Can you hear me now?

As we travel around the country for business and pleasure, we are constantly reminded that cell phones have taken away moments of privacy and silence. Take for example the routine conversations that are discussed out loud as if no one else was in the area. We have all experienced this either at the airport, in restaurants, hotels, elevators, and many more venues.

While we do get annoyed, there is a human side of us that is naturally inquisitive. Ever see the folks that are intently listening to pick up some new dirt?

So what’s the point? Those of you that have decided for all of us that we need to listen to your conversations, GROW UP!

We are not impressed with:

• How you berate subordinates – (use less emotion with those pet names)
• Your desire to be the center of attention – (every clown has their day)
• How you talk about co-workers – (please no names at all)
• Espouse your self centered greatness – (bathroom walls have more character)
• Shower us with your lack of knowledge – (some us do understand your industry)
• How you represent your company – (bag tags are visible)
• The importance of your call – (what’s up, not much, just fired Fred)

A few tips to consider the next time you get on your cell:

• Remember there are others around you.
• Know that none of us really want to hear you.
• Keep your conversation private not public.
• Business travelers are always representing their company.
• If the above four don’t cut it, then proceed at your own risk.

In closing, sometimes it feels good to put a message out there about what many of us experience each day. If this positively impacts one person, then many more will benefit from it. So talk on, just keep it you yourself. Can you hear me now? Enjoy your summer travels.

Contributed by: Pete Pazmany

Organizational Change

The Art of Insight

Many people who are exposed to change are fearful and resistant, not allowing it alter their routine of life. This is seen in businesses as a roadblock to change and hampers its success. Overcoming this natural resistance requires a new mentality regarding how to get people to embrace change.

Behavioral conditioning is an approach that has dominated in the world of business today. This approach focuses on incentives and punishments for the employee in order to get change in behavior. The problem with this approach is that it only has short term effects and can wear off after the novelty of the punishment or incentive has passed.

Another perspective to be considered is the humanistic approach, which focuses heavily on the individual being coached and receiving a lot of personal help. This approach usually breaks down to persuasion and can be successful with positive rapport and trust on both sides of the relationship between manager and employee. The issue with this approach is that is it increasingly time intensive and with company workforces in the thousands, becomes infeasible.

So is there any possible way to significantly change the company and the individuals within it without having to punish, reward, or spend inordinate amounts of time with each person? Rock and Schwartz (2011) in their recent article The Neuroscience of Leadership specify that there is a very real and simple way to increase employee personal autonomy and ability to cope with change.

By putting attention and focus into your employees’ insights and supporting their personal thoughts and ideas, you can actually help them change. An insight is a personal revelation. Many people regard this as a light bulb going off above your head. This happens differently for everyone at varying times with divergent experiences. The brain is constantly refining itself while at the same time trying to establish routines that allow us to be comforted. It is continually either cutting out unnecessary information we don’t use or adding information that we find particularly useful. Which means with the right reinforcement of insightful ideas, individuals can gain momentum to change their attitudes and behaviors.

Through encouraging employee insights in a constructive manner, the employee naturally associates positive feelings with the insight and get a natural rush of energy that actually can overpower the instinctual fear of change. When repeated over and over, the brain actually adapts and begins to change as a byproduct that the employee’s personal insights are being acknowledged and validated through the manager.

According to Rock and Schwartz, helping employees overcome their instinctual need for self preservation can only happen at an individual level. Encouraging employees to explore and follow through with their insights will allow them to adapt and grow in the organizational creating greater productivity and overall success. If you want to learn more about how you can use simple validations to increase insight and natural change in your workforce, contact ASIL to discuss a consultation.

Reference: The Neuroscience of Leadership By: David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz

Contributed by Joe Pazmany

Click on the links below to view ASIL, Inc.'s MAX Partnering® self-paced software demonstrations:

Strategies and Execution - This demo depicts the tools that organizations can utilize to embrace change effectively and implement it successfully.

Partner Selection and Management - This brief demo displays the tools available to define, select, and implement outsourcing and partner selection.

Scorecards and Corrective Action - This vignette provides visibility to measure and manage the performance of your organization, partners and company.

Self Assessment Sample Questionnaire - This demo will enable you to respond to a small sample of self assessment questions focused on change management and create a Heat Map of your responses to see areas that may need attention. The Driving Complex Change® methodology addresses the six areas of Direction, Ability, Incentive, Resources, Structure, and Action that can impact your effectiveness of change management.

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