It's an exercise in matching and motivating

Company culture draws on so many influences and diverse dynamics. We put great store in detailed recruitment processes only to throw it away at the door when a new recruit starts with little welcome and in some cases, not even a  computer set up. Their team are busy getting on with BAU and have little time to look up and smile let alone welcome and guide.

But fit is so critical success that why don;t more managers spend time assessing, chatting, exploring with new staff what turns them on, what's important to them in work and what their purpose is - if we can tap into that real potential each time we recruit then the first 100 days would simply be, a breeze so wise up, find out what's important and let your team fly.

And if you want to know whether Gandhi was always the way you imagine take a look at this.

What's your fit?

I've just had a wonderful 30 minutes trawling around Linkedin and found some incredible things. One is a company called Roundpegg - The Culture company who relate culture to wine. You can see it here.

A good reminder that when you are doing something that doesn't fit with your values in a way that doesn't fit with your style then work can be tough. So this is a urgent call to all you managers out there! How confident are you that you fully understand the top 3 values of all your staff and their preferred way of working? How confident are you that your approach fits with these needs? Enjoy your pondering!

What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?

I loved this short blog from Richard Branson - take a look here

Something that popped up for me is that Entrepreneurs want to make a difference to people - so reflect on your week and ask yourself three questions:

1. What have you done this week that really makes a difference?
2. What else could you have stretched to where you missed an opportunity?
3. What 3 things will you do next week to make that difference?

Pay it forward

In Paul Cash's book "In Remarkable we Trust" there is a timely reminder about the power of pay it forward. You may remember the film from 2000 with Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment in which a school boy experimented with the impact of doing something for someone else and expecting nothing in return.

 In today's fast paced world riddled with celebrity, some people expect 'something for nothing' or instant reward for action.

I challenge you to do 5 things for others to help them in their job this week. It could be sending them a link to a useful article, connecting them with someone or giving them a card or small gift because they deserve it. Do it just because you can and not because you think it will lead to something.

Please share what you have done on this site... you never know it might help someone else too. Thank you.

Seek first to understand

Typically we seek to be understood. 

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand. They listen with the intent to reply.   

They are either speaking or preparing to speak. 

They are filtering everything and interpreting it in the context of their own lives.

And in today's world of instant communication with tweets, facebook notifications and emails popping up all the time the problem is compounded. Just take a minute to reflect on some of your conversations over the past 2 days..... would you have made the other person/people feel like the most important people in the world? If not, then you are falling short in your journey to becoming a Learning Entrepreneur... read on!

Levels of listening

Four common levels of listening have been identified, they are:

1. Ignoring.
2. Pretending to listen - i.e. “Right”, “Yeah, Yeah”, “OK, OK”.
3. Selective listening - hearing only certain parts of the conversation that have a particular interest for them.
4. Attentive listening – paying attention and focusing on the words.

Empathetic listening

The highest form of listening is empathetic listening, in other words listening with the intent to understand.  It involves more than registering the words that are spoken; it involves trying to understand what the person is saying, feeling and thinking.

To develop empathetic listening use your ears, eyes and heart.

You listen for feeling, meaning and behaviour.

This approach is a power resource for your networking helping you access needs that will enable you to fully connect with that person and offer tools/ people/ resources that might be of use to them. 

So over to you, will your listening be a power resource or a power zapper?

Connected posts

The joy of networking