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“Creating Successful Leaders”

Category Archives: Thrive at Work

July 15, 2015 Why We Should Ditch the Pecking Order at Work

I recently watched a highly inspirational TED Talk by Margaret Heffernan, former five-time CEO and “management thinker.” She begins her talk with a study about chickens, performed by Purdue University biologist William Muir. In short, he found that flocks comprised of “superchickens,” or the ones that were the highest producers, tended to fail. They would turn on each other and peck each other to death. The control flocks (groups of average chickens–some high-producing, others not), ended up doing much better and producing the most eggs by far. This is a lesson, Heffernan says, that we can apply to any typical organization.

Many companies make the mistake of pouring resources into the few “super employees” and attempting to groom an elite group to carry the company. This, Heffernan says, often leads to “aggression, dysfunction, and waste. If the only way the most productive can be successful is by suppressing the productivity of the rest, then we badly need to find a better way to work and a richer way to live.”

So, what does make teams successful? According to an experiment conducted by MIT, successful teams were found to have the three following characteristics:

1. High degrees of social sensitivity to each other

2. No one voice dominated the successful groups–the members all contributed roughly the same amount

3. The most successful groups had more women in them (the scientists who conducted this study are not certain why this was the case, but one reason could be that women typically score higher on empathy tests)

In short, groups that are highly attuned and sensitive to each other work better together. Ideas can flow and grow. People don’t get stuck. They don’t waste energy down dead ends.

Heffernan goes on to examine specific ways that companies have encouraged teams to work together and bond. Some companies discourage drinking coffee at your desk–instead, you’re encouraged to go to a common room, take a break, and talk to fellow employees while enjoying that cup of coffee. Other companies have office vegetable plots where people can go and pick weeds or water plants when they need a break. All these little connections lead to a big concept: social capital. Social capital is “the reliance and interdependency that builds trust” and it takes time to really grow and build that trust.

The main lesson from all of this is that we are all valuable components of the team, no matter our I.Q. or level of creativity. Diverse teams that are encouraged to grow, share their thoughts and opinions, and lean on each other are the most successful. It’s time to forget the pecking order and embrace collaboration.

For the full TED Talk, please click below:

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June 24, 2015 Capitalizing on Your Diverse Workplace with Insights® Discovery

Your workplace is diverse, whether you know it or not. You may all be similar in appearance, but what about your interests? Work styles? Ways of thinking and doing? Diversity goes beyond ethnicity, gender, culture, and age. It also has to do with diversity of thought and behavior.

Such a mix of perspectives can be healthy for an organization, but only if it’s leveraged correctly. If the minority voices are constantly silenced by the majority, then any diversity your organization may have will not be used effectively.

Understanding and accepting differences in others is fundamental to the success of an organization. It’s what leads to great idea-generation, creativity, and an energized workplace. As a leader, your goal should be to encourage all voices to be heard, and all individuals to be valued.

But where to begin? Insights® Discovery (a tool for understanding and developing unique personalities) provides us with a great model to follow to embrace workplace diversity. Here are their five steps:

  • Build Self-Awareness: Every person brings a unique set of knowledge, experience, capabilities and behaviors to the table. Organizations can and should help their people fully understand themselves and recognize their individual capabilities. We can’t really begin to understand and accept others, unless we know ourselves.
  • Gain Understanding: As individuals, we need to understand ourselves, understand others, and be understood by others. This means approaching diversity with an open mind—a willingness to learn about your co-workers and how they think and perceive the world.
  • Adapt and Connect: Organizations should help their people adapt and connect to get the most from their teams. Adapting and connecting helps you achieve better engagement and interaction with others. Yes, connecting with people who think differently than you may stretch your comfort zone, but you’ll probably be surprised by how much common ground you share.
  • Find Value in Diversity: Insights calls this phase “Moving from frustration to fascination.” Instead of being frustrated by others’ differences, learn about them. Appreciate what they bring to the table and how it adds richness to your work experience. Make your work environment an inclusive one in which differences are appreciated and valued.
  • Leverage differences: The best teams are comprised of a diverse group of people who can bring out the best in each other. This can only happen through honest, open dialogue and a work environment that encourages diversity of thought and perspective.

HOW can you make your workplace open and inclusive? Stay tuned for next week’s blog!

Want more information on how Insights® Discovery can help your workplace? Contact me today!

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June 17, 2015 Women: Be True To Yourselves

There were many little lessons I took away from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, but one of the greatest ones was about women in the workplace. Her talk revolved around female equality and reclaiming the oftentimes negatively-used word “feminism.”

Being from Nigeria, Chimamanda gave some extreme examples of how women are treated as the lesser gender (not being allowed into nightclubs on their own, expected to be submissive to men, etc.), but she also noted that the problem of female equality is still alive and kicking in the U.S. Take the modern workplace, for example. As Chimamanda notes, “The higher up [the ladder] you go, the fewer women you see.” Last year, only 4.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs were women.

What follows is an exert from Chimamanda’s TED Talk on selecting an outfit to wear for her first day of teaching at a United States University:

“The first time I taught a writing class in graduate school, I was worried. Not about the teaching material, because I was well prepared and I was teaching what I enjoyed. Instead, I was worried about what to wear. I wanted to be taken seriously.”

“I knew that because I was female, I would automatically have to prove my worth. And I was worried that if I looked too feminine, I would not be taken seriously. I really wanted to wear my shiny lip gloss and my girly skirt, but I decided not to. I wore a very serious, very manly, and very ugly suit.”

“The sad truth of the matter is that when it comes to appearance, we start off with men as the standard, as the norm. Many of us think that the less feminine a woman appears, the more likely she is to be taken seriously. A man going to a business meeting doesn’t wonder about being taken seriously based on what he is wearing–but a woman does.”

“I wish I had not worn that ugly suit that day. Had I then the confidence I have now to be myself, my students would have benefited even more from my teaching. Because I would have been more comfortable and more fully and truly myself.”

The lesson rings clear: Be confident, be yourself! Your attitude and outward projection matters much more than the serious cut of your suit. Dress comfortably and walk into your next meeting with your shoulders up and your head high.

For the complete TED Talk, click the video link below:

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