| Dear Friends,
This is a topic I feel passionate about. Rarely are the words, “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” said directly these days; however, the idea that we live by a different set of principles at work than we do at home is still around. It’s an excuse for bad behavior. In truth, we are just one person, the same person, all the time, with one character and one set of values. A wise saying goes, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” So, if you behave badly, rudely, without kindness at work, then that is you behaving in life.  Urban Dictionary for “It’s Just Business”:
Have you ever worked with someone who made life difficult for you and others? When I was a producer for ABC News in London back in the early 1990s, I got the best lesson of my business life. One of the senior producers was a jerk. There is no other way to describe how this person operated. Everyone dreaded working with her because she was ruthless and mean. She zapped the energy and spirit out of those around her. I asked a senior leader at the company why this producer didn’t get fired. The “leader” said, “Because she delivers.” I knew that was wrong, and I vowed that I would never let poisonous behavior linger in any organization I manage. At ROI we are scrupulous about behaviors. In fact, we recently created The Spirit of ROI which clearly defines the expectations of how we work together in our organization. There are five categories with specified examples under each: Kindness and respect; Open, effective communication; Collaboration, feedback and learning; Ownership and accountability; and Flexibility, support and appreciation.  Many of us have heard the concept that HOW you do things is more important than WHAT you do. Yes! True! The Spirit of ROI guides us on the HOW. Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, was interviewed at an Arthur W. Page conference I attended a few years ago, and he summed up the importance of behavior beautifully. In paraphrase, he said: When evaluating employees, consider them from the perspective of both their ability to perform and their behaviors (cultural fit). There are four types of employees:
 Thank you, Jack Welch, for spelling it out so clearly! Do kindness and business mix? You bet they do. In fact, recent data from Oxford University, detailed in the new book Kindness in Leadership, finds that far from being a weakness, kindness leads to greater trust, engagement and commitment. Author Gay Haskins, former Dean of Executive Education at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, says, “Kindness is especially important in today’s organizational environments where people skills – listening, communicating, teamwork, engagement and building commitment are so vital.” Whether you work in a large organization or a small office, you can increase the kindness in your company:
 The outdated idea that fear and pressure will result in more work, or better work, is wrong. When people are stressed, they are less creative, get sick more often and are much more likely to quit. It is good old-fashioned respect and care of people that give an organization the best outcome. With hope for a kinder world,  Barbara Fagan-Smith CEO, ROI Communication Chief Catalyst, Living ROI P.S. Check out this video where I riff a bit more on this topic. I created Living ROI as a passion, to share what I’ve learned and support others who want to live more authentic, joyful and fulfilling lives. Please visit our website. Please feel free to share this email with anyone you think would enjoy it. Subscribe here to get my weekly newsletter directly. |
