Be More Dolphin!
Learning from one of nature’s greatest collaborators
Kindness in business is not soft… it is an essential skill that arms you for success!
It is becoming very apparent, that our kids will not tolerate the default culture that has been allowed to exist in so many businesses for far too long. And good on them!
Dolphins are known for their social skills and friendly behaviour and, despite cynicism amongst older colleagues about the constant attachment to their connected devices, it appears that the new generation entering the workplace is prepared to work hard, in return for more flexibility within a social and kind environment… they are becoming more dolphin!
Thirty years ago, things were very different in the office. But as the technology revolution extended, allowing us the flexibility of multiple working locations and continuous connectivity, somehow the unwritten rules evaporated as the boundaries between work life and home life dissolved.
In the 1970s, the closest my father ever got to being contacted by his boss ‘out of hours’ was if he bumped into him in Bentalls in Kingston, on a Saturday! But lucky for him the conversation would have been limited to the ridiculous price of parking or the length of time they had been required to spend in the furniture department!
By the 1990s it was becoming normal for work to cross the line into our personal time, and by the 2000s, the expectation of 24/7 availability had grown to become the norm. An extremely unwelcome bi-product of this was that any negative working culture or practices we had previously experienced only in the workplace, had now also cunningly invited themselves into our homes.
Emails arrive on our phones and laptops at any time that someone wishes to send them. Of course, many don’t realise the impact of the ‘pressure’ they are creating and the value of ‘scheduling tools’ are ignored by most. But just because it suits us to send that email at midnight, we must never assume that the recipient should feel obliged to read it before Monday morning, let alone answer it at 12:05am on a Saturday!
I am sure we all know people who have experienced toxicity in some guise or another at work. We have probably witnessed some ourselves.
A 24/7 expectation is only one example of the lack of work respect and kindness that has entered our personal worlds. In most cases it is a bad organisational habit that individuals have adopted to cope with an increasing workload, or somehow prove their value to an unforgiving employer. It demonstrates the need for us to not only set our own boundaries for what is acceptable behaviour, but also learn and accept those of others.
The dictionary definition of kindness is compassion, thoughtfulness and consideration and we should all take a moment to reflect on the kindness of our actions, whenever we do something that will impact others. Kindness feeds respect and respect feeds trust. Trust is the foundation of strong relationships and trusted relationships underpin sustainable business… and so the circle continues.
I read an interesting article this week that resonated with my own view of building a strong and successful business. It was an interview with the renowned retail guru Mary Portas.
Mary is unquestionably successful in business and I found it interesting to read, in her own words, how she has achieved her success. She is an advocate of a positive working culture. She thrives on collaborating with colleagues and networks… and she likes trust at work!
Of course, none of this is new thinking, but where it gets particularly interesting is when Mary speaks of how “businesses have to be kinder”.
Mary offers her top four tips for business… understand your customers… become a happy business… don’t focus on ‘what’ you are selling… and trust your intuition! When you read her wise thoughts in this article you’ll recognise pretty quickly that all four revolve around the strength of the open relationships, understanding and collaboration, that people develop in the course of doing what they do. “…you need open relationships where you’re not scared to call it out if something isn’t working,” Mary states, “the best business advice is candid and honest.”
We know, as humans we are natural collaborators; we don’t usually excel when left to our own devices, but almost always achieve more when we are part of a team. We are naturally creative creatures and creativity is frequently compounded when we work together, bouncing ideas off one another and encouraging each other to reach new heights. But where the greatest collaborations are achieved you will find kindness, respect and trust are the pillars that support the team and its work.
At In-toto Interactive, we share Mary’s view… in our world kindness is king and one of the cornerstones of sustainable success. If you would like to learn more about enabling your organisation to grow and thrive, please get in touch… we would love to hear from you and to help you and your business ‘become more dolphin’!
Author: Sue Barnes, 23rd July 2018
Original article featuring the interview with Mary Portas can be viewed at: www.telegraph.co.uk/business/tips-for-the-future/how-to-succeed-in-business/