From time to time, I hear from HR managers that people in the training room are open, collaborative, genuine, sincere and direct, even deeply caring towards each other. But when you go back to business as usual in the training room, cooperation disappears and is replaced by competition, siloing and cornering.
Retrieved from Reelika and Itackled the topic in our podcast “Leadership without Leadership” (episode #126), and in the course of the conversation one important point became clear:
– ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ณ๐ถ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ด ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฌ๐ด ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ซ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ (at least that’s always my goal when doing training, because a leader’s most important tool is the leader himself and therefore the leader’s own understanding of himself needs to be honed, rather than learning other people’s management tools)
– ๐ตรถรถ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ข๐ด รผ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ช๐ฉ๐ต๐ช ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ, Largest market share, x% better than previous quarter, better capitalization than competitor, better profitability than competitor, best x, y, z.
Maybe we focus on comparison. To be better than someone, there has to be someone to compare with, there has to be a comparison. There must be winners and losers. There has to be a competition. By thinking ‘better than others’ in terms of e.g. market competition, we subconsciously create this organisational culture, and internal competition, siloing, or(s)tiality, emerges. Sometimes we even encourage this with in-house sales competitions, etc. techniques, which leads the focus back to external comparisons, rankings.
As soon as the focus goes to the outside, the focus automatically goes to the reference. As soon as it goes to comparison, we automatically create discomfort, we create an inferiority complex or an inferiority complex, we create limited performance, we create a repetition of mediocrity, we create a breeding ground for mental health disorders. Comparison with others ALWAYS leads to suffering in some form or another. Always.
As soon as the focus goes inward, we learn vulnerability, vulnerability makes us strong, through vulnerability we develop empathy and a collaborative spirit, we learn to ask for help, we learn to work together, to rely on each other, to create new value together that didn’t exist before, to lift each other up (including business performance).
In the trainings, I see that the natural state of human beings is not competition, but to work together, to be genuine, sincere, honest, understanding and creating. To do this, all you need is to create a mental space.
Maybe it all depends on the environment you create, or the words you use. So if the same person can be very genuine and sincere in the training room one day and be competitive the next, all you need to do is create a culture and a word usage in the organisation and things will change quickly.
“I want to be number 1 and better than others” versus “I want to be the best me and need the support of others” have very different qualities and create very different values in the organisation and in society at large.
