Research has shown that people perform better if they take time to create checklists that break their work down into necessary tasks. Here is an approach we recommend. Make a list of those individuals whom you count on you in order to do your work well and the individuals who count on you in order to do their work well. Think of these people as your “Critical Connections.” Strengthening your relationship with them is, in addition to making checklists, another key to achieving excellence in your work.
Tag Archives: teams
Get to Know Colleagues’ and Customers’ Stories
Here’s a stirring video from Chick-fil-A to remind us that every human being has a story. In our endeavors to develop Connection Cultures we encourage people who work together to get to know one another’s stories and to reach out and learn customers’ stories, if at all possible. Learning the stories of the people in your life is just one aspect of Human Value, the second element of a Connection Culture. When you know a person’s story, it helps you empathize and connect with them. It’s also more difficult to grow extremely disconnected with someone when you know their story.
Vince Lombardi on Broadway?
It takes guts to bring a drama to Broadway these days without a megastar playing the lead. To top it off, the producers of the show Lombardi promise to reveal why the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers football team was so successful. Lots of luck with that, I thought, when I first read about the show. My curiosity got the best of me, however, once I learned that Lombardi was based on one of my favorite sports biographies, David Maraniss’ When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi.
Do Women Bring More Happiness to Families, Greater Effectiveness to Organizations?
A participant in a recent session Jason Pankau and I were teaching on Connection Cultures and employee engagement shared that she connects with her sons by talking about sports. She follows sports, not out of a love for it, but because it gives her a language to connect with her boys. By contrast, her conversations with women tend to be about what happens in their day-to-day lives.
Her comments reminded me of a recent article in The New York Times entitled “Why Sisterly Chats Make People Happier.” The article noted research has concluded families with sisters are happier. The article’s author believes this is true because women initiate and sustain conversations more than men.
This is consistent with my own personal observations.
Servant Leaders Outperform Because They Connect
Servant leaders connect with the people they lead and create Connection Cultures that are essential to achieve sustainable superior performance. Connection is defined as a bond that exists among a group of people based on shared identity, empathy and understanding that moves self–centered individuals toward group-centered membership. Here’s an example of a servant leader that brings the force of connection to life.
Retired CNO Admiral Vern Clark was formerly the chief of the U.S. Navy from 2000 until 2005. When Admiral Clark became the chief, first term re-enlistment didn’t meet the Navy’s goal of 38 percent. Within a little more than a year, it soared from under 38 percent to 56.7 percent and the Navy had more sailors that it needed. Although I don’t have space in this article to tell you all of what Admiral Clark did, his actions can be summarized in three words: Vision, Value and Voice.
Free Connection and Employee Engagement Webinar Oct. 21, 22
Learn why U2, Apple, Pixar and other great teams and organizations thrive as Jason Pankau and I present a one-hour webinar on the force of connection and how it impacts employee engagement for Toolbox for HR on Oct. 21 and for individuals in Pacific time zones on Oct. 22.
The webinar will focus on the six universal human needs to thrive at work, the three elements of a Connection Culture that boost employee engagement and strategic alignment, and select best practices of great leaders who connect with and engage the individuals they lead. You can sign up for the free webinar at the links below:
Oct. 21 from 12:00 PM until 1:00 PM EDT: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/980065897
Pacific Friendly Webinar on Oct. 22 at 6:30 AM Friday (Mumbai), 12:00 PM Friday (Sydney), or Oct. 21 from 9:00 PM until 10:00 PM EDT (U.S.): https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/128615569
Podcasts, Webcasts, Articles on Employee Engagement and Connection
Tomorrow I will be doing a podcast interview with Rena Reese on her Soul Salon program. We will be talking about Connection Cultures, employee engagement, employee motivation and other ideas in Fired Up or Burned Out. You can listen live and call in to participate at 1:00 PM Eastern. Here’s the link.
We have podcasts and webcasts scheduled with organizations including Giant Impact (TBD), the New Talent Management Network (11/16) and the Corporate Executive Board’s Toolbox for HR (10/20). Soon we expect to announce podcasts or webcasts with the Human Capital Institute and HSM.
Just to mention it, several articles on Connection Cultures were published are now available in online versions.
Outlook Business for Decision Makers (India) “Connect with Them”
The Economic Times (India) “Has SAS Institute’s Chairman Jim Goodnight Cracked the Code of Corporate Culture?”
Leader to Leader Journal (U.S.) “To Boost Performance, Connect with the Core.”
Hiring Smart (Canada) “The Case for Connection at Work“
New Employee Engagement Articles in India, Canada
Outlook Business magazine in India and HiringSmart.com in Toronto published articles on connection, employee engagement and alignment. The articles are entitled, respectively, “Connect With Them” and “The Case for Connection at Work.”
Employee Engagement on Triple Bottom Line Radio
The Pride Paradox
Michael Lee Stallard and Jason Pankau
In a recent post, I (Michael) wrote about a leader who imparted his values to the people he was responsible for leading at work and to his children. In this post, we’ll address the “pride paradox” that relates to values.
Imparting one’s values to others and judging them based on their values has the potential to create a culture of self-righteousness and legalism. Mark Twain alluded to this when he described some people as “good in the worst sense of the word.”
Don’t get us wrong, great leaders impart their values to others and judge others by their values. Herein lies the paradox. Some leaders who do this fail to develop what is arguably the most important character value: humility.