The Tao of Nice: How Being Nice is the Key to Success

While the world economy continues to reshape itself, a new philosophy of “Nice” and “Kind” are beginning to permeate companies who have begun to realize that niceness is a key to successful growth, profit, productivity and reduced turnover.

As we know, behavior follows behavior, in the same way that a smile follows a smile. Acts of compassion, kindness, respect, patience and tolerance, lead to positive responses from others. In addition to these truisms, research into kindness, happiness and productivity are revealing many benefits to the power of being nice.

• There is a direct correlation between employee moral and the bottom line where increases in cheerfulness and helpfulness have been correlated to 50% increases in revenue.

• Acts of compassion have been found to increase serotonin levels in the brain, which is the neurochemical most closely associated to mood. Acts of compassion will not only raise your serotonin level, but will also raise the level in those you help and also in anyone who witnesses the act of compassion.

• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number one reason that Americans quit their jobs is that they don’t feel appreciated. When you consider that the average cost to a company for a manager or professional who leaves is eighteen months’ worth of salary, the cost and effort to demonstrate an employee’s worth would seem to be a good investment.

• It is scientifically incorrect to say that we as humans have an innate predisposition towards aggression and violence. Even though we have the capacity to make war, aggression is not an automatic response. In fact, our need as humans to work together is more likely to be the foundation of our survival instinct than our capacity for aggression.

The days of the cutthroat “me vs. you” philosophy of business now give way to emotionally intelligent leadership that understands how being nice does not mean that you are naïve or weak.

www.charliecummins.com

The Powerful Nature of Candor

More and more I find that candor is becoming increasingly rare in the business environment. Perhaps it is the economic downturn that has made candor a risky behavior? While I might be underestimating its rarity, the fact remains that candor is a huge part of successful leadership. Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, calls candor the “biggest dirty little secret in business.”

While some people might perceive a lack of candor as job security, this lack of frankness can cause huge problems. Lack of candor inhibits the influx of new and creative ideas and slows down decision making. Without candor, truly talented people struggle to flourish.

In his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a team, Patrick Lencioni emphasizes the need for healthy conflict as a foundational element that influences team’s commitment, accountability and results. When Lencioni speaks of healthy conflict, he is speaking about candor. When speaking about candor, I am talking about honest, straight forward communication, not malicious, hurtful intent.

Speaking with candor requires a desire to stimulate in-depth discussion and the courage to put forth and receive new ideas. What I frequently see is individuals and teams that withhold their honest comments or criticism and fail to engage in a real debate on issues.

People keep their mouths shut for a variety of reasons; to avoid conflict, protect others’ feelings, soften the blow of bad news or to keep information to them selves thinking that this will give them power or an advantage. In many cases, people fail to speak their minds because it is much easier not to. What a disservice! Teams that engage in this lack of candor succeed in only one area, becoming their own worst enemy.

Candor contributes to team success in three main ways.

First, candor creates energy that gets other people involved in the conversation. It is through this conversation that new ideas surface and get knocked around, probed and dissected. In this type of environment everyone contributes and everyone learns.

Second, candor leads to action and generates speed. When a team generates new ideas, they own them. This feeling of ownership compels teams forward, in to action and towards the completion of tasks.

Third, candor reduces costs and improves the bottom line. Candor reduces the need for redundant meetings, reports and e-mail chains that suck the productivity from everyone.

In upcoming blogs, I will discuss how creating candor can be accomplished.

www.coreperformanceconsulting.com

Clarifying Your Values and Moral Compass

Personal values are a belief, a mission or a philosophy that is personally meaningful. They serve as the guideposts for making decisions about right and wrong, good and bad, should I? and shouldn’t I? Most personal values have their foundation in our past and can have their origin in the family and community values we grew up with. In addition, we are exposed to countless other values and life events that shape our value system. These value systems are flexible and often change throughout a lifespan. Values can range from the commonplace, such as a belief in hard work and punctuality, to the more psychological, such as self-reliance, compassion and harmony of purpose. Whether we are consciously aware of our values or not, every individual has a core set.
If we are going to explore what values are, we must understand what values are not. Values go beyond words and into the realm of our thoughts and behaviors. If we are not careful, values can become distorted by patterns of negative thinking and become counterproductive. Values differ from goals in that goals are concrete and achievable events, situations or objects. Goals can be changed, possessed and completed, while values are more enduring and less tangible.
Values are not feelings, but there are frequently feelings that accompany our choices in life. Although you can live your life according to your values, which often leads to success, values are directions in life, not outcomes. Adherence to our values doesn’t mean that our path is always going to be straight. You will inevitably face obstacles that will force you to change direction. Also, we are human and, as such, we will sometimes zig when we meant to zag. In my next blog I will discuss the importance of values in building a winning foundation within organizations.