Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings and ideas of another person whether that person agrees with you or not. It is the ability to imagine what another person’s situation might feel like if situations were flipped. Crampton says that employees have common rights that are linked to empathy. These rights include:
- The right to respect.
- The right to emotional safety.
- The right to physical safety.
- The opportunity for professional growth and fulfillment.
Crampton also emphasizes that those employees who use empathy to understand another employee’s thoughts and actions display high levels of personal power. This is the type of power needed to take action to improve understanding during conflict and to initiate relationship improvements. According to Crampton, “Empathy is required to create a work culture that is kind, supportive, creative and feels safe to be in.” Here are some examples of group norms that reinforce empathy:
- We seek first to understand what went wrong and solve problems at the root cause rather than blaming team members for mistakes.
- We listen before interjecting our own ideas.
- We clear up misunderstandings within twenty-four hours of occurrence.
- We communicate if we are feeling defensive and need to take a break before continuing with difficult conversations.
- We treat one another with respect and kindness.
Risk
Risk is the potential exposure to loss or injury. It is the hesitation people feel before they disclose something that might result in repercussion. On the downside, the fear of risk results in stagnation. On the upside, risk is the fuel behind change and innovation. According to Crampton, organizations that are risk resolving do not shame people for making mistakes. Instead they are learning organizations that analyze the root cause of failure and learn from mistakes. She adds that risk requires specific commitments from both leaders and team members. They are:
- Good problem-solving and critical-thinking systems and skills;
- Accountability;
- Self-motivation for continuous improvement;
- A positive attitude toward honest mistakes;
- A system for bringing mistakes to light quickly and efficiently; and,
- The use of measuring and monitoring processes that correct problems as they occur and after goals are achieved.
Some examples of risk resolving group norms are:
- We stop processes immediately when mistakes are found.
- Not dealing with a problem or mistake is prohibited.
- We continually learn to improve our work skills, social skills and attitudes.
- We are courageous and try new ways of doing things to keep up with our market.
- We are committed to solving problems at the root cause.
Success
rom a team cooperation perspective, it is important that every employee clearly understands and commits to the culture and group norms of behavior along with the organization’s purpose, mission, values and goals.
Success is profitably accomplishing what an organization has set out to do. There is also an element of employee psychological satisfaction for goals achieved. Cohesive work groups and project teams possess group norm integrity. Members contribute diverse knowledge, experience and skills to achieve more complex goals than independent workers can do on their own. Therefore, information sharing, commitment and accountability for the process are essential for successful goal achievement. Crampton says that from a work culture perspective, success keeps organizations in business. From a team cooperation perspective, it is important that every employee clearly understands and commits to the culture and group norms of behavior along with the organization’s purpose, mission, values and goals. Without this team failure or high turnover is an outcome. Some example of success oriented group norms are:
- We recognize one another for successful goal achievement.
- We adhere to our time commitments.
- We have team meeting procedures clearly outlined and every employee is accountable for them.
- We bring problems to light in our deliverables way in advance of when our deliverables are do so problems can be resolved.
- We demonstrate our appreciation for the skills and talents each team member brings to a project.
- We enforce our group norms of behavior. Repeated infractions by any employee are grounds for termination.
- We freely share information with one another so our goals are successful.
- We rally around a team member who is stuck on a problem and work together to resolve it.
Challenging and clashing personalities do not have to equal workplace drama when behavioral norms are in place. This frees team leaders and managers to actually get work done rather than dealing with personality problems.
The secret to high performance technology teams is based on two conditions. The first is ensuring that women occupy leadership positions on teams. The second is developing high functioning and measurable group norms of behavior that apply to everyone. Challenging and clashing personalities do not have to equal workplace drama when behavioral norms are in place. This frees team leaders and managers to actually get work done rather than dealing with personality problems. Once you have developed your group norms, then other guidelines can be developed that enhance group process. Just make sure you have skilled women on your team and that your group norms are in order and committed to by everyone. Back to you! Do you identify with any of the above examples? Are you a woman in leadership? Please leave a message!
