Giraffe Business School with Marie Miyashiro

How did I meet Marie Miyashiro ?

“DO CERTAIN THING, IN A THE CERTAIN WAY, IN THE CERTAIN ORDER”.

I celebrate my age, I gain courage to experience life more fully.

At the end of 2021, after 17 years of working in an international organization, I dared to look for a solution to create jobs that serve people. When I write about people, I mean employees, customers and business owners.

I have been working as an HR Manager for the last 11 years. I made personnel decisions supporting business and concerning several thousand employees, employed in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe. I loved what I did. The work of HR Manager is still my passion.

For many years, I saw great sense in what and how I did. I understood the impact I had when talking to unions, leaders and employees. I understood that each of these groups needed something different and at the same time the same thing. I have seen the power of hearing another person.

It's been harder in recent years. I looked in the mirror and I wasn't always happy with who I saw. I accepted compromises where someone had to give up what was important to him/her. I was stuck in endless discussions that hindered business growth.

I met Nonviolent Communication in 2019. I had heard of him before, but learned more in a year when our world was plunged into chaos caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. At that time, it was one of the methods for me that made it easier for me to hear the other person. Experience with NVC was very important for me personally, but not enough in business.

I took part in several days and several months of NVC workshops, I met inspiring people who are part of my life today and I am very grateful for that.

Professionally, I was still lacking. Business needs systemic solutions, but NVC focuses on the interpersonal level.

In 2021, I read Marie Miyashiro's “Empathy Factor” book. It was one of the few business books I read and I was relieved with every page. I marveled at how easily Marie Miyashiro writes about a systemic solution leading to the effective work of the team and organization, as well as an increase in employee and customer satisfaction. I was fascinated and inspired.

Her first proprietary process, Integrated Clarity?, was published in 2007 in chapter she co-authored with Marshall Rosenberg in the chapter for “The Change Handbook”.

I understood that Marie Miyashiro created the systemic solution I was looking for. This solution is called Integrated Clarity?.

I wanted to meet Marie.

Tracy Seed helped me establish my first contact with Marie.

I sent my first email to Marie in June 2022. A few days later I got a reply. A few months passed and in early autumn 2022 we met remotely for the first time.

This meeting was special. I met a woman living on the other side of the globe who had just returned from a morning jog on Waikiki Beach. Marie was genuine, confident, effortless. We talked about workplaces that are full of ratings, judgments, labels, beliefs. We talked about the influence of leaders on shaping a safe work environment. The topics were serious, and Marie had that lightness about leadership again. She shared with me one of Ken Blanchard's quotes, which is a companion in her life.

“Take what you do seriously – because we're all doing very important work- but take yourself lightly. Get your ego out of the way…” Ken Blanchard

I was amazed. For me, Marie was real proof that you can be authentic, kind and demanding at the same time.

We arranged another and another meeting. We met regularly. We often found it difficult to finish on time. There was a special bond between us. A pinch of magic that I missed. We live on opposite sides of the world and share a common dream - rehumanize working places.

We talked about many ideas on how to turn our dream into a specific goal.

In the meantime, Hanna Koz?owska who has been very close to my heart for several months, joined our meetings.

In February 2023, Marie asked me what I thought about creating a school whose primary goal would be to share knowledge on how to systemically introduce Integrated Clarity into business, and which has already helped many international organizations, in building the loyalty of their employees and customers.

Today is 9.05.2023 and in two days the pilot of the Giraffe Business Group school starts. This is also possible thanks to the support of wonderful people Paulina Orbitowska-Fernandez EMPATHY-LEADERSHIP-TEAMS , Magdalena Malinowska-Berggren , Cori Liebhart and Joachim Berggren .

It was a very intense 3 months. Although we have had many private challenges, we support each other. Marie repeats that her work is her passion, and when she pursues her passions, she gathers strength to take care of the rest of her life. I love this approach and wish I had more of it in my life.?

I am grateful for the opportunity to learn under her guidance. Teaching by Marie remains my source of income for work and privately makes me wealthy to live a fuller life. Marie invites you to introduce yourself to the two-dimensional culture of our workplaces, support the "think and act" scheme, the common dimension: "connect - think and act". Introduction and establishment is to make human contact in the fullness of our humanity and then get down to business. It shows that empathy can be a major driver of organizational success.

Repeated by Marie "DO CERTAIN THING, IN A THE CERTAIN WAY, IN THE CERTAIN ORDER" makes me look at myself with gentleness, also the one from a few years ago.

GBS https://www.empathiceurope.com/the-giraffe-business-school-with-marie-miyashiro/ is our first joint project and I hope that this is just the beginning of our beautiful adventure.

#empathy #empatia #leadership #management #personaldevelopment