What are Human-Centered Organizations?

Model showing the five elements of the human-centered organization

I thought I was going to cry. My new boss just informed me that she was changing my assignment. My new home base would be a field location an hour and a half drive from my home. Moreover, she was giving me a task that I thought was deeply unethical. I raised objections, but she shot me down. You can do this or you can quit, she told me.

I quit. I moved on to a job where I felt more supported by and aligned with my boss. I was lucky to find that job. In a recent webinar led by Donna Hicks, the writer of Dignity at Work, she shared that 80% of employees polled had identified the lack of psychological safety as a primary concern in their workplaces.

Why Facilitators Need Deep Democracy

Originally posted on www.DeepDemocracyUSA.com. Leia em português aqui. Obrigado, Regina Eggers Pazzanese, instrutora do Brazilian Deep Democracy, pela tradução! 

Image: Deposit Photo

After 30+ years as a facilitator, I thought I knew it all. When I went to new facilitation workshops, the techniques seemed repetitive. Then I discovered Lewis Deep Democracy. This unique methodology is built on humanistic values like respect for human dignity, choice, responsibility, authenticity, openness, learning, diversity, and inclusion. Many facilitation techniques advocate for similar values. Deep Democracy offers new and different ways of actualizing those values.

Here are five reasons why facilitators need Deep Democracy.

All Voices Matter

As a facilitator, I believe that all voices matter.

The High Cost of Small Conflict

Deep Democracy Debate Tool drawn by Patricia Tiffany Angkiriwang

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn.

By the time I entered the room, the two sides were locked into position. One side was convinced that they had the answer. The other side wouldn’t budge from their belief that they were right. Each side was making their points, logically explaining the benefits of their approach, but the tension was rising and the frustration was growing. It looked like the meeting would end without resolution.

In the United States, polarization is on the rise. We tend to think of polarization in political terms, but the behavior extends to the workplace. When faced with a different point of view, people often dig into their perspectives.

What You Can Learn from Your Employee Networks

Employee Resource Group network in a meeting
Employee Resource Groups provide ways for employees to connect with people like them. But do they produce results?

Employee resource groups (ERGs) provide a place for women, veterans, LGBT employees, people of color, people with disabilities, working parents, and others to connect and help ensure the workplace welcomes and supports their productivity. Yet even though the number of ERGs has taken off, companies seldom assess these groups’ success.

We know that the activities associated with ERGs have general value. Networking, for example, is linked (pdf) to an increase in promotions and in compensation, to greater career satisfaction, and to salary growth. Mentoring also yields demonstrated benefits: People with mentors are more likely to receive promotions and salary increases (pdf).

How to Create Live Maps of Conference Connections

Connection Conference Format Image

Have you ever been frustrated trying to find the person you needed at a busy conference? I recently use a new tool called sumApp to map conference connections in real time. sumApp’s founder, Christine Capra, interviewed me about the experience. Here’s a lightly edited version of that interview, written by Christine and cross-posted from her blog.

Maya was recently engaged to speak at the Annual Convention of the Ohio Association of County Boards for Developmental Disabilities (OACB). She was invited by Adam Herman, OACB’s Communications Director, who had heard her speak about networks.

Every county in Ohio has a board that funds and oversees services for people with developmental disabilities.

Do You Have a Productive Partnership or a Tug of War?

Productive Partnership or Tug of War

They’re supposed to be your ally. Your co-conspirator. Your partner. But instead it feels like every conversation is a struggle. This isn’t how it is supposed to be.

In the best partnerships, people create something that neither could have accomplished on their own. They merge their unique perspectives, resources, and interests together in the interest of a greater goal. Easier said than done.

In our new white paper, “What Makes a Productive Partnership,” Amber Mayes and I break it down:

  • What are the four critical issues every partnership needs to address?
  • What’s the challenge most likely to make a partnership crash and burn?

Beat the Conference Blahs

UnConference Format Listening

It’s Day Two of the convention and my body aches from sitting in one place for so long. I’ve heard experts tell me what to do and how to do it. I’ve seen ten PowerPoint templates and seven videos. I’ve been promised the Next Big Thing. What I haven’t been is inspired. Or even very engaged.

Too many conferences suffer from the assumption that the best way to use people’s time is to subject them to elaborately designed presentations. After seeing a PowerPoint, we may be able to retell one or two of the best practices Company X used. But can we take those ideas and use them to make a difference?

Networking Myths Busted!

networking myths screen shot

The New Networking, a project of Partnering Resources, is busting traditional networking myths!

Networking Myth #1: My Network is Terrible

Do you think you have a terrible network? You probably don’t. Watch our to bust the first myth of networking: that out networks are hopelessly inadequate.

Networking Myth #2: Lots of Business Cards –> Lots of Success

Do you measure your success based on the number of business cards you collect at a networking event? Sorry, that’s just not the way to go. Our second video busts the business card myth and tells you what you really need to do to be successful.

Is your strategy stuck in the 20th century?

Image of "Is Your Strategy Stuck in 20th Century"

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