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Changing Our Lens On Organizational Culture And Employee Engagement

Leaders feel pressure to deliver results, especially when the demands are high

A key role for leaders is to meet or exceed expectations set out by their board of directors. Leaders are very cognizant of their responsibility to direct resources to achieve the presented goals every time.  The demands may feel unattainable to the team but leaders have been conditioned to rise to the challenge and to find a way to deliver. There will be tension and conflict but contrast fuels growth.

Knowing that leaders rise to the challenge provides an incentive for directors to set those big, hairy, audacious goals. It becomes necessary to gain ground on aggressive competitors. The benefits get measured year over year based on variables such as the stock price, sales revenue, bonuses and innovation metrics. The cost gets measured in the employee engagement. The divergence feeds the debate about whether it is better for the organization to deliver results or have engaged employees.

Can we change our lens to create a workplace where we can achieve the aggressive goals while allowing employees thrive?

Leaders feel the pressure of change, diversity, and uncertainty.

The speed of change in the external environment and in consumer habits requires that organizations are more nimble and innovative. In addition, leaders know they have to introduce diversity to their workforce. Leaders are immersed in an environment that may not be familiar or comfortable, which triggers a feeling of pressure to hold on to control. With anything new, our automatic response is to hold on a little tighter when what is needed is a trust to loosen the grip. Our reactions kick in to protect at times when we require expansion, inclusion, and creativity to support growth.

Can we change our lens to allow us to release the pressure rather than tighten our grip?

Leaders actions reflect the organizational culture.

Interestingly when we speak of organizational culture and employee engagement, we often lose focus on the individuals involved. The conversation focuses on the friction between the organization and the employee. We all know the organization is made up of individuals but we adopt habitual pattern based on our roles within the culture of the organization.  Both leaders and employees of the organization are operating to a code and set of beliefs based on the culture of the organization. Individuals hold positions based on a set of experiences that were rewarded and discouraged within this framework. They witnessed employees getting promoted and getting fired based on their actions. They were mentored by a group of leaders who had a certain way of doing things to deliver the results. They developed relationships with people with whom they could relate. The leaders become a reflection of an organizational culture that has been cultivated over years of collective experiences. In many ways, the individual relinquishes control and the cultural attitudes determine habitual patterns of behaviour. Despite thinking we are in control, our actions reflect the culture of the organization

Can we change our lens to recognize habitual patterns and beliefs to deactivate the triggers and create meaningful change?

We all have energy stuck in cultural attitudes, individual beliefs and memories of past experiences.

We all desire to change our environment to increase our comfort level. Whether we are new to an organization or have been groomed via an internal career path, we all have unique attitudes, beliefs, and notions about what change is required. This diversity fosters growth but the contrast also introduces tension. We get fooled into thinking we just need to change the situation when all we really need to do is neutralize our reaction to the situation. We do not need to eliminate contrast because that limits growth. We all benefit when we learn to get ‘unstuck’ so that we can flow with the change.

Can we change our lens so that we can embrace diversity without triggering closed, exclusive and reactive responses?

The opportunity is to neutralize reactive behaviour for enhanced health and productivity.

Dr. Willem Lammers developed Logosynthesis® as a powerful philosophy and an effective tool to restore the flow of this stuck energy. Although Kahler’s Drivers are great motivators to be strong, be perfect, try hard, hurry up and please others, at a point, we deplete our personal resources.  As we learn to regulate the pressure using the Logosynthesis® technique, we notice a shift from resisting to embracing change. We can create a space for others to work together on the solutions, despite differing attitudes, beliefs and notions. The work is not about avoiding contrast but thriving through change.

The current environment necessitates that each individual assumes responsibility to change our lens.

Changing our lens involves moving beyond our stuck, habitual patterns of thought and action so that we can embrace change, diversity, and uncertainty in a manner that allows both organizations and individuals to thrive. Each individual owns the responsibility to notice their reactions and to process their unique triggers. Leaders tend to be curious, have the personal resources to learn and sense a trust to explore new methods. They will assume the responsibility to learn, to lead from the front and to allocate resources – for themselves and to support others. We have the opportunity to leverage our full personal resources – body, mind, and spirit – to be less reactive for the purpose of actively creating and engaging with others.

We can learn to change our lens to bring visibility to the habitual, reactive patterns of individuals throughout the organization. From there, we can learn to identify, isolate and neutralize the unique sensory perceptions that trigger these reactions. The result is a shift in the energy of individuals to enhance organizational culture and employee engagement

Cathy Caswell
Cathy Caswellhttps://thehealthylivingplan.com/
CATHY guides people to reduce stress, unlock their potential and enjoy life more fully using Logosynthesis. As a dietitian with an MBA, she enjoyed a corporate career in the food industry in production, marketing, and sales. She knows firsthand the benefits of being able to get unstuck from reactive patterns that negatively impact work, health, wealth, and relationships. As a Coach and President of The Healthy Living Plan Inc. and a Master Practitioner and Instructor in Logosynthesis®, she is committed to supporting leaders at all levels. Through online 1-1 coaching and now app-based remote coaching using the Essence Unlock Potential app, Cathy supports people to routinely use this healthy lifestyle practice to achieve their goals. Cathy is the author of Logosynthesis®: Enjoying Life More Fully and Thriving In Our Times: From Reactions To Action Using Logosynthesis®. 

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2 CONVERSATIONS

  1. We grew up in the myth that by organizing good procedures and respecting them we would have managed the company well, and so also life and the world. Today this is no longer enough.
    Obviously the traditional glues remain: rules and procedures. But the most relevant and decisive glue is the common culture, the sense of a common purpose, the network of relationships and emotions. Without a precise “meaning”, no technology will hold people together in a world so full of stimuli, opportunities and distractions. The theme is therefore not exclusively technological, but cultural and organizational. To change the way we work, to work better, and to really make a difference, we need to change the way we look at things. A change that concerns people first. Until the approaches are designed by people, for people and people, things will not work.

    • How true! Meaning is the cornerstone and we need rules to protect boundaries and provide safety. However with the pace of change, it is easy to lose focus. This article speaks of moving beyond stuck, habitual patterns using Logosynthesis® as a tool. The foundation of this guided-change method is based on a beautiful philosophy to support us to move beyond these patterns to reconnect with our Essence and life purpose. The work is fascinating!

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