to Fully Engage Emotionally

Leadership in the Zone – How to Fully Engage Emotionally

The fully engaged leader can harness and expand his or her physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy. Last week, we talked about the importance of physical energy for the fully engaged leader.

This week, expert Tom Ward, founder, and principal of Next Level will discuss emotional energy—what it is, why it is important and how to expand it.

How to Fully Engage Emotionally

Guest post by Tom Ward

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in life is that lasting happiness has humble origins. For me, it starts with gratitude. Yes, gratitude. For the people in my life – my family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances – and the abundance I’ve been afforded.

Before I attended the Corporate Athlete® course at the Human Performance Institute, I had the good fortune to meet Shawn Achor and read his book, The Happiness Advantage. In the book, which is rooted in the emergent discipline of positive psychology, Shawn discusses how the set a goal–work hard–achieve the goal–be happy formula for happiness simply doesn’t work.

Paraphrasing Shawn, “after achieving a goal, the goal posts simply get pushed farther away making continued happiness harder to achieve and maintain.” The key to happiness, he says, is to re-write the happiness formula as follows, be happy–set a goal–work hard–achieve the goal. Research shows that Shawn’s approach not only yields greater and lasting happiness but also yields greater achievements and, more importantly, stronger relationships.

So how do we re-write our happiness formulas? For me, as I’ve said, it starts with gratitude. For you, it may start elsewhere. Before recommending some strategies, you might use to help you re-write your formula, it’s instructive to review some emotional energy fundamentals.

Emotions Matrix

Every emotion we experience has a purpose. Some emotions, to be sure, are not the most pleasant or productive. Nonetheless, all of them serve some function. For me, understanding the nature of emotional energy provides useful guidance for how to better manage it.

The following matrix is from the Corporate Athlete® Course and it portrays emotional energy. On the Y-axis is the quantity of energy – low to high. And, on the X-axis, is the quality of energy – negative to positive.

When we’re in the low-negative quadrant, we need to be mindful of disengagement and burn out. Being in this quadrant is sometimes necessary, yet staying here can be harmful.

High-negative energy often results in emotional hijacking and fight or flight behaviors. Staying in this quadrant too long can be toxic.

I like to think of low-positive energy as beach time, while high-positive energy is the energy of the extraordinary. When we think of applying the principal of oscillation (discussed in the last post), it’s ideal to think of oscillating between high-positive and low-positive emotional energy.

© Human Performance Institute Division of Wellness & Prevention, Inc.

Three Strategies to Foster a More Positive Mindset

Armed with knowledge of the fundamentals of emotional energy, what are some strategies we can employ to foster a more positive, happiness-inclined mindset?

1. Journaling

My favorite strategy is gratitude journaling, as it serves to ground my thinking in the here and now, the positive, and the abundance of my life. Here’s what I do. I grab my journal and find a quiet room, often my home office. Then I write two or three sentences about three people or experiences for which I am truly grateful. I do this three times each week, trying not to repeat any entry. I share my entries with my significant other on a routine basis, and she shares hers with me. The sharing part is key for me because the two of us get to know each other more fully and our relationship deepens through our sharing.

2. Mindfulness

If journaling isn’t your thing, I have friends who find mindfulness meditation helpful. Others use deep breathing as a means for calming the body and reorienting the mind. I find exercise of any kind keeps me in a positive frame of mind.

3. Acts of Kindness

Another exceptionally effective strategy is performing conscious acts of kindness. While random acts of kindness (e.g., opening the door for a stranger) are useful too, consciously, and purposefully performing acts of kindness is a particularly effective strategy for promoting positivity and wellbeing. Some examples might include calling your fifth-grade teacher and thanking her for the patience she modelled during your formative years; writing a former colleague and thanking him for teaching you how to be a better team member; or helping a neighbor paint the trim on her house. There are countless opportunities.

Lasting happiness and positive emotional energy begin with the awareness of what it takes to get there. The right formula is essential. So is having an effective strategy and executing it repeatedly.

Stay tuned for next week when we will dive into the next level of the pursuit of fully engaged leadership: the expansion of mental energy.

In the meantime, is emotional energy something you actively cultivate? Have you experimented with the strategies outlined above? We’d love to hear about your experience.

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Engaging Employees Through Sustainability

 

So you want to start an employee engagement program? BBMG recently released a white paper that addresses sustainability as an organizational core value, which not only helps the planet but also increases employee engagement. Their rationale is that having this type of transcendent vision gives employees purpose and empowerment, if executed correctly.

BBMG’s data links sustainability to the rising Millennial generation (born between 1980-2000), including:

·         86% of Millennials would consider leaving an employer whose social responsibility values no longer reflected their own.

·         79% of Millennials would likely accept a job at an eco-friendly company over a conventional one.

·         About 55% of men and women under 30 believe it’s very or extremely important to work for a company that is socially and environmentally responsible.

BBMG provides some guidance on how to create a sustainability strategy that engages employees at all levels and generations. After partnering with Wal-Mart to create a global platform for an employee sustainability program, they were able to share the content with other organizations and individuals around the world. There are too many tips to list here, so I highly suggest reading their white paper to learn more.

Some of the interesting and most important phases of setting up a sustainability program were:

1. Make the strategy actionable and flexible

·         When working with Wal-Mart, BBMG created 12 broad categories of actions that employees could choose from. Though some employees may be extremely proactive, others may be unsure where to start, so give concrete actions that employees can engage in.

·         Flexibility comes by creating different phases that are slowly rolled out during the program. If your organization is geographically dispersed, let each branch define how they interpret those phases.

2. Make it rewarding

·         BBMG suggests creating friendly competitions and quirky rewards.

3. Internal communications are key

·         Create brown-bag lunch series, employee webinars, or breakfast panels.

·         Place communication material in areas where employees gather; the lunchroom, restrooms and elevators are popular spots.

4. Celebrate success

·         This could be the most important part of the program. How are you measuring success? Do you have a baseline? Success stories, small and large, are what spur engagement and motivation. How can you share these stories most effectively and also encourage employees to share their own? Facebook, intranets, email newsletters, company blogs and social media outlets are some ideas.

·        What do you think? Is sustainability a good way to engage employees of all generations, including Millennials?

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Leadership in the Zone – How to Fully Engage Mentally

 

Being a fully engaged leader takes focus on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of our lives. As you saw in my last posts, I do well with the physical aspects. However, I’d give myself a B on the mental aspect; I can be easily distracted at times, especially when procrastinating on a project. When this happens, I have to consciously slow myself down to focus on the task at hand.

Mental energy is the energy of laser focus. It’s hallmark quality in humans is the capacity to be fully present. Not just physically present, but cognitively present as well. The Corporate Athlete® course by the Human Performance Institute teaches that full engagement requires complete presence, investing our full and best energy, right here, right now. The good news is that this ability can be acquired.

I’ve invited expert Tom Ward, founder, and principal of NextLevel, to help me explain the importance of mental energy and how to improve it.

Does Multitasking Work?

Have you ever tried carrying on a meaningful conversation with your significant other, child, or best friend while watching TV? Were either of you distracted by the TV? Did either of you become annoyed by the other’s distraction by the TV? In this situation, what are you saying to the other person when you become distracted by the TV? That the TV program is more important than the conversation and/or the person you are conversing with?

One cardinal rule regarding multitasking is: don’t multitask when people, safety, or important matters are at hand. Relationships and outcomes both improve when we focus our attention on one thing at a time. Yet, as we all know, multitasking isn’t always detrimental. For example, folding laundry while watching TV seems just fine. The key is to train ourselves to know when it’s not okay.

How to Become More Focused

What are some effective techniques for cultivating greater presence and focus?

High on the list are meditation, journaling, visualization, and yoga. If you’ve never tried meditating, you might be surprised by its coincident ease and difficulty.

Using Meditation to Become More Focused

Let’s start with meditation. Here is what Tom Ward has to say about using meditation to become more focused:

Try the following. In a quiet room, sit comfortably in a straight-backed chair. Close by, set a kitchen or smartphone timer for three minutes. With your feet on the floor and hands in your lap, start the timer and gently close your eyes. Bring your attention to your breath. Observe your breath as you inhale and exhale. Don’t attempt to manage your breathing; simply observe it. When your attention wanders from concentrating on your breathing (and it will), simply acknowledge that it has wandered and gently return your attention to it once again. When the timer goes off, open your eyes, and answer these questions:

·        What did it feel like to meditate?

·        Was it easy or difficult?

·        How many times did your attention wander from your breath?

·        Was it easy to return your attention to your breath?

I’ve been meditating off and on for many years, and sometimes I find that my concentration just wanders more than normal. And, it’s not always easy for me to return my attention to the ebb and flow of my normal breathing. Darned monkey mind!

As challenging as meditation can be at times, I find it particularly helpful in calming my mind and body. I’m more focused, sleep better and feel more alert when I wake. Another bonus I’ve discovered is that my workouts tend to be better when I’ve meditated earlier in the day.

Using Journaling to Become More Focused

Journaling can also help you stay focused because it helps you release the chatter from your brain. While journaling can mean writing for 20 minutes at a time on a regular basis, that may be too much for busy leaders who are learning this skill. Here are some ideas to clear your mind if journaling is new for you:

·        When you feel your mind getting full, grab paper and pen or pencil and just write down everything on your mind (research indicates writing with a pen/pencil tends to make the thoughts written more “real” by engaging multiple areas of the brain simultaneously). This brain dump then helps clear your mind so you can focus on the task at hand. Once the task is complete, then go back and sort the brain dump into your priority lists for the next week.

·        If words are not your preferred choice of expression, doodle or draw pictures on paper or a tablet instead. This is known as a visual brain dump. If you find yourself enjoying this, then get some markers, sharpies, and other colorful tools to help you clear your brain regularly.

·        If you’re a hands-on person, Tubers and Zots and Legos are fun ways to clear your head while physically engaging your hands. It is also a great way to engage others in the office kitchen or community room. People love to pick these things up and mindlessly play with them as a way to give their brain a break!

·        Are you a musical person? Then use musical apps or tools to clear your mind.

Go ahead and try any and all of these tools at your own pace. The goal is not to become overwhelmed with focus exercises; that will only lead to more distraction, and an even longer to-do list. Instead, find the best tool for clearing your mind, and practice it regularly to build your skills at staying present and focused.

Remember, the key to being fully engaged mentally is learning to manage your mental energy. Doing one thing at a time is a great start. Cultivating a skill to calm the mind on a regular basis will help you engage your full leadership.

Next week, we will discuss managing spiritual energy, which is fed by our physical, emotional, and mental energy sources. Your spiritual energy will give you the force you need to live and lead the life you want.

In the meantime, have you had success with meditation, journaling, or yoga? Is there an activity you can point to that has made a drastic improvement in your ability to remain focused?

Image from Tony Bustos, The Arizona Republic

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