My current home is in Bolton, Ontario which, for those who have not visited,  is a great place to live. Ontario has been a wonderful home to me and my family most of my life after starting off in Saskatchewan. In fact, if you have lived in any part of Canada, you know that you’ve been blessed.

But British Columbia, for many reasons, is where my heart is. This is where my parents are, as well as my sisters and their families, and it is difficult to express with the limited words of the English language the intense love I feel for them all.  B.C. is also where my entire family, including my brothers (one from China and the other also from Ontario) gather when we have family get-togethers. One of my brothers is also here right now. And I have some very dear friends here as well.

But there’s much more to British Columbia than family, as the many hundreds of thousands if not millions of annual visitors will attest. British Columbia is rich in resources; forests, mountains, clear glacial waters, fisheries, minerals, and the most spectacular scenary you will find anywhere on earth with it’s blend of rich green forests, majestic grey snowpeaked mountains and jagged coast lines reaching into the green-blue oceans all filled with life. The Okanogan region is a fertile ground for growing fruits of many varieties and the climate is temperate and ideally suited for vegetation and farming. It’s incredibly rich with green growth everywhere along the coastlines and in the valleys. They have old growth forests that boast some of the tallest trees in the world and rainforests in the northern regions of Vancouver Island that are rich in wildlife and biodiversity.  

More than just a pretty place, British Columbia also celebrates the many cultures that share this amazing province in the arts, crafts, music and lifestyles including the adoption of some of the wisdom and contributions of its indigenous peoples and the abundance of festivals of every kind. Everywhere I have traveled in British Columbia, and I preface this by acknowledging my sister Celia for introducing me to her incredibly wide circle of friends, the people of British Columbia seem somehow in harmony with their home, respectful of the place in which they live, many striving for a sustainable living while acknowledging and enjoying the bounties of the land with which they have been gifted. With no salt on winter roads, their cars remain intact for a considerable length of time and many take full advantage of this bounty by driving much older cars, a common sight in B.C. There seems to be, at least based on my limited observations, less of a sense of trying to keep up with the neighbors and more a sense of enjoying what is. Most of the new friends I’ve met are satisfied to drive a 10 or 15 year old car as long as it still works. And it isn’t just about cars. Many of the British Columbians I’ve spoken to are keenly aware of the damage that rampant consumerism can cause and strive to live a lifestyle which is more focused on values, developing friendships, enjoying the arts and nature, and providing services rather than focusing quite so much on material pursuits. The pace of life, at least on the island is just a little slower than other places in Canada. My other sister, Joy, described the complex recycling regime which she goes through in order to maximize the amount of recycled goods and minimize the waste going to the landfill and yet she tells me that there are many British Columbians who are happy to share in this recycling ritual just for the sake of preserving what they have.

To simply share the good of British Columbia would, of course, be a little inaccurate. British Columbia, like every place on earth has it’s challenges. One is that it happens to sit on a fault line that is shared with the entire west coast and it anticipates one of the biggest earthquakes the world has seen. Many studies are being done on earthquake detection, earthquake resistant structures, and sunami warning systems to minimize the impact, but when it hits, they will definitely be in for a shake that will stress the hearts and spirit s and test the ability of British Columbians to pull together and befriend each other through extreme hardship. We don’t know when it will happen, perhaps not in this lifetime.

British Columbia is also suffering along with the remainder of an ailing planet from environmental damage. Invasive species such as giant hog weed which competes well in open areas, pine beetles that ravage vast areas of the forest and which now survive the milder winters, raging forest fires caused by a extreme dought, landslides from extreme rain events, toxicity in farmed fish, coastal areas which have suffered from oil spills and pollution, and fisheries which are suddenly coming up short of various species, are just a few of the challenges they face. In it’s cities, it suffers from traffic conjestion and pollution (especially from those old cars which lack polution controls and burn oil), even though they are fortunate to have the ocean breezes which periodically cleanse the air.

Britsh Columbia has so much to offer but it has even more to protect. It’s vast resources are here to be used and even shared, but managing those resources to ensure sustainability is essential. Thoughtful and reflective planning which adopts the attitude shared by our indigenous friends and neighbors, that the earth is one country, that we are part of the environment, not separate from it, will help us to develop an attitude of service and reverence for our home (i.e. this planet) that will prevent us from claiming it to be our own and believing that we can exploit or abuse it’s resources without limits.

If you’ve never been to British Columbia, visit, you will not be disappointed.

Garth Schmalenberg

P.S. Feel free to share this article with your friends and neighbors by e-mail or by directing them to this site.

Conflict, by it’s nature, signals a need for change. But underlying the existance of conflict is a deeper and more distressing issue. The fact that we accept conflict as a tool and allow conflicts to flourish signals a lack of maturity in human creativity and development. If not handled with extreme care, conflicts are destructive, either physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially, socially or environmentally. The larger the dispute, the more destructive.

What’s worse is that conflicts tend to be destructive long after the disputing parties find a way to stop the dispute. They continue to cause challenges as long as bad feelings linger, until learning occurs, mindsets change and reparations are completed. Some disputes unfortunately last centuries.

But there are better and more creative solutions that using conflict to find solutions. Let’s look at a few impacts of conflict and consider alternatives.

The Impact of Conflict on Organizations
Although organizations are emotionless in one sense, the individuals and leaders who make up those organizations are not. They can be directly injured by the events surrounding a conflict and they may sustain those injuries over a very long period. This impacts both internal team work and relations with external community interests. Perspectives may be severely impacted. Leaders who take a stand for their organization may find themselves repeating “the company line” and be grounded in a sense of righteousness even if the justifications for their perspectives have long since been proven false.

The organizational approach often reflects the attitudes and emotions of it’s leaders. Effective leaders communicate their perspective with influence and those who are influenced support and reflect the concepts of their leaders whether they are worthy of such reflection or not. Such is the nature of organizational culture.

The power to influence gives leaders both the capacity to do tremendous good when openess and learning are encouraged, or to inflict tremendous harm and stunted progress as when conflict arises. It is this fact that compels organizational leaders of all types to rethink the concepts surrounding conflict.

Conflict on the World Stage
Another interesting potential for conflict is how we think about national sovereignty.

An interesting case in point is the recent over-flights of Russian planes in Canadian territory. From the perspective of a Canadian, and what I have always personally held as true, according to the history that I’m aware of, the waters and islands north of Canada’s main land mass to the North Pole have always been considered part of Canada. I hold a specific bias. Now that there’s less ice, this perspective is being challenged by Russia and other countries. Until there are more compelling arguments presented, or a contrary decision by the UN (or another universally recognized voice of the international community), I will continue to believe this area to be Canadian and hold a “Canadian” perspective. That is the view that our sovereign leadership would want us to hold as well, so they make bold assertions on their “ability” and “willingness” to “defend” their territory and engage in conflict if necessary.

The reality, however, is more complex. Land and resource claims are rarely simple. Many wars have proven that they are seldom solved by unilateral declarations of one party over another. While Canada may very will have a valid claim, it is highly unlikely that engaging in conflict would actually benefit us as a solution. 

And while it is true that all nations must guard against putting the world in the hands of individuals who would usurp the human rights of others, in the end, it is the world at large that must decide on issues of sovereignty by international mechanisms of justice. If these mechanisms were to decide against Canada’s claim we would ultimately be forced to comply.

A friend of mine who is a foreign diplomat once told me that his country makes firm claims of sovereignty on disputed lands, not necessarily because they are unwilling to share the resources in a fair and equitable way, but that if they fail to make that strong claim, there would be questions at the very start of negotions regarding their right to share anything, even though from their own perspective, the land is historically theirs. While he saw defense of his country as an essential right, he acknowledged that, ultimately, what’s best for the world is also what’s best for his country and his hope was that an international tribunal would be held to facilitate an equitable outcome.

Another case in point is the Spratly Islands, Pratas Islands, Paracel Islands and Macclesfield Bank in the South China / East Vietnam sea which are all claimed by several countries. The Arabian / Persian Gulf and disputed Israeli/Palistinian territory are also hotly contended. As long as there are no strategic advantages, these situations tend to remain somewhat dormant. But as soon as countries become aware of valuable resources (e.g. oil under the northern ice cap) or where these claims represent strategic military positioning, they are hotly disputed and these disputes can be exceedingly distructive.

So we have to ask the question: Has the time for independent claims of sovereignty passed? Are we not at a stage where the world would be better served by creative negotiation around what is best for the world?

New Problems demand New Thinking
In the world of business, claims are eventually settled in courts, but even there, there are many companies that engage in conflict against local interests simply to satisfy their shareholders. Rather than seeking reconciliation and creative solutions, they deepen their rehtoric and strive to influence their own agenda even when it is widely accepted as harmful by those who are directly impacted by their actions.

As we face an ever worsen global situation, engaging in conflict as a means of solving problems is out-dated.

In a world that is struggling under the massive influence of climate change, accelerating population growth, destruction of oceans, potential threats to food, water and energy supplies and which possess almost limitless destructive capacity, the future of leadership demands that we re-think our methods, that we strive to find common solutions and that we avoid conflict at all costs by learning how to systematically build understanding and act based on global wisdom vs. individual or group interests.

If we want to reach a world which has all the attributes we want, clean, carbon neutral, abundant with food and clean water, equitable for all people, peaceful and which provides an opportunity for each individual to reach their ultimate development, we need to start thinking bigger.

Reflective Consultation and Discourse as an Alternative to Conflict
People are fundamentally good at heart but often find themselves trapped in their own mental patterns. We repeat endless retoric to ourselves and create neural pathways which help us decide right from wrong and good from bad. So when it come time to submit to a higher authority, we find it difficult because we like to believe that we know better. But our thoughts are always incomplete and most likely one-sided.

In a world of competing interests, the leader of vision is the one that encourages discourse and consultation to solve claims and document agreements and then abides by and supports the majority decision, not for the good of the country or their business or shareholders, but for the good of the world.

The irony is that, as the world begins to slowly accept fundamental human rights and is slowly forced to address the enormity of the global issues we are all facing, all countries will begin to converge on the same methods, approaches and realities anyway. In the end, our choices will be limited to those that will ensure our survival.

We see this convergence in the global economy, how all nations work together on policy, and how all nations are involved in some form, albeit not enough, in thinking about how to address issues like climate change.

While making threats of  “ability and willingness to defending sovereignty” or defense of business interests may be necessary when we feel threatened in the light of no clear decision mechanism, we also need to recognize that such threats are ulitmately idle until all claimants have been heard and decisions are made in the court of international opinion or, even better, by international tribunals created for the settlement of all important claims. The UN and world court are a start but education is required.

Learning the skills of frank and respectful consultation coupled with an attitude of detachement are essential in today’s businesses and political environments. Let’s hope that our leaders begin to appreciate the benefits of this approach and strive to educate themselves and their organizations accordingly.

All the best,

Garth Schmalenberg,
Web: http://hbi-leadership.com
Blog: http://sustainabilityculture.com
E-mail: garth@hbi-leadership.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gschmalenberg
Linked-In:
Phone: 1-416-919-6598

Ideas are to be shared. Please feel free to comment or to share these ideas through your favourite bookmarking site or by e-mail.

The consequences on a larger scale may be what we experience as a society. We all begin to think alike because no one has challenged our assumptions. Environmentally, this has led to things like Climate Change because we jointly assumed that it was OK to keep going in the direction that we were going. Thankfully, mother nature eventually speak ups and shares her opinions through the impacts that we start seeing on the health of the earth. So the image of our earlier consensus is now, at least, being challenged and other voices are starting to be heard.

Establishing a Consultative Environment that Leads to Better Decisions

It is useful, when establishing any consultative environment, whether in an business or political setting, to build new skills around consultation and expressing differing opinions. Whenever differing opinions are expressed with attachment to the idea, there is potential for conflict and dissention. But it need not lead to this.

When a differing opinion is shared as merely as a different perspective or idea for consideration, rather than the “right idea” vs the “wrong idea”, or “my idea” vs. “your idea”, if it is something that is shared with and owned by the group when it is shared, it need not represent conflict or disagreement, and it can be open for modification by the group. My experience has been that whoever is leading, faciliating or chairing a discussion needs to learn a few fundamental skills about holding the space of “respect for others” and providing the tools and means to help others express their opinions freely. At the same time, there are additional skills the group needs to learn about not re-sharing what has already been said if one is in full agreement.

In a family situation, groupthink can happen and, periodically, leads to bad decisions. More often in a family setting, the more damaging decisions are as a result of disagreement that is voiced loudly in a way that is untrained. Even in a family setting consultation can be made much more effective.

In the corporate or political world, bad decisions which are made as a result of groupthink or poor quality consultation can have serious and expensivie consequences and it is an excellent investment for leadership teams to learn how to consult and make decisions effectively.

Parliamentary political systems often demonstrate a different type of groupthink, (i.e. one party against another). This type of groupthink is equally futile and leads to bad decisions and policy because often the brightest minds in the room are stifled by party lines and party leadership.

In business, billions of dollars are spent on bad decisions that people know are bad decisions but they are unable or unwilling due to group dynamics to share their perspectives.

We can only hope that as businesses and political systems evolve, that the leaders will make training on the essential concepts, skills, attitudes and habits of effective consultation manditory, and that they will invest in creating environments which lead to better long term decisions. Effective leaders are those who have studied these skills, who have effective listening skills, who know how to inquire of their team in ways which encourage contribution and independent thought, and they are aware of the behavioural habits of each participant. They encourage others to freely express and share perspectives.

While most leaders have some of these skills, they also generally benefit from a little coaching and reflective learning. One idea they can use in learning this skill is to record a few meetings and to replay them for the purpose of learning from the dynamics of the consultation rather than focusing on the content.

There is also an organizational and personal coaching perspective which is useful, “no one gets to be wrong”. If that space is held by each member during a discussion, generally there will be a lot more openess and sharing of differing opinions. Sometimes there is need of a coach or faciliator to hold that space.

All the best,

Garth Schmalenberg,
Garth@hbi-leadership.com
http://hbi-leadership.com
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gschmalenberg
416-919-6598

Ideas are for sharing. Please share these ideas through your favourite bookmarking site, use RSS feeds or e-mail to a friend or colleague.

After an organization has gone through a coaching program designed to help them think about unity, the exploration of new possibilities becomes a reality. Instead of wondering about results, the benefits become obvious.

The style of thinking changes in two ways.

1) For leaders, when holding others responsible, the change is towards a global self-accountability and effectively communicating to enhance learning. In other words, everyone learns to think in terms of “what could I have done that would have made the result better?” rather than, “why did someone else make that mistake?”. The questions we might ask include “How can I take the learning from the current situation and apply it to future situations?” “What might I do to more quickly act on negative emotions and energy to move forward and re-inforce positive learning?”, “What could I have done to help improve on the areas where the deficiency or failure occured?”

It is about learning to see that when others make errors, that there is still a certain truth in their understanding of the situation and only by taking that into account can the whole truth can be determined.

For example, we may see a person underperforming or missing a deadline. We may have a negative gut feeling toward the situation but if we act on it without first examining it carefully, we will only bring defensiveness from the individual involved.

If, instead, we look at our own role in the situation, we will determine that we also contributed. Perhaps we didn’t ensure that the item was on-track (i.e. abnegation vs. delegation) or perhaps we didn’t ensure that the combination of skill, challenge, motivation, communication, tracking, understanding and tools were adequate to the job. Our learning, if we are honest, is that we also contributed to the result in one form or another and that we will get better results if we address the issue, rather than blame the person. As leaders or influencers, we will always do better if we hold ourselves accountable first.

2) The thinking in a unified organization goes much deeper than just the leadership level. Leaders learn how to instill a different level of thinking in the staff.

The concept of Organizational Unity relies on a fundamental change in the thinking of each individual, and ultimately, one at a time, we each contribute to changing the whole organization. The thinking that each leader must learn to share is this, that each time we execute a job, even if we do less than perfect, it never speaks to inadequacy, rather to our acceptance of who and where we are at that moment of our lives and a fundamental belief that the rest of our life is always an opportunity to learn and progress. It is not about blaming others or defending ourselves. Rather, we understand that given our current state of mind, physical condition, skill, motivation and training, we have done the best that we could have done and that we always have the choice and opportunity to strive to do better. 

For example, if someone is late in deliverying they may have felt very little motivation, or they may have been under stress and not thinking clearly about the task, or they may have been unclear about instructions and expected outcome. In each case, they have acted with the resources available to them and come up short. This doesn’t mean that they are to be blamed either by themselves or by others. It means only that the actions taken have not met the anticipated result. As they learn to accept ultimately responsibity for improving each area in their own life they see positive opportunity and growth.

In some cases, a poor result may also mean that the individual is not in a position, at that moment, to execute the role adequately. In such cases, for the good of the individual and the organization, they may need to moved to a position that will better benefit them and the organization and be replaced with someone who is better prepared. In a unified learning environment, this never speaks negatively to the underlying worth as a human beings. It only encourages us to accept where we are and to strive and prepare for meeting future challenges. As we learn to accept consequenses of our actions, both negative and positive, and the input that others provide, we learn that each has some validity and value.

It requires us to learn how to filter the valuable information from the emotion and to recognize that each leader and contributor is also on a path of learning. Some communicate more effectively than others and we can help them to learn how to communicate with us by thanking them when their communications are helpful and calmly sharing with them when it is not. We have a responsibility to teach others how to communicate with us. We can also accept that life is not an exact science and that some leaders judge more effectively than others. Each provides us an opportunity to work on our own skills and attributes.

As we begin to view life as a continuous opportunity to learn and grow, our stress about the judgement of others is reduced and we learn how to gain from every action and interaction.

As these ways of thinking filter through the organization, the organization and its members contribute to a more positive environment for learning and improving. As each individual improves in their own skills, as the methods of communication improve, the organizational results also improve. As leaders begin to see a new environment of growth and contribution, they are also able to think about a brighter future.

Emotional Acceptance

The first kind of thinking will, in a sense, be non-thinking. In other words, emotional acceptance of the concept. This involves a gut level emotional response. Here’s the question you need to answer.

Do you believe that there are benefits to establishing unity?

For now, just imagine that you have achieved it. How would your organization look different? What might change in your meetings, your attention to customers, your team work, your ability to implement change, the overall maturity of the organization? What might change in the employees when they begin to understand concepts that change the way that they view themselves, their relationships and the way they view others and the services they provide?

Rational Acceptance

The second kind of thinking will be rational acceptance. If we emotionally accept that Organizational Unity has benefits, we can also rationally accept that it is, at very least, worth thinking about. Even if we’re not sure of how it can be achieved, it is still worth making the initial effort of investigating ideas and coming up with a vision for the future. If we can prove to ourselves by example that Unity is possible on a small scale then it’s just a matter of scale. Most of us can remember at least one relationship in our life that demonstrates elements of unity. So we have some understanding of how it works, and we understand some of the benefits to our well-being and our ability to function. The question is “how do you convert the scale to encompass an organization?”. 

Scale

The third kind of thinking will be that of scale. If we can emotionally and rationally accept the benefits of Organizational Unity and accept that it’s possible on a small scall, we still need to think about how to structure an initiative to establish Unity on a larger scale. This is something that is strongly related to the Context of Unity and the Environment of Unity. Both are essential. If you haven’t already read these sections, you may wish to do so. Essentially, scaling is about creating a structure and method that causes a new set of ideas and concepts to spread. It needs to provide direct and concrete benefits to each participant in the process. This causes buy-in, participation and a desire to put effort into it.

Possibilities

The fourth kind of thinking is around the very interesting possibilities when we begin to accept the possibility or even inevitability of it’s outcome. What if? What happens now? What’s possible for our future?

In this entry, we won’t go too deep into these ideas. We will just present them for your thought. In future articles we can explore these ideas in depth.

Garth Schmalenberg

We talked earlier about the development of context. The “Context” creates the environment. The air  of context nourishes the earth and over a period of time helps to purify it. The earth slowly attains new qualities. In the case of organizational unity, the environment which is created is one where individuals begin to understand their power to make changes, their power to contribute and their power to take responsibility. It is an environment where growth is encouraged at all levels and where competition exists only to promote the growth of the whole entity. The qualities that the individual develops include those which are conducive to the development of unity. These include tolerance, unity in diversity, love, and respect.

I’ve also listed intolerance as one of the qualities. The notion of intolerance is really one which prevents us from allowing ourselves to become embroiled in negative thoughts about others. The intolerance therefore is an intolerance for any long-term thoughts which prevents us from reaching our goal. Given that we also encourage compassion for our shortcomings, it is acceptable that we would occasionally find ourselves dwelling in negative thoughts or a loss of hope. The intolerance only means that we will bring ourselves back to a higher level as quickly as possible.

So let’s look at this environment a little more closely.

Environmental Item 1) Tolerance
The notion of tolerance is a necessary component for an environment of unity. Without tolerance, we find it difficult to accept other points of view. Tolerance does not mean that you necessarily agree with other points of view. It simply means that you respect another person’s right to express and believe in their own point of view. Remember that you’re creating an environment of unity, however, it may not yet exist. So even though you are tolerating other people’s perspectives, they may not be tolerating yours. when you first began the process of creating the environment of unity, this is to be expected. There is no way to know how long it’ll take for others to accept this perspective. This will create an environment that seems unbalanced.

For now, I simply ask that you trust the process and accept that any discrepancies in the environment which limit you from exercising your rights or expressing your perspectives will eventually evaporate. These descrepencies are, for now, opportunities for your own growth and to give you practice in tolerance. You have the opportunity to learn how to understand others and to accept them for who they are.

Environmental item 2) Unity in Diversity
In the environment of unity the only hope of maintaining unity is if we accept diversity as a benefit and not a detriment. The concept of “Unity in Diversity” means that we accept a certain kind of beauty in the differences between people . One example is the fact that people exist everywhere in the world and in each part of the world we have independently developed language, culture , and everything needed. Is it reasonable to conclude that one culture is right and another is wrong? The only thing that we can safely conclude is that the cultures are different. Unity in diversity goes beyond tolerance. It suggests that we actually learn to enjoy and value the differences. The simple as the example I can think of, is the example of flowers and a garden if all the flowers are the same color and type, the garden is beautiful but it’s also boring. If the flowers are of different types and colors,, the garden is much more interesting and much more beautiful. When we learned to look at differences of opinion in the same way that we would look at colors and a flower garden, we will begin to understand what unity in diversity means. We’ll see the difference in opinion not only as different, but as a necessary part of our world. We will see it as something that’s beautiful with a different fragrance, color, and shape. The next time you hear a different idea or opinion from someone else see what you can learn by searching for the beauty in the idea. If we learn to accept that all ideas contain value, we learn to mine each idea.

Environmental Item 3) Love
Talking about love within an organization is a little unusual and generally makes us feel a little squeemish. But, when we go home, we expect that we will have love for our family. Most of us are also OK with the concept that we should love humanity. For now, just think of love in the workplace as love for humanity.

Love in its simplest terms is the power of attraction. We are attracted to each other in some form. Whether we are attracted to each others differences or our commonalities, we are always able to learn from each other and we gain from the experience of being together. As we learn to love the world we are able to utilize its infinite diversities.

Although we understand and accept love conceptually, when it comes time to manifest that love, we sometimes don’t do as well as we could and that is true both at home and at work.

For the purposes of examining love in the concept of ”Organizational Unity” we can look at love as the binding force that keeps us together in some way and the respect we show towards others for their contribution to the whole. If we think of the world as a large organization, we need to know that we all belong. When there is no love between people, there is also very little desire to work together. In other words, either we learn to love the people we work with and for, or we begin watching our organizations break down. You might argue that we only have casual friendships with people at work. That’s true. It’s just a lesser degree of the same bonding force and since love isn’t always expressed in the same way, it manifests itself in the form of friendships and working relationships. What is common, however, is that the expression of love  remains a bonding force and which, in its ideal form, encourages and supports growth.

You might ask how love can be expressed when someone doesn’t “fit” the organization. This is a deeper topic and we will explore it later. For now suffice it to say that this does happen and there are solutions which will still cause the Organizational Unity to grow.

Love may be expressed in many facits of an organization. In the concept of Organizational Unity, it is not so much the organization that we love, but the unity that can be found within the organization. It is the harmony between individuals and the different ways that they are able to work together, each using their own talents, cultures, ways of thinking, backgrounds, and experiences. We learn how to use these diverse resources in our interactions together to create new products and services. 

An attitude of customer service is another manifestation of love. It causes us to want to help our customers enjoy a better and more successful life. Isn’t that what we want for those we love? On the other hand, if you don’t feel love for your customers, how likely is it that you will treat them with care and respect. Here’s an example. I had a call the other day from a local TV provider who was attempting to up-sell me to their next higher service. My answer was that I was happy with my current provider and the price I was getting and that if he could get me a better service (e.g. HD) at the same price I was already paying that I would consider switching. The individual on the other end of the line upon hearing my request rather indignantly said, “I’m here to make sales, stop wasting my time.” I pointed out to him that he had called me, not the other way around. Did he demonstrate love for me as a customer? Not very much. Would he do well within the company from a sales perspective? Possibly. Would he enjoy the fruits of his labour? Here is my guess. When an individual values money more that people, they drive a wedge between themselves and that which has the potential to make them happiest, namely their relationships. Even to an unknown customer, there is always the opportunity to create a positive sentiment. Would he leave a good taste with regard to the company he was representing? Absolutely not. Would his vision of the world contribute to the whole? Not likely. Am I suggesting that this individual won’t learn? No, this is just his current state and hopefully, he will someday, perhaps after some challenging relationships, he will learn to love people more than his commissions.

No one is suggesting that we forget about profit, only that in the long run, it is the love of being with and serving others that will cause us to unite together in our efforts and to be successful in creating useful and functional enterprises that serve the needs of our world.  

Environmental Item 4) Respect
This factor is the one which provides the understanding for the others. If we find it difficult to love someone else, we will learn tolerence through having a fundamental respect for them. This respect is really just an acknowledgement that, as human beings, we all have an equal right to belong, to contribute, to receive, to think, to have an opinion. When this understanding is planted in the form of respect, it provides a foundation upon which love an tolerance can be built.

Unity in organizations involves several key elements. I’ll share a few concepts to help readers consider how these concepts may be applied to their own organization.

A Context of Unity
The “Context” under which unity is established in an organization is like the air which is breathed into the process to give it life. Although there are specific processes that eventually develop within an organization to assist the spread of these concepts, initally it starts with a seed which is the thought of possibility. The atmosphere begins to change the environment and everything it touches. The fundamental context in which the thoughts and feelings of unity start to grow begin inside each person. It is not necessary for everyone in the organization to hold these thoughts. It only requires that one person begin thinking in this way and to slowly “infect” others. Once these “kinds” of thoughts reach leadership levels, they can be shared with the organization more rapidly through training and a larger example. This is the “tipping point” for the organization. In addition, once these kinds of concepts reach high enough or deep enough into the organization, they change the culture of the organization.

Context 1) Recognition of the benefits of unity in the organization
The first context that will help unity to grow is a fundamental recognition that a greater sense of unity will have a positive influence on the organization. Generally, this context is fairly easy to establish. There are relatively few people who would argue that disunity is a better framework unless they are simply striving to be argumentative or cynical. Looking at this in more detail, consider a few scenarios that are common in the work place. It is generally accepted that, if there are strong teams, the net result for the organization is positive. Since the notion of unity also promotes Unity in Diversity, there is also no restriction on encouraging individual initiatives. Both are positive. The notion for unity is that All successes are encouraged unless they are damaging to the whole, and that the whole is always more important than the individual. Having said that, there is a further understanding that Success of the whole will always contribute, in the end, to the success of the individual. This second context will require additional examination and, at this point, sceptics may not accept this notion. We will discuss this in a later article.

Context 2) Belief that unity is possible
A much harder belief to instill is that unity in the organization is possible. Many individuals will, at this moment, find themselves saying “no way will unity ever be possible in this organization”. Others will see this as not big task but may not be thinking of unity from the same perspective. Given the historical precidence of many organizations, it would seem that it true unity might be impossible. However, remember that this is setting a context and that the context doesn’t need to include everyone in the organization to start working. It only requires, at first, the setting of that context within a few individuals. And for now, just hold onto the possibility that there is a way. At this point, even if you can believe that it “may” be possible, that’s enough. 

Context 3) Acceptance of personal pesponsibility
This is where the rubber begins to hit the road. There is only one person that needs to begin shifting their thought to start. The very fact that you have made it this far suggests that you may have already started. You don’t need to do it perfectly, and you don’t need to accept everything at once. You only need to hold onto context 2 that “unity is possible” and that you have a positive role to play. You might look around you and be thinking that even if you did accept personal responsibility that “it’s still not possible”. But plant this tiny seed “it is Possible” and all you need to do is to take the responsibility to water it by reading periodically, learning a little more bit by bit, and it will grow. First it will grow in you, then in those you share the concepts with. As you learn more, you will have more ideas to share.

Why should you take personal responsibility? Because there’s a gift in this process. Anyone who takes on this responsibility receives a gift of personal growth that will change the way they interact with the world at all levels. Even as I discover and share this concept, it has changed my interactions with the world. And I know that it has changed other people around me as well. And I know that eventually it will change anyone who comes into contact with it. Also, remember that not everyone is ready to take on this responsibility just yet. This is part of the growth process. If you’re not ready yet, just book mark it and pass the note on to someone that you think might be interested. You can come back to it later when the seed has grown a little.

Context 4) Insured trust in what’s happening
The word insured means that there is a built in protection in what’s happening. The insurance is this: Whenever you strive to accomplish something, for every pain and test, there will always be a corresponding reward of growth and a better way to understand the world. It starts only with you and whenever you are able to move with it. By trusting in yourself, the one person you can always count on, you keep living and growing. You can always hold that, if things don’t go according to your plan or the way you anticipated, know that they are still unfolding in a way that will eventually benefit the world and that your thoughts and actions have already made the world better than it would have otherwise been. The only thing this context relies on is your continued Trust.

For example, suppose you witness someone in your organization doing something that is not what you would expect, anticipate or hope for. You simply need to look to yourself and see if you are doing what’s right for the whole and that you are not causing any intentional harm to anyone. You can have faith that, if you are acting according to this concept, you will always grow from whatever is happening even if the changes seem difficult or others are presenting tests for you. You can look at the other individuals and understand that they are also doing what they believe to be right, even if their perspectives appear distorted or wrong. Be curious and learn from the perception of others.

By holding tests as opportunities to find better ways to react and grow in the world, there is always a guarentee that nothing can ever really injure you, and that all tests will strengthen you. Being assured in this way takes away the need to act in anger or frustration and allows you to act rationally and with strength in response to negative influences. Reacting this way is always better than reacting irrationally or in weakness. Notice how this small change in perspective already changes your world a little.

If you notice that you are overcome with emotion toward a situation, this is just where you are in your current development. There is no need to feel down, or to blame yourself or defend yourself against others. You simply accept where you are, accept your emotions, and start to move forward as soon as you are able.  With some practice, it becomes easier over time to maintain this perspective and to move forward more quickly.

As you learn to accept this responsibility and mindset, you also learn to make choices about your future without feeling forced by anyone to do anything. All choices become your own. Others may strive to apply pressure to influence your actions by displaying anger, disappointment, or by using guilt trips. You will learn to evaluate their actions, to find any truths buried in their statements, to carefully make all of your choices based on the all the information that the world around you presents, and to take full responsibility for your own thoughts, choices and actions. As you learn to take care of yourself, you will notice that abusive comments are just reflections of a person’s current frustrated state and you need not feel intimidated or defensive. As the intimidation is removed, so is the power of the abusive language is also removed and your ability to assist and support others is strengthened. (I should note here that protection against physical abuse requires a similar removal of power but it also involves a physical removal.) As the language of others looses it’s emotional grip, you can freely make your choices to either accept all or part of their comments and suggestions in your effort to improve the world around you. As you begin to see others in their more vulnerable state and in a state of growth and learning, you are better able to interact with them and help them to overcome misguided interactions and replace them with more effective interactions.

You will learn to be compassionate with yourself and others who are suffering when it is difficult to make choices. When others bow to pressure of the world around them, rather than feeling offended, you can feel compassion toward them and slowly help them to make better choices. You simply need to be aware that they haven’t yet had the opportunity to develop the thoughts that are now available to you. They are also on a journey that will eventually lead them to a better way. If you can share a kind word with them instead of an angry reaction, no doubt it will shorten their journey and make your own experience more positive.

The other Insurance in this context is knowing that each effort you make will benefit the world. Each act of tolerance, patience, understanding or support will have a slow but far reaching effect.

Context 5) Expectation that you will act first
In this context, even before you take a single step, you begin to know that the responsibility to act lies with those who are aware. And after having accepted responsibility for your actions and choices, you will eventually build up the capability to make a difference for others. As you do so, you will begin accept the responsibility to share ideas and know that, as you share these ideas, it will make a difference for you and those around you. As others begin to be “infected” by the Unity bug, they will also begin to take responsibility and being to share the concepts. The context of “Expectation that you will act first” is the virus that will ensure that the concepts of Organizational Unity will continue to grow in the organization. It is not about expecting the organization to implement processes of developing organizational unity nor is it about waiting for someone else to start. It is about sharing first and when others are ready they will share too. Certainly, when an organizational leaders accepts these concepts the process will hit a “Tipping Point” of communication, but there is nothing stopping this concept from spreading organically from the bottom up. And this concept does not stop at the boundary of the organization either. It moves into the home, to the family and to every other organization.

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What I mean by organizational unity is the concept that individuals in the organization have a deeper understanding of themselves and others in the organization and through this understanding are able to find greater unity. What’s more, it’s about developing a culture that continuously strives to increase this understanding.

This definition may be a little obscure. Let me try to give an example.

An organization has two departments which have difficulties working together. Each department manager regularly complains about the other to the VP noting their unreasonable actions, requests or behaviors.

The VP continues to struggle with the situation until he/she gains an greater and deeper understanding of the true nature of each of the managers and adjusts his/her expectation and actions.

After gaining this understanding, rather than loosing patience at the seemingly endless discussions, the VP is able to support and help each manager to better understand and interact with the other. And by gaining some ability to transfer this “wisdom”, each Manager also gains a different way of thinking about the VP and about the other manager and is able to accept certain things more easily and solve other things more easily. What happens in this process is that there is a systematic spread of “Wisdom” in the organization.

So how does this happen?

“Wisdom” is something that we normally gain with experience and is often accompanied by significant pain. The pain is generally the result of endless cycles of the same behaviors that only continue to deepen the pain until it is no longer bearable and finally, action is take to break the situation. Sadly the wisdom we sometimes gain is in this scenario is that we should move more quickly to break the relationship rather than gaining the wisdom of how to improve the relationship.

Another way of gaining “Wisdom” is through repeated cycles of guided trial and reflection.  In this scenario, certain wisdom and expertise is transfered to the VP by someone who has experience in the mechanics of transfering wisdom and the ability to solve relationship challenges. This wisdom helps the VP to reflect on what brings unity and what causes disunity in her/his own organization. The VP then begins to make changes in the way they look at the situation and, as the VP sees the situation in a new light, they begin to make changes in philosophy and actions, and as they reduce the pain, they also gain wisdom.

Although it may seem strange to talk about Wisdom when we talk about Organizations, it’s fairly easy to consider the consequece when the leaders of the organization lack wisdom.

I’ll talk more about this later and I’ll begin providing a method for implementing these concepts. For now, we can just think about it.

Garth

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