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Greetings!
It is hard to imagine that we are beginning the
third quarter of this year! Where does the time go?
Actually, it moves in its same steady pace, but as busy
people time seems to fly, especially if the work we are
doing is meaningful.
I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July
celebration and are now ready to embrace life's
opportunities as they are revealed to you.
Steve
A 'Difference Maker' Helps People Feel Significant and Valued
This is the fourth installment in our
series on attributes of a difference maker. In
previous
articles (see them at www.hanamuraconsulting.com)
we have looked at:
- Being a door opener
- Believing in others when they don't believe in
themselves
- Speaking up when you see injustices occur
This edition will focus on attribute number four:
- Helping people to feel they are significant and
have value
Prior to talking about what it means to
be significant, it is important to look at where this word
comes from, what it means and how do we position
this term as an important workplace dynamic.
Will Schultz, noted consultant,
facilitator, author and founder of the encounter group
movement tells us there are three phases to
establishing effective relationships with others:
inclusion, control, and openness. Each one of these
words has other terms that help us understand its
essence or importance. The word "inclusion" has as
its underlying meaning "significance". That is, in order
to become included, you must first feel significant. If
you don't feel included, Schultz would contend, you
might feel insignificant. Webster defines "significant"
as having or expressing meaning, often hidden
meaning; to be important or weighty.
A few months ago I was sitting in a
seminar conducted by Bruce Tulgan, the guru on
generational differences. He was talking about the
group known as Generation Y (those persons who
were born between 1980 and 2000) and why they feel
they need the corner office right now instead of
working their way up the ladder. Driven by a sense of
guilt over the effects of divorce, etc, the parents of Gen
Y (the Baby Boomers) sent their children to
counseling. Here Gen Y learned they were significant
and of value so when they show up on the job they
expect to be treated accordingly.
Further examination of this topic
reveals that it isn't just Gen Y that is concerned about
significance. Zig Zigler, noted author and public
speaker and Bob Buford, author of the book Half Time:
Changing Your Game Plan from Success to
Significance talk about the distinction between
success and significance. Both say that as we age,
the emphasis switches from thinking about being
successful to being significant. That is, we must be
involved with what is important. Success doesn't
necessarily breed significance say these men.
Employees in general want to know their work is
viewed as being important to peers and management.
Diversity and inclusion are words that
are often used to promote workplace harmony and
productivity. I would invite us to add the word
significance as a part of the conversation.
Significance is about how things feel, inclusion is
taking action and diversity is a process and an
outcome. The following illustration is a recent
example.
One week prior to the writing of this
newsletter our firm hosted a meeting with my
colleagues from the Diversity Collegium. We get
together twice a year to discuss the current trends and
needs of our profession. As a set up to the meeting
each person was asked to do some pre-work and
then to bring hard copies to the meeting so we could
review things more quickly. I wrote and asked if we
could do the review of each others work by e-mail prior
the meeting. The real reason for this request was so I
would be able to read it in advance instead of trying to
play catch up during the meeting. Much to my surprise
and pleasure, every single person responded by
submitting their comments before the meeting and I
was able to truly be present in the room.
During the course of the meeting, the
colleagues were able to visit my office to see how I do
my work on the computer. They learned about the
voice software I use (Jaws), how I use the Braille
display to help move the cursor on the computer, and
also gained some insight to the challenges I face
when trying to find my way through web sites. They
started asking questions about how I feel, what I need
to do and then commented on the need to make sure
they get things to me in advance.
So here is the continuum as I
listened to their responses. First, they were beginning
to understand the difference between being sighted
and my being blind (diversity awareness). Though
they've known me for years and have been helpful in
matters such as reading the menu to me or helping
me get from one place to another, on this occasion
their level of awareness dramatically increased.
Secondly, they acknowledged the
importance of submitting their thoughts/comments by
e-mail prior to the meeting (inclusion). I was able to
be an equal player in the room.
And third, the questions and
comments as they were viewing the computer
demonstration gave me the feeling that what was
important to me was now important to them
(significance). I was blown away because very rarely
are people attentive to my unique needs as a blind
person. The key here was they were doing it out of
respect for me and not out of compliance, tolerance or
politics.
So now let's look at where does
significance come from and how does one get it if they
don't experience it. First significance comes from
encouraging comments by family, friends, peers and
managers/supervisors. Secondly, the individual
needs to feel that what they do has value and is a
contribution to the business.
Group identity may also be very
influential in determining whether or not someone
feels significant or of value. In some cases there is a
differentiation of how people from different groups are
treated. Based on this treatment the individual may
experience difficulty in figuring out their significance as
an individual and as a member of a group in
relationship to how they are viewed, or even how they
view themselves.
For many years, my membership into
the group known as people with disabilities seriously
impacted my feeling good about who I am and the
group I was a part of. Through the help of colleagues
and friends, I am now able to make the distinction
between individual worth, its relationship to a series of
groups I belong too, and the tasks that are being
performed. It becomes necessary for people of color,
women, people with disabilities and anyone who is in
a "lower level" position in the organization to
constantly examine their filters of how people feel
about them in relationship to how they feel about
themselves.
As individuals it is necessary to
develop a plan for self improvement and self
enhancement. For example, you may need to acquire
new tools to do the job better, participate in a self care
program where you pay attention to all aspects of your
life (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) and/or
build and maintain appropriate support mechanisms.
If you are the manager or leader it is
important that you clear pathways and create
openings for others to be successful as well as add
value. Remember that in some cases, it is the little
things and not the big things that contribute to the
process of creating significance for workers at all
levels.
News Briefs
As a result of client input and
feedback we are in the process of developing some
new training and speaking topics:
- Leading and Inspiring Others
- Leading with Passion
- Managing Religious Differences in the
Workplace
- English Only, No Accents Allowed
- Engaging in the Difficult Conversations
Look for some of these titles on our web site as new
offerings within the next two to three months.
So until next time remember to be
a difference maker.
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Steve Hanamura
With over 30 years of experience, Steve Hanamura is
a nationally known speaker, consultant and trainer. He
is widely sought after in the areas of leadership
development, building effective teams, leading
diversity initiatives and managing generational
differences. With a national client list spanning
Fortune 500 companies to regional not-for-profit
institutions, Steve is highly regarded for his unique
perspectives and distinct training techniques.
As president of Hanamura Consulting, Inc. he is
committed to making a difference in the lives of
individuals and organizations. His goal is to assist
organizations to work together to build constructive
relationships by understanding how we must draw
from the past and work in the present so we can plan
and build for the future.
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