Thus, we invest a significant amount of our time in performing tasks at a non-profit organization without any monetary compensation. Even more so, as volunteers we often donate additional resources to that same organization such as money, office supplies, or clothing. Frequently, we are highly motivated to do so and enjoy the process. Paradoxically, leaders in a for-profit sector are trying hard, and sometimes unfruitfully, to increase employee motivation and engagement of paid employees.

So, what are the main drivers of volunteerism? How can we use these drivers to boost employee engagement at all organizations?

Scholars have proposed a number of theories to explain why people help others for no benefit. Some say that it is a result of human evolution: before civilization was developed, humans would have to depend on each other in order to survive. While volunteering is no longer essential for individual survival, this instinct still remains. Other studies show that these are the most frequent volunteerism drivers:

Values. People volunteer to satisfy personal values or humanitarian concerns. For some people this can have a religious component, for instance volunteering for church as an expression of one’s loyalty to religious beliefs and values.

Community concern. Some people volunteer to help a particular community, such as a neighborhood or ethnic group, to which they feel attached to and a part of it. Many parents volunteer at their children’s schools as a direct support to teachers, which in turn supports their children’s educational needs.

Need for belonging. As social beings, from our early toddlerhood years, we all need to belong – family, groups, and society. Volunteering provides us with a social opportunity to connect with likeminded people – often people who have similar values, beliefs and may experience similar challenges. This driver is especially significant for the people who otherwise do not have many chances for socializing in professional or personal lives. Mingling with like-minded people also provides a networking opportunity that may eventually turn into one’s career or business opportunities.

Self-esteem enhancement and self-actualization. People volunteer to feel better about themselves or escape other pressures. For some people volunteering is a way to develop new skills, gain new knowledge, and apply that knowledge while serving others.

Giving back. Some people engage in volunteering activities and give back after receiving support from an organization. For instance, someone who was sheltered by a non-profit organization after escaping an abusive relationship may go back and work in the same shelter providing support to other domestic violence victims.

Freedom of choice. We perceive volunteering as a freedom of choice. We have to work in paid jobs to support ourselves and our families. We volunteer not because we have to, but because we want to. I recently encountered a woman who works in a paid position for a social services organization, counseling the homeless. She conveyed that she was looking for an opportunity to volunteer in social services arena. When I asked how it would different from what she does in her job, she said, “You know when you volunteer, it is different. It feels good to know that I can do what is meaningful to me without expecting anything in return.”

These motivators do not represent an exhaustive list. One can have other individual drivers such as adapting to a new geographical area, understanding different culture, or healing pain after the loss of a loved one.

While we all might have different motivators to volunteer, some of volunteerism drivers can be explored and applied at the corporate world. Organizations can be more expressive about their values and culture while hiring so that both an organization and a job applicant can make the best match surrounding mutual beliefs. Providing employees with opportunities to “belong” and socialize is another good way of increasing employee engagement. Professional development and opportunities for cross-training may address one’s need for self-esteem and self-actualization. And honest praise and acknowledgment are also wonderful ways to increase employee’s self-esteem.

Finally, providing employees with “freedom of choice’ is an important performance driver. When we know that we can choose, we are more likely to make a commitment and stick to our choice. Thus, providing employees at all types of organizations with choices may increase their morale and productivity.

* Bureau of Labor Statistics. Volunteering in the United States 2014 http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm

Opinions vary. You think that your employee is not performing up to organization’s expectations. Yet, the employee is of a different opinion – you overheard him bragging to his colleague that he is “an indispensable worker”.

Stakes are high, or in other words the consequences of the conversation may have a significant impact over the lives of conversation participants. You think that you deserve the raise, but your boss takes a different stance. The outcome of conversation may impact your financial situation.

Emotions run high. You may start casually and calmly, but as you try each to defend your egos, the emotions of anger and disappointment might take over you and the conversation. These emotions hinder to effectiveness of the conversation.

Many of us try to avoid or postpone difficult conversations infinitely. We may avoid having such conversation because of our fear that it may make matters worse, may disappoint the other person, or may damage our relationship. Sometimes, we avoid having a conversation with someone in authority due to the risk (perceived or real), such as retaliation or employment loss. Often, we hope that the issue will simply go away.

Sometimes we try to deliver the tough message through alternative means such as texts, voice mails, or emails. We may know stories about people sending emails in capital letters to each other when emotions run high instead of walking down the hall and having a conversation about the issue.

Denial, avoidance, or emails in capital letters make matters only worse. Let’s say you try to protect your relationship with the colleague by avoiding a conversation about his strong perfume that bothers you. Yet, the relationship already suffers. You are annoyed and building on resentment towards your colleague. You are trying not to sit next to him in meetings.

Holding difficult conversations effectively requires good will and some skill.

Get the motive right. First, you have to be honest and clear with yourself about your motive for the conversation. What would you like to accomplish as result of this conversation? What you do not want to happen as a result of this conversation. How should you go about getting what you really want and avoiding what you don’t want? For instance:
I want my team member to be more reliable regarding delivering his tasks within project timelines. I do not want to have a useless or heated conversation that produces negative feelings.

This motive has to stay as a guiding star throughout the conversation. If your initial motive shifts to the desire to win or to prove to the other person that he is wrong and you are right, then the mutual dialogue will convert to the power struggle. Such a power struggle will not bring you the desired results, and most likely, will leave you and the other person feeling deflated. The motive is more important than the choice of words throughout the conversation.

Prepare for the conversation. Check your perceptions against the facts. What facts do you have to support your perception or your “story”? If you think that your boss micromanages you, what are the exact behaviors that make you feel/ think of being micromanaged? Could there be any other explanation to the boss’ behaviors apart of his intent to micromanage you? Getting your story straight may shift your perception. Additionally, it allows you to be clear about the concrete facts to be shared with the other person.

Create safety. At the beginning of the conversation, it is essential to create safety for the other person, and consequently for yourself. Respect is a necessary condition for an effective conversation. Respect is an attitude that can be, first, created internally. Even if you feel no respect for the other person’s behaviors or values, embrace respect for the other person as another human being. Show your respect through your body language, eye contact, and tone of voice.

You can also create safety by describing that you and the other party have the same goal(s). I trust that you are committed to seek a good outcome of this project that we work together. So do I – the outcome of this project is important to me.

Share your story.
State the facts: Since we started working together on this project, you’ve been late with the deliverables four times. It has caused me working through the last two Saturdays so that we, as a team, could stay within project timeframes.
Tell your interpretation of the facts and how it affects you: The timeliness of the deliverables is the issue for me.

Encourage the other person to share their story.
Ask: Please let me know if you see it differently.
Mirror: You say you are OK, but by tone of your voice you seem upset.
Paraphrase: Let’s see if I’ve got this right…
Agree when you do
Compare your and others’ views: I think we see things differently. Let me try describing how.

Create the plan. Sometimes a good outcome of your conversation is deciding on how you are going to decide, and then subsequently having a follow up conversation to develop a plan. Your plan has to include an outline who does what by when. Also set up a follow up time to revisit your agreement. Recording of the commitment is always a good practice.*

Our human tendency is to avoid difficult conversations. However, tackling the issues in a respectful way and trying to come up with a mutual solution, it is almost always a better alternative that prevents conflicts, improves relationships, and helps us feeling better about ourselves.

*This approach of holding difficult conversations is based on:
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., Switzler, A. (2002). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high

See yourself succeeding managing your emotions. Let’s say you know that a certain situation or a person provokes an anger within you and you react by yelling, or by clamming up yet burning with a rage inside. However, you’d like to express your frustration or disappointment in a more constructive way. Visualize expressing your emotions constructively in your trigger situation. For instance, if your colleague is constantly late and you have to carry a double workload until he shows up every morning, visualize expressing your frustration to your colleague in a respectful and calm way
See yourself having critical conversations with others. Talking to others about critical, yet uncomfortable issues is a great strategy to conflict prevention. Let’s say you have been postponing a conversation with your boss about his leadership style, but you know that it is the right thing to do for the sake of your working relationship. Visualize having that conversation in a safe and trusting atmosphere. See yourself leaving the conversation with a feeling of accomplishment and mutual resolution.
Visualize positive experiences with others. Create mental pictures of positive interactions with others – laughter, praise, engagement and teamwork. Let’s say you prepare for a meeting and you expect that the information you will deliver might be met with some resistance by your colleagues. Visualize addressing their concerns in a constructive and caring manner. See in your mind everyone leaving the meeting with positive feelings.

Visualization is a powerful tool in conflict prevention that we can use to build stronger relationships in both our personal lives and workplaces.

Leading through an organizational change is a great balancing act that appears to be more of an art than a science. This act requires of leaders to have a sound skill and a strong will. Each organization has their distinct culture and history, and there is no definitive prescription to successfully lead through change. The key is to remember that as leaders we cannot tell people stop feeling what they feel. On the contrary, fighting resistance directly will just bring in more resistance. However, several time and experience proven approaches can guide us in an effective change management while embracing resistance as a part of the process.

Create a vision. When we lead, we have to be certain to which direction we are going. It may be challenging to create a vision to manage an externally driven organizational change, such as downsizing due to economic conditions. Yet, the vision is the main starting point and the foundation of change management. Ideally, leader’s vision would embrace full understanding of organization’s current situation and the implications for future. Employee involvement in creating a vision is critical to employees’ future ownership of the vision.
Set strategic goals. Organizational change management requires setting strategic goals. Again, employee involvement in crafting the goals is important. Goals should be backed up by short term objectives (2-8 weeks). These goals may differ from strategic goals developed during stable organizational times as they would be shorter termed. Generally, leaders should refer to these goals and objectives on daily basis and update employees on progress on at least a weekly basis. First, it allows leaders to better measure the progress of change. Secondly, it involves employees and provides them with a better sense of control when they know “where they are”.
Communicate. Communication must be timely, true, and consistent. Be positive, but realistic in your messages. Employees have to know reasons for the change, the vision, the plan, and implications for their performance expectations or job security. Using a variety of communication pathways is a good strategy. However, if you already shared information that may be anxiety provoking such as possible layoffs or reduction in work hours, avoid repeating that information again and again unless you have new information pieces to add. Let employees know when they can expect an update and follow through before or on that date.
Keep an open door policy. It’s a good approach when leaders welcome employees to come to them directly with any questions about the change process. With that, it also means that leaders should embrace a mindframe of openness where they genuinely expect employee questions and are forthcoming with answers. Let’s also keep in mind that building trust is a process, and not the task; it may take numerous conversations before employees start trusting leaders and the change process.
Appreciate and highlight successes that employees attain during the change process, such as learning a new skill, learning a new computer program, or embracing a new role. Most importantly, treat and believe that your people are your most valuable asset. To be effective, praise and appreciation has to honest and authentic – embrace your employee’s behaviors not only by your mind, but also your heart. Apologize when you are incorrect. Show that you care about your employees beyond work environment.

When we are following through change, we are also not powerless (although it may feel that way).

Face your feelings about the change, especially when the change is imposed and beyond your control. Figure out what your fears or worries are. You don’t have to be a victim, even when you are not in control of the change. Write about your feelings. Embrace the notion that feelings are pleasant or unpleasant, but they are not bad or good.
Choose your thoughts and attitudes about the change. Negative thoughts block your creativity and problem-solving abilities. Positive thoughts build bridges to possibilities and opportunities. Keep a record of the choices you make in your thoughts and attitudes. Catch your negative self-talk – instead of telling yourself “I cannot handle it anymore”, ask yourself “How I can handle it?” Instead of saying “never” or “always”, say “this time”. Welcome change as an opportunity and explore the benefits of the change.
Rely on peer support. Seek positive support from peers and provide the same to them. When someone’s feeling down, put your effort in reframing their negative thoughts into positive ones. Ask for help in the process of learning a new role or a new task. While it is OK to occasionally vent to someone and share your frustrations, venting will not ultimately change your situation, but instead may create poor morale all around. Instead stay positive and solution focused.

An organizational change is a challenging process for both leaders and followers. Resistance, anxiety, and strong feelings often accompany the process. While we cannot talk ourselves or others out of feelings overnight, leaders and followers can work together to make the change process smoother.

While change is an opportunity, anyone who led or participated in an organizational change can attest that the process is not easy. Changing the procedures, technology, and organizational systems is the less challenging part of change management. The most challenging component is changing how people in an organization act and think. Change is uncomfortable and often provokes resistance. It is our natural tendency to cling to the known rather than embracing the unknown. So, what’s behind our resistance? Why may we feel so uncomfortable and defensive even though rationally we may grasp the benefits of change?

Based on our personalities and previous experiences, we all may embrace and deal with change differently. We do though have some common tendencies behind resistance to change.

Status quo bias. People have conscious or subconscious tendencies to stick with in the status quo. When faced with a dilemma, we tend to do nothing. And not just individuals and organizations; biological and ecological systems also fight to remain in the status quo. This phenomenon is called homeostasis.

Fear of the unknown. Behind the fear of the unknown lurks the fear of not meeting basic needs. If we recall Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we will remember that our physiological and then safety needs are at the bottom on the pyramid. So, it is natural that during an organizational change, we become fearful of our jobs and the pay level. Will I have a job and be able to bring food to the table? Will I have enough income to pay rent and provide safety to myself and the family? So the fear of the unknown drives us to resist change.

Sometimes, the current, “the known” situation may cause us a distress and dissatisfaction, but we still may feel more comfortable with what we know. Even when we rationally understand the potential change is positive and promising, we may resist it, because on emotional level “the unknown” is anxiety provoking. The old proverb sums it up: “The devil that I know is better than the devil that I do not know”.

Loss of control. This is another key reason why we resist change. Familiar routines help employees develop a sense of control over their work environment. Being asked to change the way they operate may make employees feel powerless and confused. Even changes in daily procedures or desk location may evoke a feeling of loss of control for employees. Overall, people are more likely to understand and embrace changes when they feel they have some form of control.

Concerns about competence. Sometimes, change in organizations necessitates changes in skills. Some people may perceive that they do not have skills to make a transition, and doubt of their capacities to learn those new skills. Therefore, they resist change as a survival strategy, either openly or passively. Some employees may have intellectual and physical capacities to learn new skills, but may express an unwillingness to do so.

Concerns of greater workload. We may also have a legitimate concern of more work to do that come with new tasks or new positions. Especially, when change includes restructuring, mergers, or acquisitions, employees may be anxious of “doing more with less”, that is performing more than one job with the same or even lesser resources.

Resistance is an emotional process. Behind the resistance are the feelings. In our next blog we will discuss the strategies to embracing change, however it is important to remember that as leaders we cannot tell people stop feeling what they feel. On the contrary, fighting resistance directly will just bring in more resistance. As employees and participants in the change process, we also cannot talk ourselves out of our feelings overnight. Rather we can accept the feelings that we experience and then we can work with ourselves and with others to embrace change.

Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus without critical evaluation of alternative viewpoints, by suppressing dissenting viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences.

When critical issues are not raised, groupthink may bring negative individual, organizational, and even societal consequences. Some of these consequences may be trivial, yet some other ones may be much more serious, jeopardizing the wellbeing and safety of the group or organization. Investigators believed that groupthink was among the causes of Challenger space shuttle disaster. Several experts at NASA had knowledge and experienced fear about the potential for failure, but pushed their anxieties aside under other experts’ recommendations not to delay the launch.

It is possible, and even probable at some point, for us all to give in to groupthink, no matter how well educated and logical we consider ourselves. There could be several reasons behind groupthink. In some situations, group cohesiveness could become more important than individual freedom of expression. Also, a lack of impartial leadership may contribute to the groupthink phenomenon. Highly stressful external events and moral dilemmas also strengthen occurrences of the groupthink, and we go ahead with what feels most comfortable, not necessary right.

So what can we do as employees and as leaders to avoid groupthink?
Each of us can:
Treat conflict as a natural part of any group process, and embrace rather than avoid it. Do not expect others to always agree with you. When disagreements happen, try to defend your opinion in a respectful and balanced way – avoid attacking others, but also avoid withdrawing from the discussion or neglecting your viewpoint.
Avoid quickly criticizing other ideas without thinking them through. While an initial idea may seem undoable or unconventional, listen to the other team member intently. Try to genuinely understand the reasoning behind the idea, and if you still do not understand, then proceed asking questions in a nonthreatening, but curious manner.
Take a risk and play devil’s advocate. Challenge the group to address a different perspective. Although it may slow down the decision-making process, it will likely enlighten other members as to other ways of assessing the issue. At the very least, it will refresh a group’s dynamics.

As, leaders and decision makers, we can embrace more effective techniques of group facilitation and organizational management:
Take on the role as a group facilitator and not as an expert-decision maker who is using a group to download his decisions. High-quality decisions are usually made through a group process and not by one person regardless of that person’s experience and expertise.
Pay attention to the balance between information sharing and asking for input from employees. When you solicit input, attend to the competing views, not only the ones that support a single take on the issue.
Present the issue to an employee as “a problem statement.” List the pieces of credible information that may assist in generating potential solutions and making a decision.
Assign the role of “critical evaluator” to a member or several members of a group on a rotating basis. This provides “permission” to the members to freely express objections and doubts.
Utilize “brainstorming” technique. Brainstorming is a two stage process – first the group works on generating ideas, and then evaluating these ideas. During idea generation stage, the group follows three rules. First, focus on quantity of ideas. The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas generated, the greater the chance of producing a radical and effective solution. The second rule is to withhold criticism. In idea generation stage, evaluation of ideas should be put ‘on hold’. Instead, participants should focus on extending or adding to ideas. By suspending judgment, participants will likely be more comfortable to generate unpopular ideas. The final rule is to welcome unusual ideas. Participants are encouraged to put out any ideas, even the ones that may seem “wacky” or undoable. Once the group exhaust all ideas, then they work together on evaluating, combining, and improving them.
To prevent group isolation, it is helpful to bring in new participants on a regular basis, use outside experts, or invite the group to meet off-site. The changes in settings and surroundings may be a good trigger to evaluate an issue from different viewpoints.
When tackling larger and critical issues, an organization should set up at least two independent groups, that work on assessing the same problem and generating problem solutions.

So, while each group and organization carries some inherent risk for groupthink to occur, the groupthink risk can be minimized with higher level of awareness and effective group facilitation techniques.

Opinions vary. You think that your employee is not performing up to organization’s expectations. Yet, the employee is of a different opinion – you overheard him bragging to his colleague that he is “an indispensable worker”.

Stakes are high, or in other words the consequences of the conversation may have a significant impact over the lives of conversation participants. You think that you deserve the raise, but your boss takes a different stance. The outcome of conversation may impact your financial situation.

Emotions run high. You may start casually and calmly, but as you try each to defend your egos, the emotions of anger and disappointment might take over you and the conversation. These emotions hinder to effectiveness of the conversation.

Many of us try to avoid or postpone difficult conversations infinitely. We may avoid having such conversation because of our fear that it may make matters worse, may disappoint the other person, or may damage our relationship. Sometimes, we avoid having a conversation with someone in authority due to the risk (perceived or real), such as retaliation or employment loss. Often, we hope that the issue will simply go away.

Sometimes we try to deliver the tough message through alternative means such as texts, voice mails, or emails. We may know stories about people sending emails in capital letters to each other when emotions run high instead of walking down the hall and having a conversation about the issue.

Denial, avoidance, or emails in capital letters make matters only worse. Let’s say you try to protect your relationship with the colleague by avoiding a conversation about his strong perfume that bothers you. Yet, the relationship already suffers. You are annoyed and building on resentment towards your colleague. You are trying not to sit next to him in meetings.

Holding difficult conversations effectively requires good will and some skill.

Get the motive right. First, you have to be honest and clear with yourself about your motive for the conversation. What would you like to accomplish as result of this conversation? What you do not want to happen as a result of this conversation. How should you go about getting what you really want and avoiding what you don’t want? For instance:
I want my team member to be more reliable regarding delivering his tasks within project timelines. I do not want to have a useless or heated conversation that produces negative feelings.

This motive has to stay as a guiding star throughout the conversation. If your initial motive shifts to the desire to win or to prove to the other person that he is wrong and you are right, then the mutual dialogue will convert to the power struggle. Such a power struggle will not bring you the desired results, and most likely, will leave you and the other person feeling deflated. The motive is more important than the choice of words throughout the conversation.

Prepare for the conversation. Check your perceptions against the facts. What facts do you have to support your perception or your “story”? If you think that your boss micromanages you, what are the exact behaviors that make you feel/ think of being micromanaged? Could there be any other explanation to the boss’ behaviors apart of his intent to micromanage you? Getting your story straight may shift your perception. Additionally, it allows you to be clear about the concrete facts to be shared with the other person.

Create safety. At the beginning of the conversation, it is essential to create safety for the other person, and consequently for yourself. Respect is a necessary condition for an effective conversation. Respect is an attitude that can be, first, created internally. Even if you feel no respect for the other person’s behaviors or values, embrace respect for the other person as another human being. Show your respect through your body language, eye contact, and tone of voice.

You can also create safety by describing that you and the other party have the same goal(s). I trust that you are committed to seek a good outcome of this project that we work together. So do I – the outcome of this project is important to me.

Share your story.
State the facts: Since we started working together on this project, you’ve been late with the deliverables four times. It has caused me working through the last two Saturdays so that we, as a team, could stay within project timeframes.
Tell your interpretation of the facts and how it affects you: The timeliness of the deliverables is the issue for me.

Encourage the other person to share their story.
Ask: Please let me know if you see it differently.
Mirror: You say you are OK, but by tone of your voice you seem upset.
Paraphrase: Let’s see if I’ve got this right…
Agree when you do
Compare your and others’ views: I think we see things differently. Let me try describing how.

Create the plan. Sometimes a good outcome of your conversation is deciding on how you are going to decide, and then subsequently having a follow up conversation to develop a plan. Your plan has to include an outline who does what by when. Also set up a follow up time to revisit your agreement. Recording of the commitment is always a good practice.*

Our human tendency is to avoid difficult conversations. However, tackling the issues in a respectful way and trying to come up with a mutual solution, it is almost always a better alternative that prevents conflicts, improves relationships, and helps us feeling better about ourselves.

*This approach of holding difficult conversations is based on:
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., Switzler, A. (2002). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high

Thus, we invest a significant amount of our time in performing tasks at a non-profit organization without any monetary compensation. Even more so, as volunteers we often donate additional resources to that same organization such as money, office supplies, or clothing. Frequently, we are highly motivated to do so and enjoy the process. Paradoxically, leaders in a for-profit sector are trying hard, and sometimes unfruitfully, to increase employee motivation and engagement of paid employees.

So, what are the main drivers of volunteerism? How can we use these drivers to boost employee engagement at all organizations?

Scholars have proposed a number of theories to explain why people help others for no benefit. Some say that it is a result of human evolution: before civilization was developed, humans would have to depend on each other in order to survive. While volunteering is no longer essential for individual survival, this instinct still remains. Other studies show that these are the most frequent volunteerism drivers:

Values. People volunteer to satisfy personal values or humanitarian concerns. For some people this can have a religious component, for instance volunteering for church as an expression of one’s loyalty to religious beliefs and values.

Community concern. Some people volunteer to help a particular community, such as a neighborhood or ethnic group, to which they feel attached to and a part of it. Many parents volunteer at their children’s schools as a direct support to teachers, which in turn supports their children’s educational needs.

Need for belonging. As social beings, from our early toddlerhood years, we all need to belong – family, groups, and society. Volunteering provides us with a social opportunity to connect with likeminded people – often people who have similar values, beliefs and may experience similar challenges. This driver is especially significant for the people who otherwise do not have many chances for socializing in professional or personal lives. Mingling with like-minded people also provides a networking opportunity that may eventually turn into one’s career or business opportunities.

Self-esteem enhancement and self-actualization. People volunteer to feel better about themselves or escape other pressures. For some people volunteering is a way to develop new skills, gain new knowledge, and apply that knowledge while serving others.

Giving back. Some people engage in volunteering activities and give back after receiving support from an organization. For instance, someone who was sheltered by a non-profit organization after escaping an abusive relationship may go back and work in the same shelter providing support to other domestic violence victims.

Freedom of choice. We perceive volunteering as a freedom of choice. We have to work in paid jobs to support ourselves and our families. We volunteer not because we have to, but because we want to. I recently encountered a woman who works in a paid position for a social services organization, counseling the homeless. She conveyed that she was looking for an opportunity to volunteer in social services arena. When I asked how it would different from what she does in her job, she said, “You know when you volunteer, it is different. It feels good to know that I can do what is meaningful to me without expecting anything in return.”

These motivators do not represent an exhaustive list. One can have other individual drivers such as adapting to a new geographical area, understanding different culture, or healing pain after the loss of a loved one.

While we all might have different motivators to volunteer, some of volunteerism drivers can be explored and applied at the corporate world. Organizations can be more expressive about their values and culture while hiring so that both an organization and a job applicant can make the best match surrounding mutual beliefs. Providing employees with opportunities to “belong” and socialize is another good way of increasing employee engagement. Professional development and opportunities for cross-training may address one’s need for self-esteem and self-actualization. And honest praise and acknowledgment are also wonderful ways to increase employee’s self-esteem.

Finally, providing employees with “freedom of choice’ is an important performance driver. When we know that we can choose, we are more likely to make a commitment and stick to our choice. Thus, providing employees at all types of organizations with choices may increase their morale and productivity.

* Bureau of Labor Statistics. Volunteering in the United States 2014 http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm

Genograms have been widely utilized in social work, family counseling, genealogy, medicine, and education for the last forty years. Genograms not only visually present delineation of family members’ relationships, but they also provide us with in-depth insights beyond a traditional family tree. Genograms allow us to identify repetitive patterns of behavior, recognize hereditary tendencies, and capitalize on individual, family, and community strengths.

Orgenogram identifies organizational development patterns since the inception of business or organization. Differently than genograms that depict generational levels and relationships between family members, Orgenogram is crafted by historic blocks that includes decision makers, products, events, organizational culture, and strengths and weaknesses during a particular time period. Typically, an executive team participates in development of an orgenogram, however some organizations include representatives from variety of employee levels.

During the preparation phase the management and a facilitator review historic data, such as policies, financial and personnel reports, and consumer feedback. The organized data is presented to the participants. The actual process of depicting an orgenogram may last from ½ to 1 ½ days. The benefits of an orgenogram are worthy staff time investment.

Participants have an opportunity to reflect on lessons learned, identify how organization capitalized on strengths and opportunities, and how it overcame threats. Development of Orgenogramalso allows participants to reflect on organization’s historic relationship patterns with its external environment. For instance, utilizing the visual pattern, participants a non-profit may discover that the support of private donors have been gradually diminishing over the last years. Participants also have an opportunity to appreciate the best of an organization and its people, such as employee loyalty during financially challenging time. The process serves as a high impact team development activity that increases participants’ ownership of the mission and their loyalty to organization. The valuable information, gathered during the process of depicting Orgenogram can be used as a cornerstone to strategic planning. And, the process can certainly be fun!

Through a development of an orgenogram, the leaders of family owned organization gained an insight about personnel hiring dynamics that was not supportive of organization’s success. An organization has been making hiring decisions based on personal relationships rather than on a level of job candidate’s skills. Through this process the leaders committed that the skill and expertise of potential employees will have more weight than family relationships in a hiring decision making process.

A small nonprofit organization engaged representatives of all employee levels in Orgenogram development. While exploring internal processes and organizational culture, and utilizing data of retention of the last 6 years, it became apparent that more involved and more frequent communication from leadership resulted in higher retention and higher staff morale. The current leadership committed to embrace the lessons learned, and build on what has worked well for an organization.

Though a rather new OD tool, Orgenogram brings a tangible benefit to an organization. The benefit is not only a visual organization tree, but also the process of crafting such a tree. Through the process participants build teamwork, increase ownership of the mission, and may communicate out critical organizational issues.

During evolution, the human brain limbic system emerged from the most primitive brain area, the brainstem. Then over millions of years the neocortex, where our “rational brains” are stored, evolved in our ancestors. The limbic system is still responsible for emotional, sexual and aggressive behaviors. Part of information that we receive through our senses go directly to the limbic system, specifically amygdala, thus first we experience things emotionally. The neuropaths, or “communication” between our “emotional” and “rational” brains is the source of emotional intelligence. Although emotional intelligence may be more of natural tendency for some of us than the others, studies show that we all can develop and reinforce emotional intelligence.

While our Intelligence Quotient (IQ) appears stable and consistent, our EQ is flexible and can change over time. Higher EQ is associated with more effective conflict resolution, better life quality, overall life satisfaction, and effective leadership. Daniel Goleman* believes that EQ is better predictor than IQ of our financial and career achievements. We can increase our EQ by putting effort to develop stronger skills in these EQ areas:
Self-Awareness – ability to accurately perceive our emotions in the moment and understand our tendencies across situations
Self-Management – ability to use our awareness of our emotions to stay flexible and direct our behavior positively.
Social Awareness – ability to accurately pick up emotions in other people and understand what’s really going on with them.
Relationship Management – ability to use awareness of our own emotions and emotions of others to manage interactions and prevent conflicts successfully.

Effective leadership is especially dependent on sound relationship management. The more we are aware of our own emotions and the more emphatic we are of the emotions of others, the more effective we will be in positively influencing others. So, what does it practically take to enhance our relationship management skills while leading others?

Build trust. Trust is something that must be earned and it takes time to earn it. At the heart of building trust is the process of mutual communication – communicating to employees and having an open door policy for employees to communicate back. Following through is another important act of building trust. Companies that have a high level of trust by their employees focus on honest and authentic communication with employees on all levels.

Meet the person’s emotions or situation. Develop your social awareness by this simple exercise. While holding a conversation with someone, listen not only to the facts, but also identify the emotions behind these facts. Ask yourself: “What is my best guess how he/she feels at this moment?”
Try to deliver information or assignments when an employee is most focused and away from other distractions. When someone is stressing out over finishing a task before the deadline, it would not be a good time to assign a new project.

Show when you care. According to the old common wisdom, “Actions speak louder than words”. While we can always apologize for not doing something, we gain much more appreciation from others by simply doing it in the first place. Even a simple things like writing a thank you note for an employee for a task well completed, will show that you care.
Many people love a surprise, especially when that surprise is something that helps them or makes their life a little bit easier. It could be as simple as offering an afternoon off to someone who is experiencing a personal life challenge or someone who seems burn-out.

Explain your decisions or actions. When you explain why you are making the change to a policy or the process, you minimize a likelihood of employees feeling anxious about the change. Employees may also be less resistant to the change when they know the reasons behind it. Importantly, information is power, and when you share the information you empower your employees and you let them know that they are a part of the bigger picture. When employees are lacking information about the reasons behind the change, they will try to guess explanations which may be not accurate, may carry negative connotation, and may result in lower staff morale.

Avoid giving mixed signals. The first step is to identify your emotions, and the second one is to decide how to express them. Also, it is important that you align your verbal and nonverbal communication. If you are saying to an employee that she is doing good job, but meanwhile your face shows a concern or you are checking your phone, the disconnect between verbal and nonverbal signals will give mixed signals to an employee.

Align your intention with your impact. Do quick analysis of the situation before and think critically before you say or act on anything. What are the results that you seek from this situation or this conversation? Are your words or actions going to bring the result that you seek? What is the best approach and choice of words? How can you go about to get what you need and avoid creating negative emotions? A simply contrasting statement can help you to hold a difficult conversation while minimizing negative emotions. “I do not want you to think I am not satisfied with the quality of your work. I really do think you are doing a good job. The punctuality issue is important to me, and I’d just like you to work on that. If you will be more attentive to that, there are no other issues.”

Apologize for your actions or words. Apologizing is a significant act. It does not take away the power from the person who apologizes. On the contrary – it empowers both parties and strengthens working relationships. Apologizing also sends the secondary, yet important message that “the mistakes in our organization are OK” and that everyone is encouraged to take responsibility when they happen.

Acknowledge deeds and actions of others. Acknowledgement and recognition are often more powerful motivators that monetary incentives. With our increased social awareness of struggles and results of others’ actions, we will be more authentic in providing a praise and acknowledgment.

Emotional intelligence can be developed. While it is not always an easy act and it requires focus and vulnerability, applied emotional intelligence will certainly show in leadership outcomes.

*Daniel Goleman (2005). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ