Tag: leadership

'S' is for Sincerity

S P A C E | 2023

Posted on by Dipika Kohli

Design Kompany is an LLC that was founded in Seattle in 2006 by Dipika Kohli.

Currently it is a consulting firm for leaders to learn how to effectively help their teams accelerate performance. This is done through a tried-and-tested series of 6 experiential workshops. Reflection, connection, and empathy are the key components of the program. DK has worked with more than 100 business owners in N. America, S. E. Asia, N. Europe, and E. Asia.

Meet us in the virtual conversations if you join S P A C E, the community. It is outlined at the crowdfunding page. Here is a link.
Innovation & Creativity · Teambuilding through Reflective Practice

Leading with empathy: are you ready?

Posted on by Dipika Kohli

Researching about soft skills today, especially for managers, I found this. Goodfirms.co, a site I have never heard of, admittedly, writes about Empathy as follows. (Source is:https://www.goodfirms.co/blog/7-soft-skills-that-make-managers-more-effective)

 

Empathy is immensely critical to your leadership abilities. In the context of our discussion, empathy is one of the central pillars of your soft skills infrastructure.

Empathy allows you to connect with people more meaningfully.

It also lets you figure out how effectively you’re reaching out to staff members. When you know how deeply or superficially you’re engaging with people, you could accurately predict the outcomes of actions. These are crucial benefits for leaders and managers. For example, in sales empathy enables you to negotiate deals. Although empathy is mostly an innate trait, people can learn it to some extent.

100 Conversations · Found in the Field · Mirror

Mirror | ‘Leadership Reflection Questions’

Posted on by Dipika Kohli

The Muse writes: ‘As Warren Berger, author of A More Beautiful Question, explains, asking good questions and doing so often “opens people to new ideas and possibilities.” So, no matter where you are or where you’re headed, make time to do so regularly. The answers—and, more importantly, what you do with them—will take you far.’

Several important questions to ask yourself as a leader (source: Inc.’s compilation of “100 Great Questions Every Entrepreneur Should Ask”, via the website The Muse) include:

  1. What is it like to work for me?
  2. What prevents me from making the changes I know will make me a more effective leader?
  3. If no one would ever find out about my accomplishments, how would I lead differently?
  4. Did my employees make progress today?
  5. If I had to leave my organization for a year and the only communication I could have with employees was a single paragraph, what would I write?
  6. What did I miss in the interview for the worst hire I ever made?
  7. How is the way I think and process information affecting my organizational culture?
  8. Do my employees have the opportunity to do what they do best every day?
  9. Do I see more potential in people than they do in themselves?
  10. Why should people listen to me?
  11. How do I encourage people to take control and responsibility?
  12. Do I know what I’m doing? And who do I call if I don’t?

 

A Philosophy of the Moment · Found in the Field · Innovation & Creativity · Teambuilding through Reflective Practice

Why do people quit?

Posted on by Dipika Kohli

From: A Nov. 2021 report by McKinsey on ‘The Great Attrition.’

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/the-great-attrition-the-power-of-adaptability

 

‘Interpersonal. Not feeling valued by one’s manager (52 percent) and not feeling a sense of belonging (51 percent) were two frequently cited reasons employees left a job in the past six months.

‘Adaptability improves the ability to be vulnerable and empathetic with others, increasing the capacity to display compassionate leadership and turn difficult interpersonal situations into relationship-building opportunities. It helps us connect with others with greater authenticity—normalizing the importance of quality relationships at work and providing the skill set to strengthen them, especially in virtual settings.

‘Team. One of the top five reasons that changed in importance over the past six months for individuals who chose to stay at a job was working with people who trust and care for one another (48 percent). Level of trust in and care for teammates contributes to the perception of psychological safety—reinforcing or weakening adaptability. The greater the psychological safety, the more quickly belonging, engagement, and ability to deal with stress can improve because people feel supported. Adaptability’s renewing effect on relationships can drive the creation of attractive team environments.’

 

Interesting, isn’t it?

How about you? What are you doing to build your teammates’ trust within the organization, amongst themselves, and with leadership?

Soft skills: easy to talk about, hard to develop. Or are they?

It’s a big topic these days. Soft skills are hard to come by. And there’s so much ’empathy washing.‘ I made that term up. I wrote a zine about it.

 

 

 

Talk with DK about your teammbuilding needs. We have a nice set of tried-and-tested workshops in various kinds of settings, including intercultural ones. Exciting times.

A Philosophy of the Moment · Innovation & Creativity · Teambuilding through Reflective Practice

A purpose for Work

Posted on by Dipika Kohli
Brian Kropp and Emily Rose McRae write in their HBR article from January of this year, ’11 Trends that will shape work in 2022 and beyond,’ that there will be an occasion for a Chief Purpose Officer, going forward. ‘The chief purpose officer will be the next major C-level role.

‘Issues of politics, culture, and social debate have fully entered the workplace. Employees have been asked to bring their whole self to work as organizations try to create a more inclusive and productive work environment. This is fundamentally different than a decade ago when employees were expected to leave their personal perspectives “at the door.” Employees also expect their employer to get more involved in the societal and political debates of the day; Gartner analysis found three out of four employees expect their employer to take a view on the societal and political debates of the day. The combination of these factors is creating conflict in the workplace — a Gartner 2020 survey of more than 500 employees revealed that 44% of employees have actively avoided coworkers because of their political beliefs. Further, Gartner analysis found employee engagement can drop by one-third when employees are disappointed with their employer’s stance on the societal and political debates of the day. The shifting nature of organizations — how they relate to their employees, communities, and their role in society — is creating the next, new major C-suite role that will emerge in 2022: the chief purpose officer. Currently, these responsibilities are widely diffused across HR, legal, communications, and other roles in the organization. In 2022, these will be consolidated into this new role as ESG becomes even more important to corporate strategies.

 

What are you doing to create purpose in your workplace? Have a strong unified vision? A focus is important.