Profile of a High Performing Organization

This past week, I was in Orlando, Florida for the annual conference of one of my very favorite clients, Abilita, Inc. (name used with permission). As I am analyzing how successful teams change and perform for a grad school project, I couldn’t help but look at my client through this lens. Here are three key things I observed:

Strong, Unified Identity. Abilita has a very strong core identity, which is driven by their values. Without ever having seen their values statement, what I observe their values to be are: integrity, caring and compassion, interdependent, collaborative, community, commitment, persistence, openness to new ideas, and purpose-driven. This manifests itself throughout virtually every interaction that I witness. As a result, this collective identity creates a sense of belonging. It also creates the desire to belong. One of the keys to successful team and organizational performance is a strong social identity group; they have this at their company. There is pride – and justly so! – in belonging to this group. Almost all companies talk about integrity; this company embodies it.

Strong, Compassionate Relationships. This is evident everywhere at this company. All anyone has to do is ask for help or ask a question and someone steps up to assist. You can tell how deep the relationships are. This is another critical success factor to change and high performance. Why? Relationships are one of the key ways that we are supported as we change and develop. Relationships are both a supportive resource and a source of information. Safe relationships allow us to try out new behaviors and practice to the point of mastery (not mere competence). Without such relationships, change is extremely difficult. They have created – and now enjoy – a very safe environment.

5:1 Ratio of Positive to Negative Interaction Patterns. Marcial Losada has done amazing research into high performing teams. His vast research shows that the highest performing teams have a ratio of 5:1 positive to negative interactions. What does positive and negative mean in this sense? Positive is language that focuses on the strengths and opportunities that are inherent within the system. Negative is a deficiency-focused language.

This doesn’t mean being a Pollyanna or never saying anything negative. In fact, the folks at this company have rich discussions where ideas are challenged and explored and expanded. There is a sense of curiosity and inquisitiveness, which serves to enrich the conversations. Importantly, the very act of being inquisitive versus judging and staunchly advocating creates an environment where performance can flourish. Does this mean that they always agree? No! They freely disagree; however, they disagree with the idea without denigrating the person. By contrast, some groups dismiss ideas or seek to prove why the idea – and the person – is wrong. This creates an environment that is not conducive to learning, brainstorming or growth.

While there are many factors that have contributed to their success, these are the three that stood out for me this year. This is their fifth year as a company and through their hard work, commitment and willingness to learn, they have created a powerful platform for future growth. They have created a launching pad for flourishing.

6 steps towards overcoming fear

This week, I received my new marketing piece from my marketing consultant. It is my new one-sheet for speaking on Performance-Centered Leadership (you can check out the flyer here: http://www.bobbikahler.com/performancecenteredleadership/Performance_Centered_Leadership_Flyer.pdf). I was excited to have the finished product so that I could start sending it out to meeting planners and associations. Then I felt that little tiny tingle of fear.

You probably know the tingle of fear that I mean: it’s just that nibble of fear that makes you momentarily doubt the action you are about to take. To me, that little tingle of fear is a telltale sign that I am about to do something that matters, something that is important to me. When I frame it that way, it is more about excitement than fear.
Fear is one of the greatest barriers to action. In the Knowing-Doing Gap, the authors advise that, as a leader, you must drive out fear so that people are free to act. So, how do you move past the fear?

It is helpful to think about fear on one side of a continuum and excitement on the other. The question then becomes how do you – or how do you help someone – move from fear towards excitement? As a leader, this is one of your most important tasks; if there is fear, performance suffers. Why? Because fear keeps people from taking risks, it keeps them from learning, it keeps them from taking action. Have you ever thought, “I’ve told them what to do. Why aren’t they doing it?” Chances are there is an element of fear keeping them stuck.

There are many things a leader can do to drive out fear; just as there are many causes of fear within a team or organization. Here, however, are six ways to drive out fear:

1. Connect to the values, purpose and passion of the person. When someone is pursuing something that has meaning to them, you can help them use that as a motivator. Often our purpose is greater to us than our fear.

2. Connect to their ideal self or future vision. Richard Boyatzis (Primal Leadership, Resonant Leader and countless scientific articles) has proven that the ideal self (the future vision of who we want to become) is a major driving force behind change. It helps us achieve change and sustain it. For teams, you can help them shape a shared future vision, which can serve the same purpose.

3. Use curiosity. Help the person explore the continuum for themselves: what do they find fearful, what do they find exciting? Once you identify the excitement, find ways to help them tap into that excitement.

4. Find confidence in their courage. Help them think about times in the past when they have faced a fear or a challenging situation. What did they do to succeed? What can they take from that to use in the present situation?

5. Build small wins to create momentum. Especially if it is a large task, break it down into small steps to create a sense of accomplishment. It is important to help the person celebrate the process and the steps they are taking towards the goal.

6. Pride in taking action. Finally, once it is all said and done, celebrate the actions the person took in order to reach their goal. Research shows that instead of only celebrating the end accomplishment, celebrating the process that gets the successful result helps reinforce the desired actions and process. It can also help the person build confidence for the future.

How have you successfully faced down fear?