Shushing is Passé. Speaking Up is In.

Letter to editor SJ Mercury News re: article published Jan 25, 2010.  “Kudos to AMC Cupertino Square 16 for giving autistic kids and parents an opportunity to enjoy watching movies. You set a great example of how to appropriately alter rules (let them talk during the movie, stand up, even touch the screen) to create an environment that lets people bring their whole self to what they do and not be “shushed” by “that’s not the way we do it around here.”

By designating a time and place that accommodates kids with different styles of communicating and interacting with their environment, you earned my Class Act Award. I’m sending the article to the leaders I coach with a note reading:

“How can you get even better at leveraging the diverse styles and talents around the table? Look outside your organization to see what’s possible for yours.” View Full Story

I admit the metaphor may be a stretch: going to movies is supposed to be fun/going to work isn’t, going to the movies is an escape from the real world/going to work is the real world. Or, maybe it isn’t such a stretch. (Note to self: jump on soapbox re: real vs. unreal world later.)

The questions mused from the back of the darkened theatre to the leaders on the stage remain: How well does your team and organization’s culture and environment encourage people to bring their all? Do your systems release, recognize, reward and develop the talent you hired? Just looking at revenues will not give you the answer to these questions. You have to ask your people, and you have to listen and believe the world they describe.

I recommend that before you speak with your team you answer the questions for yourself. Honestly. To support understanding your preferred styles of communication, decision making, and relationship to process, I offer a free assessment. Click on https://advisor.target-teams.com/assessment.php?ag=Z1HW490709 when you have 25-30 minutes of uninterrupted time and complete the questionnaire. To help ensure accuracy: complete all questions at one sitting, answer questions as they relate to work, answer questions without input from others. When you complete the survey, the report will come to me and I’ll forward it to you.

If you don’t create a theatre of high-performance and high-satisfaction, your people may be in their chairs, but their focus will be on the door marked EXIT.