 Letter from
the PresidentThis year in particular, we are all focused
on the creation of more motivated, productive
teams and the types of organizational culture
that sustain us during a downturn.
What makes a corporate culture? Is it fabulous parties and baseball hats with the corporate logo? I believe that in 2002 many of us will be re-thinking what culture means to the success of our corporations. Without a clear, strong culture even the most flawless strategic plan and the best product can fail. What defines a culture? Culture is defined by personal interactions.
This may include how a team speaks to each other during a brainstorming session, how two colleagues who disagree treat that disagreement, how your receptionist answers the phone and presents the face of your company to your client. It may include celebrations and branded merchandise; but culture begins with people.
Karlin Sloan & Company is focused on creating
the best, most positive environment in which
people can excel. Within this issue you will
find tips from and information from our experience
that can help you to build a culture of communication
and success.
The Propeller Group wishes you the best for 2002, and we welcome your questions and comments.
Best Regards,
Karlin Sloan
President
4 small steps to improve workplace culture:
1. Appreciate your colleagues, and tell them.
2. Acknowledge/celebrate team successes as a group.
3. Stop yourself from speaking ill of your colleagues,
even when they behave badly.
4. Challenge yourself to achieve.
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Featured Program: Teambuilding with the HBDI
Our featured program this quarter is Teambuilding with
the HBDI. This short, lively workshop is designed to
boost morale and motivation, and to focus on the strengths
inherent in diverse thinking styles.
Photo
© James Estrin / NYTimes
A picture is worth a thousand words. Great companies
don't just post their values in the hallway, they
live them. In order to keep pace with a changing
world, companies that emerge as leaders in their
field understand the importance of cultural values.
Values and Corporate
Culture
- Values must be clear, understood, and behaviorally
defined.
- Values must be adopted by every employee.
- Senior management is responsible for setting an example of values-driven leadership.
- Recruiting and hiring standards should reflect the values adopted.
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Diversity
Awareness in the Workplace
an interview with consultant
Mara Gottlieb
 Mara
- how did you begin teaching diversity awareness?
I attended Brown University for my undergraduate
education, and was asked to be the volunteer staff
coordinator for their Women's Center. The director
was a true visionary and wanted to create a more
multi-racial, multi-ethnic center, and so she
sent me on a three-day diversity training. Under
no uncertain terms, it changed my life. I knew
from the very first day of that training that
I wanted my life's work to revolve around helping
people communicate better, to see each other as
individuals as opposed to tokens of often stereotyped
groups.
What is the strangest thing that's happened in
one of your classes?
I don't know about strange, but working with NJ
State Troopers certainly held a lot of surprises
and opened my eyes. Having done diversity training
several hundred times in various formats, it is
wonderful that I can still be surprised by what
people say, and sometimes realize that my own
assumptions were at play.
What is your favorite thing about teaching/
training?
One of the things I have loved most about training
is discovering my ability to make people laugh.
Laughter puts us at ease and opens the door to
greater communication, and I am still delighted
when a group of almost-strangers can laugh together,
and when I can facilitate that experience. If
my trainings can plant just a few seeds that help
people to treat one another better, to not buy
into a stereotype, to try to get to know someone
very different from themselves, well, now that
is what my work is all about.
If there were one thing you would like
us to know about team communication and diversity,
what would it be?
To managers, that working with your staff to communicate
well and foster respect actually saves you money
and significantly improves the quality of your
product, whatever it may be. And to staff, that
you have more power than you think to make your
work environment one that motivates and appreciates
its employees, that everyone is responsible for
and capable of impacting on the quality of communication
in the workplace. Addressing diversity and communication
can't be done effectively with a video or an online
class: it requires face-to-face time and an environment
where participants can ask questions and provide
answers, and where managers are willing to truly
listen to their staff.
For more information on Diversity Awareness
training, values based leadership, and creating
corporate culture, contact Karlin Sloan &
Company at the number provided below. |
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