Take a sample of all the conversations the people in your organisation will have today. Include not only townhalls, portals, posters and PowerPoints but also daily stand-ups, sprint planning and reviews, performance management interventions, inductions and what gets discussed over a macchiato, at the cafeteria.
Now, sort those conversations into two categories: the HOW and the WHY.
HOW conversations are those that naturally pivot around what needs to be done, what will happen when it goes well (recognition) and what could be the consequences if it goes awry (punishment).
On the other hand, WHY conversations dive deeper into the purpose of the work being done, focussing on the intended impact on the experience of a customer.
WHY conversations traction the right mix of behaviours in an organisation (i.e. self-regulation, trust, collaboration, resilience, innovation, etc) whereas HOW conversations can easily dis-tract people into busying themselves with work which might or might not drive value.
Try having WHY-type conversations as bookends, to contain the HOW ones. Start and end your meetings connecting with the value that the team is trying to add to a group of clients, patients, users or consumers. The more you practice this, the more natural it will feel.
Eventually, you will notice the HOW conversations become sharper and shorter, and your teams truly engage with what they are creating.
Enjoy reading and sharing this amazing new issue of Strategic HR Review. Loads to think about!
Warm regards,
Javier
Dr Javier Bajer, Cultural Architect
Editor-in-Chief, Strategic HR Review
@javierbajer
