A Culture Worth Contributing To – Unleash Diversity

So fantastic to be working with such a diverse range of teams over the coming weeks. I will be in Australia, Fiji, the United Arab Emirates, England and New Zealand across the next five weeks working with diverse teams with diverse strengths.

Last week, I had the opportunity to work with a fantastic team in Australia at the start of a 12-month coaching engagement. It made me reflect on one of my favourite ‘podcasts’ during the COVID period which was shared by 2b Limitless High-Performance Coach, Tony Martin and it featured the legendary All Blacks mindset coach Gilbert Enoka ONZM .

There were so many golden nuggets but the piece that I loved the most was;

• A Vision that inspires
• Leaders worth following
• Work worth doing
• A culture worth contributing to

Following on from this my great mate and ‘values driven’ leader Matt Parker shared insights around harnessing diversity for positive performance tension to highlight a sophisticated understanding of organisational development, leadership and the development of culture.

?Here’s how these elements contribute to bringing strengths to life in a diverse environment.

Clarity of Vision: Diversity enhances vision clarity by incorporating multiple perspectives, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the organisation’s direction. When diverse views are valued, the vision becomes more adaptable and innovative.

Outside of ‘birds of prey’ humans have the best vision of any animal… We see in colour we see with depth. Vision really matters to us as a species. However, the thing that really sets us apart is our ability to close our eyes and ‘see a compelling future, a VISION’ studies suggest that for ‘3 out 4 people’ clarity of vision is the most important thing they want from their leaders. Interestingly, although this is such a priority the average leader spends about ‘3% of their time’ clarifying the vision.

This statistic is both a challenge and an opportunity when it comes to creating a culture where people are inspired to contribute.

Setting of Standards as Aligned with Values: Diversity ensures that standards and values reflect the broad spectrum of experiences and beliefs within the organisation. This alignment encourages inclusivity, making employees feel respected and valued. At 2b Limitless we are so focused on working with teams to ‘clarify’ their values.

Our process is all about ‘be flexible with your approach BUT never compromise on your values’ twice in the last week I have seen leaders have a ‘visceral’ response that helped them clarify their values.

Once there is clarity around values the language that we use with a different twist is ‘standardise to customise’;

1.??? What are the standards that this brilliantly unique team wants to set as aligned with their strengths and values?

2.??? What are the ‘customised’ set of rituals (‘strengths-based behaviours, practiced on purpose and positioned to enhance engagement, performance and enjoyment) that are aligned with the team’s values.

‘The standards you walk past are the standards you accept!’

Building Trust: Trust flourishes in environments where diversity is embraced because it signals to employees that their backgrounds and opinions are respected. Openness to diversity fosters a culture of transparency and honesty, essential components of trust.

Trust – It is in the middle of every great Team… Without it nothing flourishes. I love how it connects the ‘hard’ (the processes and policies) the ‘soft’ (the people) the ‘short’ (the operation) the ‘long’ (the strategy) with trust you get execution, teamwork, engagement, motivation, inspiration, growth and real investment in change… Without it, you get… NOTHING!

‘Connection creates commitment’ – Valentina Vescovi - The alternative to trust is disconnection. The key measure to how important trust is, is the intense emotional pain that comes with trust being broken. It is

The Formula: Credibility x Reliability x Intimacy ÷ Self-Orientation

Credibility – Do people ‘believe’ that I have the experience, skills and knowledge to get the job done.

Reliability – Do people ‘believe’ that I will keep my promises.

Intimacy – Do people ‘believe’ that I care about the person behind the role.

Once the multiplication is done there is a key division point that once again centres on intent.

Self-Orientation – Do people ‘believe’ that I am thinking ‘WE’ not ‘ME’.

What are the buckets we need to fill to build trust?

• Authenticity – What we do and what we say are the same. (Our audio and video match.)
• Loyalty – We set and live and die by our standards. (Noun ?– Adjective – Verb) – We don’t just name the standard, or describe the standard ‘WE ALL’ live the standard.
• Competence – Are your people investing in ‘continuous learning’ and a ‘growth mindset’ in order to keep pace with the staggering pace of change – Breaking down the ‘but we have always done it this way’ mindset. (My skills and performance matter to me.)
• Consistency – That our behaviour and performance are reliable over time. (You can count on me.)
• Emotional Availability – People are there for me. (When you need me I will be there.

Objective Cascade from Senior Leadership to Operational Level: Diversity in leadership ensures that objectives are informed by a range of experiences and perspectives, making them more relevant and achievable across different levels of the organisation. This cascading effect ensures that strategies are more aligned with the diverse needs of the workforce and more likely to connect and get ‘buy in’.

Effective Use of Time: ‘Are you happening to the week or is the week happening to you?’

‘Either through capacity or conditioning the week is the number one period of time in high-performance.’ ‘Getting Things Done’, Dr. Dave Allen

Diverse teams can lead to more effective problem-solving and decision-making, as different viewpoints can speed up the identification of issues and development of solutions. Creating more impact matters. This efficient use of time strengthens the organisation's agility and responsiveness.?

‘The Powell Decision Making Rule - 40% - 70%: If you make decisions with less than 40% of the information it is typically a bad decision… If you wait until you have more than 70%... YOU are TOO LATE!’ - Colin Powell, Former US Secretary of State.

How can we create an environment of ‘high-speed collaboration’?

‘The thing I love most about time is that it does not give a stuff about me… It marches on relentlessly… For me the concept of ‘time-management’ is a MYTH.’ – Mick Todd

?What does a great week look like for you and your team?

Meaningful Measures to Connect with ‘Voice of Customers’: Diversity within the organisation means a better understanding of a diverse customer base. Implementing meaningful measures to capture the ‘Voice of the Customer’ ensures products, services and experiences are designed to meet a wide array of ‘needs and expectations’.

The ‘service value chain’ talks a lot about the impact of ‘engaged employees’ create an environment where 'great client experience' thrives and 'business success and growth' is the key outcome.

The Culture that Establishes ‘Tone of Teams’: A culture that embraces diversity sets a positive tone for teams, where members feel valued for their unique contributions. Such a culture promotes collaboration, innovation, and creativity.In an environment that embraces diversity, leaders play a crucial role by ‘delegating to elevate not to alleviate’.

This all about creating a ‘stretch culture’ of ‘care personally, challenge directly’ as opposed to an environment where people ‘don’t care, don’t challenge, or challenge and don’t care or care but don’t challenge’ our focus on ‘elevation’ means that through it we create environments that build;

• Autonomy
• Connection
• Recognition
• Purpose

‘Delegate past the point of discomfort!’ – David Labouchere OBE

This approach empowers employees, encourages autonomy, and leverages diverse talents, leading to increased innovation, employee engagement, deeper client experience and organizational success. By creating a space where people feel they belong and where their differences are not just acknowledged but celebrated, organisations can unlock the full potential of their workforce, fostering a dynamic, robust and resilient culture.

'Culture eats strategy for breakfast!’ – Peter Drucker

‘Because… Your world needs you at your best!’ - 2b Limitless

2b Limitless is a multi- award winning, (we are the Professional Services Awards 2024 Coaching and Training Organization of the Year), Global High Performance Coaching, Coach Certification and Training Business founded in Dubai by Mick Todd (Professional Services Awards 2024 Executive Coach of the Year) and led by Mick and Peter Charles Turner surrounded by a world-class support team and Executive Coaches in the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and Africa whom are all 2b Limitless Accredited Performance Coaches (2bAPC), 2b Limitless is dedicated to bringing the very best version of individuals, teams and organisations to life. We have delivered in over 40 countries around the world.

We have a world class, team of highly experienced, trained and certified coaches.

David Labouchere OBE, Victoria Tipper, Guido de Wilde, Olga Cassidy, Ciarán McBreen (Middle East), Tony Martin (Australia and New Zealand), Melda Yasar Cebe and Jack Wolstencroft (Asia), Garreth Ewing (South Africa) and Ian Ward (UK and Europe).

#strengths #engagement #performance #transformation #coaching #training #2byb #2bapc #2bLEAP #2bLC #2bUYS #2blimitless #connection #experience -?https://www.2blimitless.com

‘Because… Your world, needs you at your best!’ - 2b Limitless .

To learn more about how 2b Limitless can help you ‘Build a Culture Worth Contributing To’ contact Olivia Marshall -?[email protected]