OPENNESS AT WORK

Fifth publication in the Human Touch series

"I appreciate you John for your honesty and kindness. You are very talented at designing new solutions" - the first employee has said.

"I admire you John for your sense of humor. When you enter the room the atmosphere changes. People like being with you" - the other person added.

"I am grateful for you contribution to my project. You are very professional. I like you for your optimistic approach to problems" - the other person has said.

A group of eighty employees and managers gathered together in a room to talk about openness in their organization. They had an opportunity to build more respect and more space for honesty in the first session. Then they have talked about deepening the level of trust within the group, finishing before lunch. Now it is a turn to improve openness and boost positivity in their relationships. 

Appreciation cirle.

The leader has asked the group to split into subgroups of six people. All chairs were set up in small circles of six. Each subgroup took its own circle. The leader asked each group to select a volunteer. 

"You are not going to do anything. Your job right now will be to be quiet and listen to your peers" - the facilitator has said to volunteers. 

He has instructed others to find and share few things they appreciate about that person. People reacted with smiles and laughter.

The first reactions to the exercice varied. Some people felt uncomfortable. Some smiled. Others have jumped to do the exercise. It took few minutes till all groups have settled and started to offer positive appreciative comments to their peers.

After finishing the circle the next person was selected to be appreciated. The exercise has been finished at the moment when all members got appreciated.

"It is difficult to find and share something in public" - one person commented.

Second round of appreciation.

The group was asked to split again into different subgroups. The task at that turn was to share something positive about yourself. It seemed to be more difficult. After few resisting comments the process has started.

"I like myself for being direct and honest. I appreciate myself for hard work and willingness to learn. I like myself for having passion for driving projects and leading teams" - a manager has said.

"I admire myself for being open. I like being with others. I love to help solve problems and love to work in teams" - the other person has said.

All people have found something positive about themselves. Some groups have finished faster. Some have continued. Nobody has left the room. You would see people sitting in circles talking quietly with each other about various topics. Nobody was pressing to finish the exercise. The quality of discussion, listening and attention was impressive. 

Openness is built by valuing and appreciating other people. If you want to build good relationships find something positive about others. There used to be a tendency to improve things by criticizing or finding faults. In some places that strategy still exists.

Focusing on mistakes creates more tension and more resistance. People will be hiding issues and problems under the carpet. They would try to prove their value facing negativity. More tension less openness.

Offering positive feedback makes others more willing to open up. When we feel valued by others we are less afraid of making mistakes. Building positive culture creates more energy and better collaboration in teams.

"What if somebody will believe he is really good after my appreciation? - somebody has asked.

"He/she will be grateful. Look at how much openness and enthusiasm we have created today in such a short time" - the other person commented.

Some people are afraid that others will be arrogant after receiving positive feedbacks. I have not found anybody that would approach me negatively hearing my positive comments. People are less open as they have missed positivity in their past. You can always help them by being the first that will find something positive about them.

Respect is a base of Trust and Openness.

When we feel Respected we have courage to share what we really think and feel. Talking freely about our emotions and feelings creates more Trust in the room. People Trust us because we are authentic.

As our emotions gets unlocked our resistance to change lessens and we become more open to others. Openness can be developed further by appreciation. We do not need to prove our opinions when we feel appreciated. We listen more to others.

More Openness creates an opportunity for a real Understanding. As a result the actions we take collectivelly come from a true and passionate Commitment.

A good practice of appreciation start with appreciating yourself. The more comfortable you will become with valuing yourself the more easy it will be with others.

What do you like about yourself?

Understanding that You deserve feeling respected, appreciated and valued is a key step to personal freedom and happiness.