S1 E10 Practical Ideas to Promote Authenticity

Summary   In this conversation, Dr. Marc Reynolds discusses the importance of promoting authenticity in the workplace, especially during times of change such as mergers or leadership transitions. He highlights executives' challenges in maintaining trust and transparency, aligning cultures, addressing employee concerns, and balancing performance and productivity.   Dr. Reynolds provides three practical ideas to promote authenticity: transparent communication, recognition programs for core values, and authenticity workshops and training. He emphasizes the significance of authenticity in building meaningful connections and relationships and encourages open dialogue and sharing experiences related to authenticity.   Takeaways

• Promoting authenticity in the workplace is crucial for building trust and maintaining a positive workplace culture.
• During times of change, such as mergers or leadership transitions, executives face challenges in maintaining transparency and addressing employee concerns.
• Transparent communication, recognition programs for core values, and authenticity workshops and training are practical ways to promote authenticity.
• Authenticity is essential in building meaningful connections and relationships and is especially important in sales and customer relationships.

Chapters   00:00 Introduction 03:18 Balancing Authenticity and Business Objectives 04:15 Practical Ideas to Promote Authenticity 05:37 The Significance of Authenticity in Building Connections and Relationships 07:01 Authenticity Workshops and Training 07:59 Conclusion   Keywords   authenticity, workplace culture, team effectiveness, challenges, strategic objectives, business leaders, mergers, uncertainty, culture integration, job redundancies, trust, transparency, aligning cultures, employee concerns, performance, productivity, balancing act, communication, recognition programs, authenticity workshops, training, meaningful connections, relationships

Episode Transcript

(00:14):
If you are a business leaderlooking to foster positive workplace
culture, enhance team effectivenessand navigate challenges effectively while
focusing on strategic objectives, or
if you just want to make work work better.
Then join us for a mini workshopwhere we share three things
you can do today to promote authenticityin yourself and your team members

(00:36):
even when businessobjectives are involved.
I'm your host, Dr.
Marc Reynolds,and I'm excited to share with you
this mini workshopafter our interview with Kerry.
I hope you'll go check it outand listen to it, where she shared
some great lessonsthat we'd like to double down on today
with some practical ideasthat you can implement.
Say for example,you have a company merger.

(00:59):
Your companyXYZ Corp is merging with another company,
ABC incorporated, to create a larger,more competitive entity.
The merger aims to enhance marketpresence, streamline operations
and increase profitability.
However, it also brings
uncertainty, culture integrationchallenges and potential job redundancies.
It doesn't have to be a merger,it can be a new CEO, new executive,

(01:21):
a new boss, or any other significantchanges in the company
might promotethe same sense of uncertainty.
The challengesthat are before that executive that has
to deal with this merger orthis big change is they have to maintain
trust and transparency,align cultures, address employee concerns
and deal with performanceand productivity issues.

(01:42):
The need for authenticity
is that employeesare looking to leadership for honesty
about how things are going to change,and how it's going to impact their roles.
The company culture, future job security.
Authentic communication from executiveand managers is crucial to maintain trust.
The business objective conflict,though, is leadership might feel pressured
to paint an overly optimistic pictureto prevent panic

(02:06):
and maintain productivity,potentially compromising authenticity.
When it comes to aligning cultures,that genuine efforts to understand
and integrate the distinct culturesof both companies are necessary
to build a cohesive, unified team...
but, there might be a push to quicklyimpose a new, unified culture
to achieve integration goals,
which can come across as insincereand dismissive of the existing culture.

(02:28):
With addressing employee concerns, openlyacknowledging employee concerns
and uncertaintiesabout the merger or other big change
fosters a supportive environmentand reassures staff...
but the potential conflict is
that leaders might downplay or avoiddiscussing potential negative impacts
on employees to keep morale high,leading to a perception of inauthenticity

(02:50):
and finally, underperformancein productivity, encouraging employees
to express their genuinefeelings and concerns
can lead to a healthier work environmentand more sustainable performance.
But, in the short term, business goalsmight push leaders to prioritize
immediate productivity over addressingunderlying employee issues,
causing a clash betweenauthenticity and business pressures.
It's a balancing act.

(03:12):
It is so hard to figure out how to balance
these differentcompeting needs and objectives.
The executive ultimately would haveto strike a balance by being upfront
about the challenges and unknowns, whilealso highlighting the strategic benefits
and long term vision.
They should encourage open dialog,invite employee feedback, and ensure

(03:34):
regular updates throughout the mergerprocess.
Clear regular communicationmakes all the difference.
By being authentic and aligning thiswith the company's strategic
goals, the executive fostersa culture of trust and collaboration,
ultimately supporting
both employeewell-being and business objectives.

(03:55):
We have three ideas for youthat you can implement today
that might help you find this balanceof how to promote
authenticity and meet businessobjectives of the same time.
First, transparent communication.
Implement a policy of transparentcommunication throughout the organization.
The executive should lead by example,sharing regular updates about company

(04:17):
goals, challenges and decisionsin an open and honest manner.
Host town hall meetings or Q&A sessions
where employees can ask questionsand receive candid responses.
This openness fosters a culture of trustand encourages employees
to be genuine in their communication.
But it requires you first to be able to be
transparent and honest and forthright.

(04:39):
It doesn't mean
you have to tell everyone everything,but you need to be able to answer candidly
and honestly and have itso that if anyone was to come in
and examine everything that was goingon, it would be above board.
If you're hiding something,if you're scared that people
are going to find something out,you need to start there and change that.
Two, develop recognition programsthat reward employees for demonstrating

(04:59):
the company's core values,such as honesty, integrity,
and authenticity in their daily work.
Highlight examples of employeeswho have successfully
balanced authenticitywith achieving business objectives.
Celebrate these stories
internal communications and meetingsto reinforce the message
that being authentic is valuedand integral to the company's success.

(05:21):
Is it, though that might be the questionyou're asking.
Is authenticityactually crucial to our success?
And the answer is yes!
More than ever!
With people feeling more disconnected,
with peoplebeing more visually educated than ever,
because the amount of video that they'reconsuming of close up of people's faces,

(05:42):
they're able to see and feel in authentic
behaviors and words and actions,
and they are quicker than ever to distrust
those that displayanything but authenticity.
It's also crucial when we're doing sales.
No longeris it just a matter of being able to say,
this is a great product,don't you want it?

(06:03):
It is a matter of really buildingmeaningful connections and relationships.
There's always a million different placessomeone can go to work or find a product.
What they can't recreate is a meaningfulconnection and meaningful relationship,
and you can provide that.
You can also offerauthenticity workshops and training.

(06:23):
Again, a plug for us.
We love doing this and coming inand working with companies and groups
and helping them learn the importanceof authenticity in the workplace
and how to accomplish that,
especially for those where it'sa real struggle not because they're fake
or they're false, but because there'sanxiety there, or there's worries,
or that's not their natural instinctto be open and authentic.

(06:49):
These sessions can cover topicssuch as authentic leadership,
effective communication,maintaining personal integrity while
pursuing business goals,And it should encourage employees
to share their experiences and challengesrelated to authenticity.
In those sessions, we encourage employeesto share their experiences and challenges
related to authenticityin a safe and supportive environment.

(07:09):
The executives should also activelyparticipate in these sessions
if possible, sharing their own journeyand commitment to authenticity,
thus setting a powerful examplefor the entire organization.
Something that I'm finding as I'm meetingwith more and more people every day
is, not only is being authentic importantfor the people around you, it is crucial

(07:30):
for you feeling like you are seen,heard, valued, and cared for.
It's importantfor you to feel connected to other people.
It's important for you to feel like
you can be yourself at work.
That is a real gift that you as a leadercan give to yourself and your employees.

(07:52):
It will help make work work better.
Pleaseremember to subscribe, like, follow,
offer comments, suggestions,
and open discussionsso that we can discuss this further.
There's so much to talk aboutabout any of these topics we share.
We'd love to hear what you have to sayabout how you are making work work better.

(08:16):
See you next time.