Today’s tip: EARN A GOLDEN HEART MEDAL!!
Dear colleagues and friends,
How was your night? The week is almost gone, can you believe it!
I was born in a very particular and small country where the winning leader of the civil war, a tiny giant called Jose Figueres, abolished the army in 1949, not long after seizing power and little before giving it back to an elected official. Ever since the Costa Rican mothers have the blessing and privilege of knowing “that their newborn children will never become soldiers.” (Ryoichi Sasakawa, at the UPeace) However, I have always been curious about the army as an organization, not because of WHAT they do, but very much because of HOW they do it (I think we should take this pandemic as an opportunity to review the existing approach to national security and the sadly revamped arms race, but that’s another story!). What I find fascinating about leadership, management, and organizations, in general, is people. How we behave and why we do it? Why some ordinary people turn up becoming real-life heroes while others wither away with a legacy of pain, resentment, and bitterness? As you will hear from Simon Sinek, the secret might not be in the people as individuals but in the environment -the culture- in which they interact. Based on my own experience, I am convinced this is true and therefore every effort we can make to strengthen our organization’s culture and align it with values such as care, respect, integrity, accountability, and trust is worth its while.
Due to the nature of our mandates, our people -we- are normally very committed, engaged, selfless, passionate, and driven. Sometimes we also are a bit spoiled, entitled, and, at times arrogant. However, the main challenge, in general, is not a lack of personal alignment with our organizations’ values but perhaps a lack of assertiveness to run risks and generate trust and, occasionally, lack of tools. That’s why I want to propose to consider establishing an award to be given to those who pave the way towards a more respectful, caring, accountable, efficient, and effective organization. Let’s grant a GOLDEN HEART medal to the champions of feedback, to those who you would rate as ‘great feedback givers’. In my view they deserve a medal because it takes courage to speak your mind, it takes wisdom to do it at the right time and in the right form and it takes love to embark on an adventure to help others hoping it will go well but knowing it may not. In the end, feedback might be the cornerstone to living our organizational values and LeeAnn Reninger presents us with four key elements to become great feedback givers, or what I’d dare call organizational heroes. For your enjoyment, my dear superheroes, here they are: 1) Start with a micro yes; 2) Use data, avoid blur words; 3) Show impact; and, 4) End on a question. Now with these tools, go ahead, run for it, make sure you earn your GOLDEN HEART!
Why good leaders make you feel safe?
The secret to giving great feedback:
Take care and stay safe. Enjoy your day and the many wonders it brings along!