Tuesday, December 2, 2008

the right people for your business

It's Tuesday night, the boys are fast asleep and it's time to put down some thoughts. Random as they may appear to be, they are observations and insights gained through listening, watching, reading and learning how businesses adapt to ever-changing market forces. Add to that the age-old challenge of finding and keeping staff who will drive the business culture forward in a responsive, vibrant manner and the days are never boring and never without a lesson.
One point that continues to pop up regularly in discussion with people I meet in business is whether or not 360 degree feedback/evaluation is a benefit or nothing more than a pain in the arse and a waste of time and energy. While the degree to which it is done and amongst how many staff is largely dependant on the size of an organisation, its maturity, its leaders' vision, its systems & processes, its culture and the courage of its staff, I firmly believe that it can only help an organisation - any organisation - to improve performance across the board. A broad statement perhaps, but I consider tw0-way communication just as important in the workplace as it is in a personal relationship. Simply have a look at the number of businesses and relationships for that matter that break down because effective dialogue (amongst other things) breaks down. Yep, it's pretty clear that dialogue (two-way conversation/discussion) based on honesty and courage are pretty important ingredients for a healthy culture. Of course, all the dialogue and feedback in the world ain't going to change anything unless there's accountability, behavioural change and measurement, but I'll leave that for my next update. Cheers