Tuesday, September 3, 2013

A Simple, Yet Powerful Truth

I was reading recently and came across a simple, yet powerful truth: Relationships are more important than things.

There are days in my work as a consultant and executive coach when I wish I could chisel this one statement into the lintel, i.e. the horizontal support, above every door in an office. I also wish it was the screen saver on every office computer. Some how I just wish people would remember that relationships are more important than things.

The hard part is that people at work get so busy with meetings, reports and checklists that they forget about relationships.  They focus on measurements and metrics, flow charts and graphs. All of which are to prove that status quo is working or not working. Big words like optimization and bench marking, efficiency and value added define their focus and their reality.

But in reality, the company may be optimizing current practices but this does not address the very real possibility that the organization may also be exhausting its assets and resources because it is optimizing the wrong activities. Furthermore, these same companies may be bench-marking against their competition. However, we need to realize that doing the same set of activities or processes like someone else but more effectively can be nothing more than a recipe for mediocrity.

Nevertheless, this all could be different if people remembered that relationships are more important than things. Then, when poor choices are being made, people in healthy relationships would speak up and point out the potential problems before devastating consequences took place. Trust and commitment would generate more realistic strategies and goals, preventing incorrect choices and serious organizational misalignments.

However this won’t happen if people in leadership positions do not have the courage to embrace one simple truth: relationships are more important than things.

This week, embrace this simple truth and discover the power of healthy relationships.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

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