Daily Concerns : semantics

Don’t commoditize what God made unique

csimmons — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 04:47:00 GMT

Commonly leaders refer to (and treat) individuals within organizations as "resources" as if they're a commodity like grain or corn. You'll hear management refer to their people as their "most valuable resource". They establish Human "Resource" departments. They also refer to them as a "work"-force or "labor"-force.

Is it any wonder then that the individuals in these organizations begin to feel de-humanized and commoditized?

Don't commoditize what God made unique. As a leader you must establish personal relationships with each of the individuals within your direct circle of influence. Each person that works for you or with you is a unique creation of God. Each one has different interests, feelings, likes and dislikes. Each one prefers adoration and affirmation in a distinctive manner. Some like hand-written notes, others like verbal words of encouragement. Each one receives and responds to constructive criticism and correction in a different way.

One of the best things our new HR Director (yes, through tradition we still use the term ‘Human Resources') introduced into our culture at Fellowship Tech was an individual survey that captured information about each person's favorite colors, foods, music, etc. It asked them for their preferred method of receiving feedback and affirmation. She distributed the completed surveys to each of the team leads for those under their span of care.

Without this information I would never have know that someone from my team loved U2 or another liked Cherry Garcia ice cream. Many preferred verbal public affirmation for a job well done over a financial gift. I've found the information to be invaluable. It allows me to provide feedback to my individual team members in a way that matches their uniqueness.

Of course, a survey can not replace or supplant "quality" time spent with each individual. Sitting down over coffee or lunch to patiently listen to their frustrations and their successes is a must. If they stop by your office unexpectedly, it's best that you turn towards them and look them directly in their eyes while they speak rather than allowing your eyes and attention to dart back-n-forth between your computer monitor, blackberry, or your watch.

These things may seem self evident but too often our actions betray our intent. You may have intended to listen patiently but your body language indicated differently. I know I've been guilty of this far too many times to count.

So take to the time to get to know the people on your team. Each one is a unique child of God and needs to be treated as such.

We’re Sheep in Human Clothing

csimmons — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:37:00 GMT

Jesus referred to us as a lot of things, but the most common analogy he used was "sheep". Jesus always chose his words carefully (I suppose that shouldn't surprise me since he was perfect) so I try not to be offended that Jesus so accurately portrayed us as sheep because I know it's true. Like sheep, we're heavily influenced by the environment in which we live and work.

Behavioral science has always fascinated me, it was my favorite subject in college. Humans act instinctively based on many factors, namely their environment. One of the research studies we reviewed back then and was also quoted in the book, The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell, was about a group of seminary students. In short, the study consisted of two groups. One group was told to prepare a lecture on the story of the Good Samaritan the other group could pick a topic of their choosing. Both groups were brought together in a room. One by one, the researchers pulled out a seminary student. To one they would say "Oh no, you better hurry over to the lecture hall, you're late for your speech" and to another one they would say "You better start to head over to the lecture hall, you have plenty of time but you should go on ahead". Lying directly in the path between the two buildings they had an actor lay down, seemingly injured and in great pain.

I suppose you can guess what happened next. Some of the students passed by the injured person without a notice, others stopped to help. What was so surprising about the study was who stopped and who did not. Almost one-for-one, those told they were late and needed to hurry passed by without helping. Those told to take their time stopped to offer aid. The fact that these were seminary students didn't matter. The fact that one-half of them had prepared to lecture on the story of the Good Samaritan didn't matter. All that mattered was the externally induced environmental factor of possibly being late.

A second study showed similar results. Three groups of college students were asked to participate in a field test for some new music headphones. All three groups listened to the same thing, two songs and a political ad discussing the rising costs of tuition. The first group was told to bob their head up and down the entire time they listened to the songs. The second group was told to bob their head left and right. And the last group was told to hold their head still.

At the end, each participant was given a lengthy survey about the listening quality of the headphones. The final question on the survey asked "How do you feel about the costs of tuition?" Again, I'm sure you can guess the answer. The group that bobbed their head up and down thought that tuition costs should increase, those bobbing their head side to side thought tuition was too high, and the last group had no opinion.

Semantically speaking, words matter

Similarly, we can affect the culture of our teams and organization by carefully considering the impact of the environment in which we work and the words we use.

I am attempting to reinforce a culture at Fellowship Technologies where my teams ask for Advice and Counsel rather than Permission and Authorization. The former espouses teamwork and peer relationships while the latter insinuates hierarchies and control. On the surface this may seem like a transparent attempt to re-label a concept that ultimately means the same thing. I disagree.

If someone from my team wants to buy a book at the company's expense they do not need my "permission" to do so. However, I do believe it is beneficial that they should first seek the advice of others to find out if that particular book is a good one and if it will benefit the employee to read it. Or perhaps someone wants to attend a conference, a fairly big expense with time off required. Undoubtedly such an event requires some level of expense approval. But by reinforcing the idea of Advice and Counsel the first conversation is focused on the benefits to the person and the company rather than the costs. It's a small but important difference.

Over time, the goal is the change the culture of the organization. Team members, as they make changes to processes, or documents, or code, should naturally seek the advice and counsel of their peers and supervisors to maximize the quality of the output. If the staff is constantly seeking permission or authorization then you have an organization that devalues individual creativity and decision making.

Curtis S

Perception is 9/10ths of the law

csimmons — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:52:00 GMT

There’s no getting around it, our choice of words matter. They have the power to heal and to harm, to bless and to blame, to inspire and to insult. The Book of Proverbs has plenty to say about this subject , here are just a few of the references (10:19, 12:18, 13:3, 15:1, 15:2, 15:23, 16:21, 16:23, 16:24, 17:27, 18:7, 18:21, 25:11, 25:15).

If you’re in a leadership role (and let’s face it, everyone is to some extent as our actions are always being observed by someone else) then you need to pay particular attention to your choice of words for several reasons. I’ll assume (probably a poor choice of words) you know the first one: that the wrong words at the wrong time can cause irreparable damage. There are a couple of other reasons I plan to dive into further, the first one is Perception.

Perceiving is believing

One of my favorite websites is www.KissThisGuy.com. No, it isn’t what you’re thinking, it’s an online archive of misunderstood lyrics. You’ll appreciate the site if you’ve ever been singing along with a song while a friend is in the car, and then have them burst out laughing and correct you on the lyrics. Note that this has never happened to me ;-)

It happens countless times in the media, the person claims rightly or wrongly that they were “misquoted” in the paper and meant no real harm. The painful realization is that while the intentions may be honorable, all that really matters is how the person or group you’re speaking to hears, understands or perceives your words.

As a leader, and more importantly as a husband and father, I’ve had to learn this difficult lesson the hard way… “It’s not what you say it’s what people perceived you said”. There are countless times when I believe I’ve clearly communicated something yet the results were different than I intended.

So choose your words carefully and if you later feel misunderstood don’t assume (there’s that word again) that the other person understood your original intent. Perhaps you’re unaware that your non-verbal communication is acting counterintuitive to the intent of your message. Seek first to understand the other person's perspective and what they believe they heard rather than getting frustrated.

My next blog will address how semantics can change your environment and culture.

Curtis S