EXTRAORDINARY GROUPS: Creating a Culture of Candor by Embracing Difference with Kathleen Ryan 1Bellman/Ryan © 2010

My Work in Sub-titles  Creating the High-Trust, High-Performance Organization  How to Successfully Speak Up at Work  How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results Bellman/Ryan © 2010 Fear and Trust Collaboration Organization Culture Leadership High Performance Organizational Change 

A Culture of Candor  People at all levels everyday engage honestly and openly about ideas, info, concerns re: performance and culture…including ethics and compliance  This requires building trust and confidence in leadership, management, and the system so that people speak up, voice their values, and are actively engaged at work Bellman/Ryan © 20103

The Essential Tensions Walk the Talk? Does the organization (through its management structure and public positions) model and reinforce behavior that is in alignment with what it says is important? Trust or Fear? Is it safe for individuals to speak up about mixed messages or other concerns? Is risk-taking supported? Pockets of Culture? For each workgroup, what behavior does the culture support— taking risks or playing it safe? Bellman/Ryan © 2010

Fear and Trust Bellman/Ryan © 2010 Fear of Repercussions due to speaking up about risky subjects Trust that people will understand my positive intent and respect my effort

The Obvious Points  Asking questions or raising concerns about ethical or compliance issues can be risky  In many organizations, these become ‘undiscussable’ issues  Your programs depend on people being willing to take these risks  What strategies can you employ to support this risk-taking behavior throughout the organization? Bellman/Ryan © 2010

Groups in Human History  Thousands of years of living in groups, survive together, perish alone  Genetically, instinctively informed to group  Smallish groups are the way we get things done  At work, an organization’s culture becomes real within work groups and the interaction between an employee with his/her supervisor 7Bellman/Ryan © 2010

Your Own Experience 1.Think of a group experience you’ve had at work… – That stands out as very positive – Where you were able to bring your best self to the work, including the ability to express differing points of view or discuss sensitive subjects 2.How did that capability affect: – Your group results? – You as a person? Bellman/Ryan © 2010

Discussion  What factors enabled your group to talk about differing points of view and risky issues?  Where does trust fit? 9Bellman/Ryan © 2010

Extraordinary Groups, in a Nutshell  We humans have a set of mostly unconscious core needs that we bring to any group we join, in any part of our lives.  When those needs are met by a group… A set of identifiable behaviors or circumstances show up in the group experience The experience can be transformational—and thus extraordinary!  Any group member, leader, or facilitator can intentionally act in ways that will support his or her group in becoming extraordinary. Bellman/Ryan © 2010

Eight Performance Indicators 1.Compelling Purpose 2.Shared Leadership 3.Just-Enough Structure 4.Full Engagement 5.Embracing Difference 6.Unexpected Learning 7.Strengthened Relationships 8.Great Results 11Bellman/Ryan © 2010

An Intersection of Strategies Driving Fear Out of the Workplace Extraordinary Groups Discuss Undiscussables: Openly discuss sensitive, hard-to-discuss issues to resolve concerns and pursue opportunities Embrace Differences: See, value, and use different backgrounds, skill sets, perspectives, and cultures as a strength Bellman/Ryan © 2010 Both strategies build trust, encourage candor, and lead to high performance.

6 Elements of Embracing Difference 1.Use difference as an essential tool to reach decisions and strategies 2.Do not back away from sensitive issues or passionate debate 3.Support those who raise ‘undiscussables’—no retribution 4.Learn from differences; change views with new perspective 5.Respect each other as individuals for the unique perspectives they bring 6.Don’t expect to be comfortable Bellman/Ryan ©

To Cultivate a Culture of Candor 1.Make the case for Embracing Difference in all workgroups, starting at the top of your organization 2.Personally model the six elements of Embracing Difference 3.In groups you lead, open up the space for dialogue, debate, exploration, and learning 4.Establish Embracing Difference and Discussing Undiscussables as core management and leadership competencies 5.Make sure incentive and performance management programs support these behaviors Bellman/Ryan © 2010

The Essential Tensions Walk the Talk? Does the organization (through its management structure and public positions) model and reinforce behavior that is in alignment with what it says is important? Trust or Fear? Is it safe for individuals to speak up about mixed messages or other concerns? Is risk-taking supported? Pockets of Culture? For each workgroup, what behavior does the culture support— taking risks or playing it safe? Bellman/Ryan © 2010

And…  Be inspired by the importance of your work  Maintain a positive bias  Come from the center of your own values, your own integrity Bellman/Ryan © 2010

An Invitation…Under Development  An online Extraordinary Groups Survey and Training Programs for group leaders and group members  Purpose: -Establish the skills and concepts necessary to supporting highly effective groups -A catalyst for group reflection, conversation, and development  Looking for large organizations to be test sites: -As the training is developed -Researching the impact of the training on both the group’s performance and the impact of that performance on important organizational metrics Bellman/Ryan ©

Visit our website,  Blog posts with practical strategies  Library: tools and writings  Copies of today’s slides Bellman/Ryan © 2010