The Value of People
The Care Collaboratory strives to plant the seed-idea that healing ecosystems can exist as real places. Where neither one’s life – nor work – need to be constant struggles. That does not mean that everything is easy – but everything need not be a battle, either. When we talk about an ecosystem that heals those within it, we are not being Pollyannas (what a throwback!) but are encouraging a different perspective that can lead to different choices and actions that slowly, over time, convert a toxic environment to one that – while still work and oftentimes hard work – does not leave workers physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.
The cool thing about working toward a healing ecosystem – in your workplace, community, home – is that it does not require capital investment, years of planning and design, and a significant change management strategy. Everyone – executive, manager, or worker bee – can contribute to a shift to a healing ecosystem by making, and acting upon, a choice of how to approach your work, workplace, and colleagues.
Recently, Harry Hertz, Director Emeritus of the Baldrige Program, wrote a blog about a blog about Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Revenge of the Tipping Point. Among other things, it is about the fact that regardless of how many individually high performers you put together – until they are a team, they likely will not reach the pinnacle. I always think back to the first USA Olympic Dream Team as an example of performers at the peak of their individual capabilities who came together and, by leveraging their different skills, excelled beyond all expectations. After considering the core elements Gladwell focused on, he took a simple paragraph from the Baldrige Excellence Framework’s core values on Valuing People. The paragraph, below, substitutes the word “team” for organization.
“A team’s success depends on an engaged workforce that benefits from meaningful work, clear organizational direction, the opportunity to learn, and accountability for performance. That team must also have a safe, trusting, and cooperative environment. The successful team has a culture of equity and inclusion that capitalizes on the diverse backgrounds and characteristics, skills, creativity, and motivation of its members.”
This is a great take on what we at the Care Collaboratory mean when we talk about creating/leading/being a part of a healing ecosystem. It takes leaders who understand the value of people and who are mindful that decisions they make pertaining to structure and design, the work climate that arises from those decisions and priorities, and the way they authentically value the people on whom they depend to move toward a truly healing ecosystem. That is what it takes – a choice to, in many little ways, shift the paradigm within which they operate.
The link to Harry’s blog, in case you’re interested, is: Teams and the Magic Three | NIST