Spirituality in Organizational Leadership

Organizational leadership often includes technical, managerial, and strategic elements and is regularly defined as a set of aspirational skills and characteristics, such as assertiveness, decisiveness, value-based decision-making, curiosity/openness, high standards, interpersonal responsiveness, courageousness, visionary thinking, accepting responsibility, and being a role model/mentor for others. Although these characteristics are often associated with effective leaders, what needs to be more clearly articulated is how to achieve these traits and skills consistently and sustainably. Developing and optimizing effective leadership skills is a process. It takes regular practice to cultivate the mindset of leadership. A personally-defined spiritual practice is an essential aspect of re-orienting/grounding our thinking and embodying these characteristics, especially in the context of the multiple, often simultaneous, demands that bombard organizational leaders.

Spirituality is a very personal issue. I do not dictate or define what spirituality means to my psychotherapy or executive coaching clients. Mostly I listen, to hear what makes them light up and align with the voice of their Real Self.

Through my clinical work and research (Johnson, 2009, 2013), I realized that although spirituality is uniquely defined and experienced, common themes emerge. The most common theme across a variety of faiths and practices is present moment awareness. While this is typically associated with Eastern philosophical traditions, mindful awareness is the cornerstone of how to connect with spirituality for many spiritual practices, even if the content of the beliefs differs greatly. (See my first book, Reclaiming Your Real Self: A Psychological and Spiritual Integration, for an expansive discussion of the topic.).

A personally-defined spiritual practice, which supports life-affirming activities and mindset, is an invaluable part of the process of attaining the skills and characteristics associated with effective organizational leadership. At Rick Johnson Consulting Group (RJCG.org), our consultant/coaches utilize my Differentiated Self Leadership model, which incorporates mindful awareness with psychological and spiritual practices to assist leaders in increasing the relational cohesion of their teams and the intentionality of their leadership.

Visit RickJohnsonPhD.com and RJCG.org to learn more about individual coaching as well our organizational consultation model.

ADHD Coaching for Professionals

One of the issues that can trip up professionals in the workplace is ADHD, a condition that leads to executive functioning challenges: i.e., trouble with planning, prioritizing, and analyzing information. These difficulties pose particular challenges for organizational leaders, decreasing job satisfaction and effectiveness. At RJCG, one of our coaches is an ADHD specialist who helps individuals with focus/sustaining attention, containing distractions, keeping on task, time management, environmental issues impacting successful concentation, motivation, and managing anxiety. ADHD coaching can make a tremendous difference in the quality of work productivity and enjoyment, sometimes saving someone from losing their job. Connect with RJCG.org for more information.

Four Causes of Workplace Tensions

As a CEO, business manager, or other organizational leader, do you know how to resolve conflict in the workplace? Many organizational leaders struggle to manage interpersonal conflict among employees. The first step is understanding the causes of the tensions. The four most common sources are:

(1) Interpersonal Style Differences, which occur in all relationships and can usually be easily assessed and addressed through coaching.

(2) Legacy Events and Relational Injuries, which occur when feelings are hurt due to interactions where individuals feel disregarded, leading to decreased trust and teammwork. These issues are more difficult to address and often require intervention from skilled coaches/counselors.

(3) Organizational Culture Challenges, which occur when there is a lack of clarity and alignment around the Core Values of the organization, often leading to an "accidental culture." These issues often require a needs assessment to illuminate cultural concerns and thoughtful intervention to right the ship.

(4) Leadership Challenges, which occur when leaders and/or managers are not approaching their roles with intentionality and psychological balance. These issues are often best addressed through executive coaching. Visit RJCG.ORG for more informtion about these four sources of conflict and the rememdies. #workplaceconflict #organizationalhealth

Relational Support for Businesses

"Just be professional at work." Seems simple enough, right? But we all know that humans are complicated. Relationships of any form are complicated. Misunderstandings, misaligned expectations, value conflicts, communication challenges, lack of role clarity... they are all not only possible but likely in the workplace.

So, the common expectation of "professional" behavior at work is complicated by many factors, especially in family or friend owned businesses, where the intensity of the complications become magnified. Addressing these dynamics takes knowledge and skill beyond the typical HR staff. RJCG specializes in resolving interpersonal challenges in the workplace. We are counselor/coaches that are trained in the complexities of relational dynamics in the workplace. As Patrick Lencioni advises, the most important factor in organizational success isn't how much money the organization raises, its the relational health of the leadership team and employees.

Budget Blinds Central Portland

RJCG welcomes Budget Blinds Central Portland as an organizational consultation partner. Budget Blinds Central Portland is a family-owned business that provides exceptional service and quality. Their owners and staff are committed to organizational health and staying true to their core values!

If you know of businesses that want to grow based on their alignment with foundational values and interpersonal health, please connect them with us at RJCG.org. We specialize in helping small to medium sized and family/friend owned businesses increase leadership effectiveness, resolve interpersonal challenges, and become high-performing teams.

Signs of Life

There are encouraging signs that the economy in the Portland area is starting to come back to life. Many small to medium sized businesses, which have been hard hit by the stay-at-home orders, are coming back after months of significant slowdown. Reopening is creating challenges due to the transitions, especially for family-owned businesses whch have been negotiating family dynamics during the lockdown. RJCG specializes in helping small and family-run businesses with transitions that can lead to conflict, communication challenges, and lack of role clarity. We are helping businesses use this time to hit the reset button and come back stronger than ever with increased cohesion/teamwork and intentionality. RJCG.org

Avoiding Sexual Harassment Lawsuits

Lawsuits are expensive. One way you can avoid sexual harassment lawsuits is by providing certified Sexual Harassment Training to all employees and supervisors.

20 States now require sexual harassment training for private or public organizations or both. And 4 other states encourage training. These laws are designed to give the states a little protection to help them avoid lawsuits.

To help protect your organization from sexual harassment lawsuits there is an easy answer. Accelerate’s HFC (Harassment Free Culture) is the best, most engaging and affordable harassment training on the market.

If you are interested, please connect with me, Rick Johnson, at rjohnsonphd@comcast.net or 503-313-5186.

Mental Health in the Workplace

A recent trend among hip and psychologically sophisticated business leaders is the idea of mental health in the workplace. This trend, which primarily started in Silicon Valley among tech companies and start-ups, has rippled into businesses in Seattle and NYC and is starting to gain traction in the Portland area. So, what does it mean to have mental health in the workplace?

  • High functioning teams, starting with the leadership team
  • Psychologically healthy leadership (I will address this in more detail in future posts)
  • Effective communication and conflict resolution processes
  • Clearly-defined organizational values (as opposed to an
    "accidental culture")
  • Effective, psychologically healthy middle managers
  • Psychological safety among employees
  • Growth mindset
  • Employees who feel relevant and valued
  • An environment that promotes work-life balance
  • An environment that has the commitment and resources to address interpersonal challenges on-site versus simply terminating people or sending them off for external coaching exclusively

RJCG helps organizations incorporate good mental health into the workplace. Connnect with us for a free consult! RJCG.org

Coaching versus Training

Many organizations hire consultants to provide training on a variety of topics, including psychological safety, nonviolent communication, diversity and inclusion, etc etc. Although training can provide foundational concepts, it often doesn't produce lasting change and especially fails to address interpersonal tensions among employees. Individuals will often nod their heads in agreement during a training, but then don't put the concepts/skills into practice because the underlying relational injuries have not been addressed. I often say, "You can't train away conflict and relational injuries in the workplace." Wise organizational leaders realize that they must invest in coaching to address the conflicts and to put changes into practice. RJCG is well-positioned to help! Our experienced coaches are all therapists. We know how to identify and resolve conflict, restoring teamwork and productivity. RJCG.org

"Couple Counseling" in Work Settings

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article ("She's a Couples Counselor, But For Your Work Relationships") about how well-know couple therapist Ester Perel is now providing a form of couple counseling in the workplace. At RJCG, this is a mainstay of what we do! We adddress and repair relational injuries among members of ownership groups, executive teams, other work groups and dyads (pairs) of co-workers. This trend makes perfect sense, with more and more workers feeling "married" to their jobs and their work teammates, a dynamic that is sometimes referred to as my "work spouse." The MFT-trained counselor/coaches at RJCG are perfectly positioned to effectively address these intense relational dyanmics and get work partners back in harmony and productively on the same team. RJCG.org

Portland Business Journal article

An article I wrote about the challenges of integrating socio-political agendas in the workplace was published in the Portland Business Journal today. The article entitled, Many Workers Seek Employers with Socio-political Agendas. Here's How to Make that Happen, summarizes the key issues related to this increasing trend and provides concrete suggestions for successfully navigating the pitfalls and rewards. [www.bizjournals.com ]

Validation

We know that validation is the most successful approach when there have been miscommunications and interpersonal tensions. So, why is validation so hard for people? Many individuals have not been taught the skills of responsive listening. For others, even if they have "learned" the skills, they can be too hurt themselves to validate others. Their pain hasn't been validated, so they aren't in a mindset to be compassionate with others. When tensions happen in the workplace, it can be especially tricky, like a standoff to see who will blink first. Unprocessed resentments simmer, and unhelpful coalitions form, all of which spells trouble for teamwork and collaborative productivity. And, job satisfaction goes into the toilet! At RJCG, we specialize in helping individuals and teams address relational injuries and utilize validation to create productive teams!

Interpersonal Coping Style Scale

How do you respond to interpersonal stress and conflict? Do you become controlling, critical, and/or micromanaging? Do you try to placate others? Do you run for the hills? Do you shut down?

How leaders and co-workers respond to interpersonal stress and conflict tends to be stylistic and have ramifications for being part of a team, both personally and in work settings. At RJCG, we use the Interpersonal Coping Style Scale, which is a copyrighted instrument that I created, to assist teammates in learning about how they each uniquely compensate. If you are interested in learning more, visit RJCG.org and connect with me.

Lack of Teamwork

There are a variety of reasons for teams to not function well. The one that many managers (and consultants) find to be the most difficult to address is interpersonal conflict. They simply do not have the skill-set to effectively resolve the issues. Events occur in the workplace that lead to misunderstandings, hurt feelings, defensiveness, and anger, and ultimately reduce trust and erode teamwork. This is what I refer to as "relational injuries." Most consultants provide some form of teambuidling. But, as I often tell clients, you can't "train away" relational injuries. Relational injuries must be addressed through coaching. At RJCG, we are all experienced therapists. We are not afraid of conflict. With our integrated model, we know how to address and resolve relational injuries and get teams back on track! Visist RJCG.org for more details!

How Healthy is your Organization?

Do you feel valued as an employee? Do you feel as if you are part of a well-functioning team of colleagues? Are there unresolved conflict or relational injuries that interfere with trust and collaboration among co-workers? Are there clearly defined values and strategic goals that are communicated effectively across the organization?

To take a quiz to assess your organization, visit RJCG.org. https://www.rjcg.org/needs-quiz

What is "Organizational Health?"

"The single greatest advantage any company can achieve is organizational health" (Lencioni, 2012). I completely agree with this statement. But, what are the elements of "organizationaal health?" Here are a few key ones:

  • Minimal internal politics
  • Effective organizational structures and processes (e.g., hierarchy, roles and responsibilities, communication, etc.)
  • Effective leadership (a behaviorally aligned leadership team and effective middle management)
  • Effective use of conflict resolution processes (This is a hard one for many companies)
  • Effective orientation and reinforcement of employees to the key values and processes

These elements may sound easy and common sense, but are often neglected by organizations, to their own detriment.

Family/Friend Owned Business

Family and friend owned businesses pose unique challenges. What sounded great over a few beers, gets a whole lot more complicated when money and business decisions come into play. It can be very challenging to negotiate the multiple roles associated with maintaining healthly family relationships and friendships when the stress of running a business heats up. At RJCG, we are experienced marriage and family therapists, with specialized training in organizational consultation and coaching. We know how to address these dynamics and help families and friends navigate these complicated waters. Our unique Differentiated Self Leadership model provides the framework for organizational health. rjcg.org

"It's The Manager"

In the 2019 book, "It's The Manager," Clifton and Harter summarize the findings of a global study done by the Gallup organization. Gallup interviewed nearly 2 million employees and more than 300,000 business units. They found that a company's productivity is largely predicted by the quality of its managers. In what they called "the single most profound, distinct and clarifying finding" in its long history, Gallup found that 70% of a company's productivity is predicted by the managers' ability to inspire employees to feel valued and part of a team. In short, if employees feel valued by their manager and part of their team, they want to stay at their jobs and are much more productive. These findings have immense ramifications for the way organizations should allocate resources to support/train their managers. Middle managers, in particular, are the lynch-pins of organizational success. At RJCG, we specialize in supporting middle managers to resolve conflict and inspire their employees to be part of productive, collaborative teams.

Rick Johnson Consulting Group, LLC

5319 SW Westgate Dr, Suite 241, Portland, OR 97221

503-313-5186

rick@rjcg.org