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1. Shape and renew the organizational vision. The
22 keys put into words what many people have on their minds. For that reason alone,
the keys can and should be integrated into the vision conversation. Idea: Before
the next session in which people will be talking about the future, have all participants
complete the personal assessment.
2. Pinpoint your organization's strengths. Many
people spend all their improvement time looking for, analyzing, and solving problems.
In doing so, they fail to see all the positive factors that are alive and well throughout
the organization. A key-by-key look at your organization will help you uncover these
hidden strengths.
3. Discover major improvement opportunities. We
all know that every organization has room for improvement, but how do you decide
where to focus your efforts? There may be ten things to do -- yet time for only one
or two. An organizational analysis based on the 22 keys can lead you to the "significant
few" areas that are in greatest need of attention.
4. Track your culture-building progress. Many
organizations are working to transform the workplace. Some are pursuing high performance,
others are striving to become world class, and still others are committed to becoming
learning organizations. This kind of culture change is notoriously difficult to measure,
yet there needs to be some way to gauge progress. Enter the 22 keys. They're "soft"
enough to address all areas of workplace culture, yet "hard" enough to
serve as indicators. A snap analysis can be done with the list of 22 keys, but a
more reliable approach would use the organizational assessment and widely involve
employees in the assessment process. Periodic assessments (say, once every six months)
can be used to check up on the culture change.
5. Conduct a climate check. Some organizations
have never paused to assess themselves in terms of "meaningful workplace"
factors. An organizational assessment using the 22 keys is simple and straightforward
-- yet detailed enough to yield rich insights into strengths and improvement opportunities.
If you've never "taken the temperature" of you organization, this is a
great way to start.
6. Pinpoint your top keys to a fulfilling workplace.
For one person, the most important keys might be purpose, service, and
relationship-building -- while another person might put respect, equality, and worth
in their top three. With 22 keys, there are all sorts of possibilities. What is included
in your personal set of top-priority keys? Once you know, you'll better understand
your feelings toward certain aspects of your workplace. And you'll have vital information
for shaping your development plan.
7. Find out what's most important to your colleagues and
teammate. Getting to know your colleagues' top-priority keys can be the
ultimate team-building activity. As a minimum, take some time as a group to go through
all 22 keys and pinpoint what's important to whom. Ideally, have each person take
the personal assessment, then get together and discuss your findings.
8. Get to know a new employee. New-employee
orientations, when done at all, tend to be cram sessions in which people learn about
policies, functions, departments, and so on. Yet little is done to get to know the
new employee, except perhaps a lunch with some of the new colleagues. This process
can be significantly enriched by adding a conversation about the keys. It can uncover
what's most important to the new employee in terms of a meaningful workplace -- information
that's essential to colleagues and coaches who want to bring out the best in each
other.
9. Integrate the keys into employee development. The
notion of a once-a-year employee evaluation is being radically overhauled -- thank
goodness. Some organizations are opting for 360-degree feedback while others are
using regular team conversations to maintain a constant flow of improvement ideas.
Whatever the approach, everyone can benefit by incorporating the 22 keys into the
process. For instance, an employee can pinpoint his or her set of three or so most
important keys, then use this information to create a personal development plan.
And the organizational assessment can help employees articulate their opinions and
feelings regarding their workplace.
10. Make a point of learning. You've heard
what an "apple a day" can do for you. Well, when it comes to organizational
health, a "key a month" can have tremendous benefits. One idea: Schedule
a monthly lunch-and-learn in which a group engages in conversation about a specific
key. The time could even include a snap organizational assessment (focusing on that
one key), followed by facilitated brainstorming and consensus-building to develop
several improvement ideas. (This Web site includes detailed descriptions, anecdotes,
and action ideas for all 22 keys. Consider printing and circulating key-specific
information to all participants before the gathering.)
11. Analyze your negative feelings regarding the workplace.
When thinking about the workplace, do you find yourself accentuating the
negative? Before your own gripes and complaints start to wear you down -- and affect
your colleagues -- take the time for a key-by-key analysis of the situation. Add
some objectivity to the process by using the assessments. An honest look is likely
to uncover mismatches -- instances in which a source of meaning is very important
to you yet conspicuously absent from the workplace. It may also reveal cases where
an important key is thriving in your organization. You can use this information to
plan your next steps.
12. Analyze a specific workplace problem. Has
there been a sudden increase in required rework? Have communication breakdowns become
the norm rather than the exception? Is there a mysterious jump in the number of customer
complaints? Problems like these require close and careful examination, and the 22
keys offer an excellent starting place. In fact, in addition to helping you analyze
causes, the organizational assessment can point you to potential solutions.
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