Bring a ‘breath of fresh air’ into your organization
Accelerate business momentum and impact
Increase group potential
A beautifully crafted approach to running your business
Reduced workplace stress and dissatisfaction
Increased workplace engagement
If you count starting work at the age of 12 throwing newspapers for the Tulsa World, I have had over 40 different jobs in my lifetime.
I have worked for profit, non-profit, public, private, local government, and mom and pop enterprises. And, if you add-in the companies I have consulted, the number doubles. Bottom Line: I have seen and experienced a lot!
I wrote WORK IS ART as a battle cry for what I believe we need in our businesses today. Focus, clarity, inspiration and giving people enough rope to contribute to their fullest potential.
We are wired to care and to contribute. But after beating our heads against walls of disorganization and dysfunction, we give up and put up. It doesn’t have to be this way.
So, if you are ready to create a successful business that relies on internal talent to take you to the next level - give me a call, I believe I can help.
I would be honored for you to join me at my next WORK IS ART workshop. The process will be a lot of work, but I have yet to find anything worthwhile that didn’t require effort.
Sign-up for WORK IS ART Workshop. https://lnkd.in/dd78D8Xc
Buy Book: WORK IS ART https://lnkd.in/dzx7TN8h
To do this, teams must understand where you want to stand out and call attention to your company. Deft editing and intentional placement is key. Then plan for, organize around, and invest in this focus. This is how you gain the momentum you need for long-term success.
Why 3? Because 3 is…
Memorable
Creates interest
Adds emphasis
Add more, and things start to get muddy…difficult to recall.
Next, provide the workplace with a sense of cohesion and coherence by organizing around your focus and business cycle.
Where must you slow down and be thoughtful, versus when quick and nimble is necessary?
What does it look like to be efficient and effective across our teams?
When are regular updates necessary to educate, inform and evolve?
And finally, create cycles of reflection, ideation and adaptation. Frequent critical exploration will become a welcome dance between ideas and points of view.
Connecting the Heartbeat of the Company…
…with the Pulse of its People.
Bring this design into your workplace:
Our 5-Month WORK IS ART webinar workshop begins in August.
Companies are jumping on the mentorship bandwagon in an attempt to better support their young professionals. Wanting to show their employees they value them, formal programs are popping up everywhere. I believe formal programs aren’t effective and miss a critical opportunity.
When I was in charge of creating a mentorship program as an HR professional, here’s what I learned:
Most people wanted the same few people as mentors. They weren’t interested in the other people we tapped on the shoulder to be mentors. Having a mentor is a very personal proposition.
People didn’t feel they could say ‘no’. No, they didn’t want a mentor. No, they didn’t want (or have the time) to be a mentor. No, they didn’t want that particular person as their mentor or mentee because there was no personal connection.
Some people got mentors, some didn’t. Some were asked to be mentors, others weren’t. This created the ‘in group’ and the ‘out group’. What was meant to bring people together separated people out.
After the initial kick-off meeting things quickly fizzled. And being in a position to constantly remind people that they needed to meet with their mentees was a terrible position to be in. You can’t force meaningful relationships.
I currently have an exceptional mentor who is 25 years younger than me. Her advice and support have changed the trajectory of my business - and my life.
What if instead of creating a ‘program’ we introduced the idea of a mentorship culture? I recommend you use these questions as a starting point to the conversation.
Script: “We all have the capacity to be a mentor to someone in need. Help that person with something they don’t know or aren’t aware of. A mentor could be someone older than you or younger than you.”
What if we created a culture of mentorship?
What would be the point of these partnerships?
What could it look like?
What would it feel like?
How would it change the way we work together?
How would it change what we produce, how we innovate, how we evolve our organization?
How could we do this naturally, and organically?
Today, people are expecting more from their employers. And ‘getting back to normal’ is not the mindset you want to have right now.
Here are four areas I believe need focus…
1st - Stop calling your employees ‘family’. They aren’t. And the implication of this wording is fraught with emotion, expectation, and dysfunction. Organizations are COMMUNITIES, not families. Building a strong and dynamic community is where you should focus.
2nd - Get rid of culture killer ‘programs’ - top performer, high potential, mentorship, and 360 degree feedback programs…to name a few. The unintended consequences of each of these programs is significant. They distract from and kill collaboration and group momentum.
3rd - Manage your leaders. They must have the skills and abilities to lead, support, and foster group efforts MASTERFULLY. Many are struggling mightily. They need attention and guidance now.
4th – The power is with the group, not the individual. Focus on the group. Create common goals your teams can get behind and support. If everyone has the same goals...
…they can work in sync with each other.
…they can interpret success through the lens of their work outputs.
…they can anticipate needs, innovate solutions, and build new capabilities.
My book, WORK IS ART, outlines a simple and focused way to run your company. We are here to help. Schedule a call, we’d love to talk to you - https://lnkd.in/dxr33dAk
Here’s a link to buy WORK IS ART. https://lnkd.in/dzx7TN8h
I turned 60 this past year. It was hard to stomach when it happened. I still feel a little nauseous writing about it now. But I look at it this way. There is 60, and then there is 60. What do I mean by that?
There are those my age who are on a race to get out. Out of their job and retire. Away from the burden of job responsibilities and towards the freedom to do whatever they wish when they wake up in the morning.
Then there are those who are in a race to give back. Do something at a higher level with greater impact. We’ve learned a lot. We’ve seen and experience so much. We understand how to make businesses better, communities stronger, and the world at large more evolved. We have tremendous superpowers and we don’t want the kryptonite of age to slow us down.
My father - John Brooks Walton, AIA - started writing books in his 70’s, and published over a dozen in so many years. He stopped practicing architecture in his eighties when his hand became too shaky to draw a straight line. He picked up a paint brush instead and those squiggly lines became magic on canvas.
Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright didn’t start a career until she was in her 50’s. I suppose I have a leg up on her today. But I better get cracking to keep up with her from here on out.
When I wrote my new book “Work Is Art” I smashed in everything I have learned in my sixty years on earth. How to make organizations stronger. How to create more cohesive teams. How to deliver business brilliance. It is creative, innovative, inspired and beautifully designed.
I am in a race to make organizations stronger by bringing people together to accomplish extraordinary things. The time is right. Team’s need this more than ever. The 'Great Resignation' proves this to be the case.
As for turning 60 - I feel like I am only getting started. Watch out Madeline…here I come!
(P.S. attached photo is of my dad, age 82 - RIP)
link to get my book, Work Is Art. https://lnkd.in/dzx7TN8h
Watch Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiW9yuE4YgE
How can architecture firms become works of art? That's where we'll start our conversation Thursday on Context & Clarity LIVE. Thursday, February 17th at 4:00pm ET, Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail will welcome Jane Walton, author and organization design consultant to Context & Clarity LIVE. Join the conversation as we talk to Jane about taking inspiration from the world of art to organize and operate your firm.
