Author: Paul Pelletier

Workplace Happiness: Using Diversity to Create Community

Written by Paul Pelletier on July 26, 2017. Posted in Articles. 3 Comments on Workplace Happiness: Using Diversity to Create Community

To feel happy at work (or at home), particularly when we’re working on a team, we have to feel like we belong – work must be a place where we feel respected, comfortable and cared for.

Work needs to become a community, a secure and welcoming place. Todays’ leaders feel constant pressure to innovate and position their products, services, projects, and teams more creatively than ever before. However, innovation and creativity only happen when our employees are happy – and in our highly diverse workplaces, diversity intelligence is critical to achieving a truly collaborative, inclusive and engaging work or project community where happiness thrives.

In order to inspire happiness at work, project and business leaders should begin with including. Instead of diversity being a challenge, turn it into a tool for success. Leaders who leverage diversity to develop, motivate and empower people to achieve extraordinary results aren’t acting randomly. By aligning diversity intelligence with leadership strategies and communication practices we can inspire by including – and we can actually create workplace and team appiness.

The Impact of Workplace Diversity on Happiness

The world is shrinking every day and our organizations reflect the remarkable diversity around us. Globalization means companies from virtually anywhere can do business from anywhere with anyone. In order to succeed, organizations must embrace workplace diversity and leaders must develop fined tuned diversity intelligence.

Diversity intelligence is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual. The concept of diversity intelligence encompasses acceptance and respect. It is the exploration of our differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. By nuturing diversity, organizations open the door to workplace happiness – when our staff feel they are understood, welcome and embraced, they naturally feel happy at work.

Advertisement
[widget id=”custom_html-68″]

Benefits of Workplace Diversity

Workplace diversity can make organizations more productive and profitable. Happy workplaces contagiously inspire empowerment, innovation and performance. Diversity also brings differences that we must understand and embrace for those benefits to be realized. Among the advantages of diversity in the workplace are: better problem solving, higher productivity, better employee relations, new language skills, better client insight, and new processes.

By consciously integrating workers from culturally diverse backgrounds into their workforce, organizations become much stronger and their workplaces become happier. Diversity intelligent leaders ensure that diversity is an integral part of the business plan, essential to successful projects, programs, products and increased sales. This is especially true in today’s global marketplace, as organizations interact with different cultures and clients.

Improving Your Diversity Intelligence

It takes work to learn a new skill – diversity intelligence is no different. Fortunately, there are many tools and strategies that help leaders improve their diversity intelligence to manage team relationships and move their engagement (and workplace happiness) levels to drive performance. The tools below are some of the most effective:

Adaptable communication practices are a critical pillar of advanced diversity intelligence. It may seem obvious, but, people from different backgrounds, cultures, countries, sexes, ages have different approaches to communication, motivation and idea creation. To make people feel comfortable, leaders must adapt their communication practices to their audiences. Fluid communication practices create opportunity for people to feel empowered and thrive as both individuals and teams.
Diversity “blind spots” are a roadblock to success. Understanding our own natural unconscious biases that influence our opinions and decision-making is a powerful self-awareness tool. Leaders with advanced diversity intelligence adopt strategies to counter our tendencies to judge and conclude too quickly. Their openness translates into approachability and sensitivity – two of the critical components to good relationship management.
Diversity “comfort zones” are responsible for our instinct to surround ourselves and hire those like us. It’s awkward to move out of the security blanket of the comfort zones – but if we don’t overcome this tendency, we limit our workplace happiness. No one wants to work in a place where they feel isolated from the “others”. There are some excellent tools that help leaders get comfortable with feeling initially uncomfortable so that they can improve their diversity intelligence.
Developing an action plan is about reinforcing a commitment to change. A diversity action plan includes specific follow up steps and strategies to address roadblocks to success. Change management is essential to a diversity action plan.

Workplace happiness is real and it’s attainable. Diversity intelligence provides leaders with strategic insight necessary to understanding and engaging those you lead – the key to harnessing the creative talent within is creating the ideal environment for innovation in the first place. Happy workplaces value relationships, personal growth, positive reinforcement, and brainstorming – a place where everyone’s ideas matter. Are you ready to start your movement to build an organization that focuses on workplace happiness?

Diversity Intelligence: Drawing People Towards You Through Awareness

Written by Paul Pelletier on December 2, 2016. Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on Diversity Intelligence: Drawing People Towards You Through Awareness

Todays’ project management leaders feel constant pressure to …

innovate and position their products, services, and teams more creatively than ever before.

However, in our highly diverse workplaces, diversity intelligence is critical to success. Leaders who leverage diversity to develop, motivate and empower people to achieve extraordinary results aren’t acting randomly. By aligning diversity intelligence (DI) with leadership strategies and communication practices to ensure a truly collaborative, inclusive and engaging work environment, we can inspire our high performance teams and improve our project success.

The Impact of Workplace Diversity

The world is shrinking every day. Globalization means companies from virtually anywhere can sell to customers from virtually anywhere, and local markets continue to become more and more cosmopolitan due to immigration. Target demographics are changing, and organizations that ignore those changes will one day find themselves without clients or anyone to sell to. However, to stay relevant, businesses must do more than simply cater their project, programs, products and services to these increasingly diverse demographics. In fact, it’s unlikely they can even do that successfully without fostering workplace diversity.

What is Workplace Diversity?

To improve our diversity intelligence, we must first understand workplace diversity. Diversity means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. Diversity extends beyond race or ethnicity, religion, culture or newcomer status to include factors such as geography, language, politics, gender, beliefs, economic status, abilities, skills and interests.

A diverse workplace reflects our communities. Diversity is actually rooted in merit and in the appreciation of differences. It focuses on finding the right candidate for the right job regardless of (not because of) his or her ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, certain physical/mental abilities, marital status, education, and socioeconomic status – and then leveraging the various benefits that come with having a diverse workforce.

What is Diversity Intelligence?

It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual. The concept of diversity intelligence encompasses acceptance and respect. It is the exploration of our differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment.

By integrating workers from culturally diverse backgrounds into their workforce organizations become much stronger and their project success rate improves. Diversity intelligent project management leaders ensure that diversity is an integral part of the business plan, essential to successful projects, programs, products and increased sales. This is especially true in today’s global marketplace, as organizations interact with different cultures and clients.

Benefits of Workplace Diversity

Workplace diversity can make organizations and teams more productive and profitable. They also bring differences that we must understand and embrace for those benefits to be realized. Among the advantages of diversity in the workplace are: better problem solving, higher productivity, better employee relations, new language skills, better client insight, and new processes.

Better problem solving comes when different people bring different attitudes and experiences to the table. This helps project teams avoid groupthink, provides deeper insight on issues, and challenges people to think outside the box. There is no one best answer to any question–the more ideas you can obtain from different people, the more likely you are to develop a workable answer.
Higher productivity occurs exponentially when people of all cultures pull together towards a single inspiring goal. Studies show that the more an organization’s staff reflects its demographics, the better its bottom line and program success. That’s because the people within the organization have a better understanding of their target audience.
Better employee relations are a significant benefit of workplace diversity. Employees need to feel valued if they want to reach their full potential. PM leaders that embrace diversity tend to have lower absenteeism and turnover, and higher levels of loyalty.
Language skills are obviously needed in today’s increasingly global economy–and diverse workers often have this proficiency. To truly build relationships with the other people of the world, we must speak their language. It is a tremendous advantage of workplace diversity if we enable people from other cultures can help us understand not just their words, but also the meaning behind what they are saying.
Better client insight is crucial. By relating to people of all backgrounds, we gain a greater perspective on how different cultures operate and experience greater success in projects as a result.
New processes can result when people with different ideas come together and collaborate. In today’s fast-moving world, there is no longer room for thinking, “We have always done things this way and cannot change.” Workers must bring multiple skills to the environment, think cross culturally, and adapt quickly to new situations. Those who meet these criteria are likely to do well, regardless of culture–even in tough economic times.

Improving Your Diversity Intelligence

There are many tools and strategies that help project management leaders improve their DI to manage team relationships and move their engagement levels to drive performance. Among the most effective tools are adaptable communication practices, understanding our diversity “blind spots”, appreciating our comfort zones and developing an action plan to ensure we follow through.

Adaptable communication practices are a critical pillar of advanced DI. People from different backgrounds, cultures, countries, sexes, ages have different approaches to communication, motivation and idea creation – by expanding our awareness of diversity, we can create opportunity for people to feel empowered and thrive as both individuals and teams.
Diversity “blind spots” can impede our progress. An important component of improving DI is through understanding our own natural unconscious biases that influence our opinions and decision-making. Project managers with advanced diversity intelligence have a deep awareness of their biases and adopt strategies to counter our tendencies to judge and conclude too quickly.
Diversity “comfort zones” must be overcome. Our instinct is to surround ourselves and hire those like us. It’s awkward to move out of the security blanket of comfort zones. There are some excellent tools that help PM leaders get comfortable with feeling initially uncomfortable so that they can improve their DI.
Developing an action plan is about reinforcing a commitment to change. A DI action plan includes specific follow-up steps and strategies to address roadblocks to success.

DI provides project managers with strategic insight necessary to give us that competitive edge we all strive for, regardless of profession. That edge lies within understanding and engaging those you lead – the key to harnessing the creative talent within is creating the ideal environment for innovation in the first place. Organizations and PM leaders must develop high levels of diversity intelligence in order to inspire effectively. That environment is one that values relationships, personal growth, positive reinforcement, and brainstorming – a place (and project) where everyone’s ideas matter.

Project Managers and Workplace Bullying: Are You Willing to Risk Everything?

Written by Paul Pelletier on August 23, 2016. Posted in Articles. 6 Comments on Project Managers and Workplace Bullying: Are You Willing to Risk Everything?

“Workplace bullying is likely the “single most preventable and needless expense on a company’s register.” – P. Barnes

PMPs establish and foster workplace behavior expectations through their own leadership values and actions. Simply put – I believe that we learn from the examples set by those above. In effect, that leads to two clear choices that PMPs have: do they commit to a positive, respectful model for workplace culture or a disrespectful, bullying model?

Related Article: From Doing to Managing to Leading

This fundamental decision impacts your organization and also reflects back onto you as the leader.

Choosing a “bullying” Leadership style

PMPs choose a bullying leadership style driven predominantly by dominance, fear, and negative reinforcement. Employees have no choice but to do as their leader says. One can see the merit of this command and control leadership style on the battlefield. However, I don’t believe it belongs in the workplace.

The bullying model creates a workplace culture where employees feel vulnerable, anxious, and uncertain. All too commonly, PMPs that choose this model embrace disrespectful behavior. They motivate by threat, humiliation, and exerting power over others.

The results can be diabolical for the organization, the employees ,and for the PMP. By highlighting the pitfalls of PMPs leading using bullying tactics of negative reinforcement and disrespect, I hope to inspire PMPs to choose to choose the high road, creating a respectful workplace culture. Simply put – being a bully poses a significant risk to you as a leader.

Workplace Bullying – The Leadership Style Test

There is irrefutable data that PMPs set the tone and behavioral expectations for their organizations – their leadership style, expectations, and workplace respect tolerance levels ripple throughout the business. In our hyper-competitive world, there are intense and ever-present demands for results. Many organizations become so focused on short-term results that they ignore how they are achieved or the long-term impacts of the means used to get those results.

Some leaders willingly sacrifice a respectful workplace culture in order to please shareholders, customers, and stakeholders with baseline results. They may believe their employees matter most but in actual fact, results trump everything. If bullying gets those results, then this is the means selected to achieve the ends. The New York Times in a 2015 article reported this phenomenon about Amazon.

“At Amazon, workers are encouraged to tear apart one another’s ideas…toil long and late…and held to standards that the company boasts are ‘unreasonably high.’ The company’s winners dream up innovations. Losers leave or are fired in annual cullings of the staff — ‘purposeful Darwinism,’ one former Amazon human resources director said.”

Of particular importance is a quote in the article by Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon:

“As the company has grown, Mr. Bezos has become more committed to his original ideas, viewing them in almost moral terms, those who have worked closely with him say. “My main job today: I work hard at helping to maintain the culture,” Mr. Bezos said last year at a conference.”

The New York Times suggests that Amazon exemplifies the impact of Mr. Bezos’ deliberate choice of leadership style and workplace culture. To quote Mark Graban, author and healthcare expert – “You get what you expect and deserve what you tolerate.” Mr. Bezos is getting what he expects and deserves what he tolerates. Following this logic, if bullying is a tolerated behavior, a disrespectful culture will evolve. Fear will be the primary motivator. The article alleges that is exactly how things work at Amazon.

Focusing exclusively on the risk that PMPs bear for supporting a bullying culture (either by being bullies themselves or by promoting organizational influencers that are), I question whether they appreciate the risks they have embraced. These risks could result in self-destructive, unanticipated consequences – ruining their career, reputation, and taking their beloved businesses down with them. I believe that it’s possible (and in the best long-term organizational interest) to have both workplace respect and healthy competition. Staff don’t need to be abused to perform to their fullest.

The popular TV show 60 Minutes produced an explosive piece called the King of Coal in March 2016 about a US mining company CEO who was convicted of a workplace safety crime for “ignoring mine safety laws and fostering a corporate mentality that allowed the disaster to occur.” The piece highlighted a workplace culture based on bullying that permeated the company. “ The CEO sent terse handwritten notes and memos to managers criticizing them for high costs and low coal production…”you have a kid to feed” he wrote, “do your job”…”pitiful.” “I could Khrushchev you”…and…”in my opinion children could run these mines better than you all do.”

The defendant, Don Blankenship, had for decades been one of West Virginia’s most influential and powerful figures. 60 Minutes noted that: “Prosecutors say for years he condoned and tolerated safety violations for the sake of profit. A federal jury came to a landmark decision, finding Don Blankenship guilty of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety laws.”

Mr. Blankenship lost his job and reputation – the profit-producing bully will also be spending time in prison.

This example highlights the risk that PMPs take by leading with bullying and ignoring their legal and social responsibilities – results are important but if they come at a cost of an unethical, disrespectful workplace culture, the PMP may lose her job and image.

I believe that PMPs determine their destiny when they choose their leadership values and style. The choice is quite simple – do results/profits alone drive the workplace culture or does workplace culture drive results/profits? There are incredibly successful leaders that vehemently oppose the leadership style demonstrated by Mr. Bezos and Don Blankenship – Sam Walton, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates to name a few.

To quote Orrin Woodward, founder of Life Leadership and bestselling author: “You cannot expect your team to rise above your example.” To choose or not to choose to bully – that is the PMP’s question. What will you choose?

Paul will be speaking at Project World Business Analyst World – Vancouver, October 3-6, 2016. Register today!

References

Patricia G. Barnes, Surviving Bullies, Queen Bees and Psychopaths (United States: Patricia G. Barnes, 2012; updated July 2013)

Clive Boddy, “Bullying and Corporate Psychopaths at Work” (December 3, 2012, available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlB1pFwGhA4&index-
=19&list=PLlszBLRhOFq8MTEunsB1psfl_c4EUyyTk).

Ståle Einarsen, Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice (Taylor & Francis: 2003).

Greenleaf, R. (1991). The servant as leader ([Rev. ed.). Indianapolis, IN:
Robert K. Greenleaf Center.

Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2008). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.

Ray Williams, “How Workplace Bullying Harms every Employee in the Toxic Work Environment” (The Financial Post , February 21, 2015. Available from http://business.financialpost.com/executive/management-hr/how-workplace-bullying-harms-every-employee-in-the-toxic-environment.

Christine Porath and Christine Pearson, “The Price of Bullying in the Workplace” (Harvard Business Review ,January 1, 2013; available from http://hbr.org/2013/01/the-price-of-bullying/ar/1).

Clare Rayner, “The Incidence of Workplace Bullying”(Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology ,1997, Vol. 7 No. 3), pp. 199-208.

Ståle Einarsen, “The Nature and Causes of Bullying at Work,” International Journal of Manpower (MCB University Press , 0143-7720: 1999, Vol. 20 No1/2), pp16-27.

Rebecca Thomson, “IT Workers Being Bullied, Says Union,” Computerweekly.com (March 4, 2008, available from http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240085434/IT-workers-being-bullied-says-union).

Jodi Kantor and David Streitfield, “Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace” (New York Times, August 16, 2015 available from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/technology/inside-amazon-wrestling-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html?_r=0.

Cooper, Anderson (correspondent), “The King of Coal” (March 6, 2016, CBS 60 Minutes available from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-massey-coal-don-blankenship-king-of-coal/

The Associated Press, “Alpha joins the lineup of coal miners in bankruptcy (August 3, 2015, CBS Moneywatch available from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/alpha-joins-the-lineup-of-coal-miners-in-bankruptcy/).

Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, “The Economic Crisis and Ethics” (November 9, 2009 available from https://youtu.be/VTFmUuJlTZY

Barry McKenna, “Turing Volkswagen Scandal Show Firms are Willing to Roll the Ethical Dice” (Sept 25, 2015, The Globe and Mail available from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/turing-volkswagen-cases-show-firms-still-willing-to-roll-ethical-dice/article26549560/).

Elliott Brettland, “FBI to probe Sepp Blatter as disgraced FIFA chief finally heads for the exit six days after cash scandal that rocked world football” (June 2, 2015, The Daily Mail Online available from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-3107842/Sepp-Blatter-resigns-president-FIFA-amid-bribery-scandal.html ).

Orrin Woodward, Goodreads.com (retrieved February18, 2016 from Goodreads.com website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/249881.Orrin_Woodward?page=2

Sam Walton, BrainyQuote.com (retrieved February 27, 2016, from BrainyQuote.com website: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/samwalton163394.html).