The knowledge economy and the subsequent ‘human’ economy as some refer to it, has presented the business world with the need for a huge paradigm shift on a global scale. As organizational success increasingly depends on the ability of the collective working brain-power of workforces to create and produce, the goal must be to make productive the specific strengths and knowledge of each individual. As this dramatic paradigm shift from mechanistic-to-systemic continues to unfold, leadership too must evolve to think systemically, to attend to values, to take a holistic perspective, and to focus on strengths rather than on weaknesses.
Arising from the research being done in the neurosciences and quantum physics, this leadership evolution will require that we develop a new skill – the skill of Positive Presence. The skill of Positive Presence is the ability to create and adjust for a positive and energized mindset through conscious thought processes to result in effective behaviours necessary for obtaining optimum performance, creating strong and lasting relationships, and experiencing good health. The idea of individual behaviour, group and team behaviour, and overall organizational behaviour has consequently taken on a new importance. Behaviour is the most tangible evidence of organizational culture that there is. It is also a key performance indicator for cognitive strength and mind health. And it is the tangible result of human emotional energy.
So, the once thought of ‘soft skill’ of the workplace – behaviour – has now moved to a level of huge importance for today’s organizational success. Where you find safety, quality and service problems in the workplace, you will find a leader (or leaders) with inappropriate and negative behaviours. Many leaders do not see their negative behaviours as the root cause of the safety, quality and service problems they are encountering in the workplace due to a confirmation bias wherein they can show evidence from the data that something else may be the source of their performance challenges. One conclusion is absolutely true: Behaviour lapses are obvious to everyone but the person who commits them.
CORPORATE HARMONY is grateful to Dr. Michael E. Frisina for his contributions to this entry.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.