Enormous advances over the last decade in neuro-imaging technology have awakened us to the benefits of positive energy – for an increased capacity for achieving peak performance, for building and maintaining good relationships, and for experiencing good health. The bottom line is – for all of these things we need a positive mindset.
But why, you may be asking, is it so important now and not so much in the past? What is it about today’s work-world that makes it so much more important now than ever before in business history?
The reason is, we have left the days of the industrial and technological revolutions behind us – where productivity and efficiency was almost totally dependent on process efficiencies of getting the job done. In today’s knowledge-based society, organizations are more and more made up primarily of knowledge workers (those whose jobs require formal and/or advanced education and are considered people who “think for a living.”), bringing their individual specialisms together for a common purpose.
According to Peter Drucker, whose ground-breaking work turned modern management theory into a discipline, the best example of a predominant knowledge workforce is that of the modern day hospital in all developed countries of the world. In these organizations characterized by extreme levels of complexity, ambiguity and constant change, success is often made even more challenging by public sector bureaucracy, as well as fiscal and demographic pressures.
To quote from Peter Drucker in his book “Managing in the Next Society” (page 124), “… A knowledge based workforce is qualitatively different … survival, of every business will depend on the performance of its knowledge workforce. …the only way an organization in a knowledge-based economy and society can excel is through getting more out of the same kind of people; that is, through managing its knowledge workers for greater productivity. It is, to repeat an old saying, ‘to make ordinary people do extraordinary things.’”
The global workforce has changed employment patterns in all developed countries for ever. Workforces of knowledge workers are becoming more and more the norm. The demands to perform at a continuously high level of excellence amid the pressures of increased complexity, ambiguity and rate of speed, can be overwhelmingly taxing on even those people that are innately equipped to create a positive and energized mindset in spite of the environment within which they live and work. Not only that, as we move from the Knowledge Era to the era of what is being referred to by some as the Digital Era, or Industry 4.0, the understanding of, and ability for, human connectedness becomes increasingly important.
Scientific evidence is showing that when we are in a positive flow of energy we are experiencing positive thoughts and feelings …. And it is then that we are able to really connect and mesh within our self, and with others. When our mindset is in a positive energized state is when we are most able to work collaboratively together with others. Also, it is a known fact that the more time we spend in a positive energy flow, the greater our capacity for achieving the focus and clarity needed for peak performance, for achieving the love and tolerance needed for building and maintaining good relationships, for achieving the peace and joy needed for experiencing good health.
Leaders must be both knowledgeable and skilled in the ability to help their workforces consistently maintain a positive and energized mindset. The skill of Positive Presence is a critical requirement in today’s work environment.
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.