The language of improving organization performance gets in the way. Almost all of the words associated with performance improvement have negative connotations. We already addressed accountability, which too many people means “somebody is going to beat me over the head if I do not do what I was told to do”; even worse, is the phrase “hold people accountable”, which for many means “we are not going to be able to easily get away with stuff.”
We do not need to change the actual words; rather, we need to redefine their context. The language of performance improvement needs to relate to accomplishing the organizations’ vision, initiatives and goals. The opportunity is to shift the context of being a victim and powerless in an organization to one of being a partner and empowered in the organization. I assert that organizations like Southwest Airlines, Google, Apple and Zappos have done this.
Learn more about CMI >>
Bruce, you make a powerful point on how companies like Southwest Airlines “shift the context of being a victim and powerless in an organization to one of being a partner and empowered”. My open book coaching with SWA focused on economic empowerment. Transparency, understanding and engagement around SWA economics, empowers their employees, just as you said. Other case examples, showing the same power of empowerment can be found at www.openbookcoaching.com.
ReplyDelete