We’re an agency that prides itself on taking the bull**** out of business, which means helping large organisations to be simple and straightforward about WHAT and HOW they communicate to their employees. Often it’s a case of ditching the “row of ducks” and saying good bye to “blue sky!”
So, to celebrate the madness of “management speak” and to capitalise on the key managerial moments during the World Cup, we’re creating a series of illustrations over the course of the next few weeks that tackle those two.
This week’s image is about the England management team being faced with an issue so big, that it just cannot be ignored – “the elephant in the room” you might say!
Click here to view all of our ‘World Cup Management Speak’ illustrations.
Congratulations to The adidas Group, for achieving the ‘User Experience Design & Content Management’ award at the recent Intra.Net Awards! The group gained 2nd place for its innovative and inspiring a-LIVE intranet, which seamlessly connects a previously disjointed array of information for their global workforce (from business applications to internal social media) ‘in a progressive and clean design that is fun to use’.
In keeping with the group’s principles, consumer focus, efficiency and speed were all at the forefront of the design.
A smart search function was integral to the functionality and success of the group’s new digital home. Taking inspiration from the Google search bar, we combined the ‘a’ device of the adidas logo with the search field to create a truly unique and interactive identity – ensuring employees have quick and easy access to the information and tools they need.
We’re proud to have worked in partnership with adidas on developing the a-LIVE brand and multi-channel intrigue, launch and adoption campaign to achieve such an accolade, and most importantly… involve a global army of digital ‘a-LOVERS’!
Leadership cannot be a solitary task. Even Steve Jobs at Apple failed miserably in the early days because he failed to mobilise his trusted board of directors.
A leader is nowhere without their trusted advisors. A great leader realises that to be truly effective, they must act with their community.
It is the only way to affect real change.
“Some of the greatest accomplishments in business, politics, and culture have come not from individual initiative alone but from those working in, with, and for community.”
When facing challenges or obstacles, the leader is always stronger with the weight of their team behind them. In isolation, the power of a leader is limited. Few of us are strong enough to face trying situations alone.
A leader that is dedicated purely to their own personal glory will always fail to reach their full potential. We are all better leaders when we seek counsel, advice and support within our business community.
If you are going to lead by example, you have to lead from within your team. How are you supposed to project the behaviours and values you expect onto your employees from an inaccessible parapet?
The buoying power of your team cannot be overestimated. They can lift you and your organisation to lofty heights and carry it forward. You have been chosen as a leader not because you are better than the rest of your team. You are in that position of responsibility because you demonstrated the qualities and attributes necessary to galvanise and involve the team, to empower them to lead themselves.
If you are lucky enough to be leading a fully involved community of employees, then you have a great power at your fingertips. Mobilise the power of that community, and your potential is endless.
If you would like to know more about how to act with your community, please do not hesitate to get it touch.
Comments Off on Using Graphic Facilitation To Overcome Cultural And Language Barriers
“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.”
Walt Disney
In today’s global marketplace, offices and workspaces are naturally becoming increasingly multicultural. The way we do business has changed.
So, we have to change the way we communicate.
“Communicators need to face the reality of how employees’ experience their day-to-day working lives and ensure engagement, clear line-of-sight, streamlined processes, and a healthy, progressive business.”
A multicultural workplace is a wonderfully complex melting pot of backgrounds, languages and cultures. Language is therefore no longer the most effective way to get across key strategic information.
Do you find that cultural and language barriers complicate your internal communications strategy?
Why not try drawing it?
Graphic Facilitation
Facilitation n. the art of leading people through processes toward agreed upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership, and creativity from all involved.
Graphic facilitation is a clear and engaging way of communicating your internal communications strategy that transcends cultural and language barriers. In fact, using images to communicate ideas far predates modern language. Our Neanderthal forebears were using cave paintings to communicate themselves long before the spoken word existed.
Graphic facilitation not only strengthens understanding, but it also helps to break down cultural divides and differences. It is a non-threatening translation of content that relies on visual stimulation rather than verbal cues, thereby avoiding any confusion.
80% of human beings are proven to learn visually. Graphic facilitation is a universal language that taps into our natural instincts – no matter what our culture, background or spoken language. Visualisation techniques can help team members to digest an abstract or complex idea in a much shorter space of time, irrespective of culture or first language.
The effective use of this invaluable tool means better collaboration, more creativity and better understanding. You need to be sure that ALL employees and team members walk away with a clear understanding of what was presented to them, and that employees are not penalised for their cultural or language differences.
Universal Involvement
Our goal as leaders is universal involvement. It is vital, therefore, that you use every tool at your disposal to make sure that neither language nor culture is a barrier to that.
If you would like to know more about how we could help you communicate your internal communications strategy visually, please give us a call today!
We attended the Melcrum Digital Communication Summit today and tried something a little ambitious.
It’s always difficult as a delegate to capture all the key points from each of the presenters sessions (there were 9 presentations packed into 1 day), so we felt as a sponsor and exhibitor it was our responsibility to lend everyone an involving hand by developing a digital roadmap of all the key content.
Our team on site recorded the top 3 “Uploads” (business impact and ROI) and top 3 “Downloads” (blockers and barriers to success) from each case study presentation, and then turned them into and launched this interactive digital roadmap immediately at the end of the conference.
If you attended the Melcrum DCS hopefully this will help to “refresh” your memory, and if you didn’t attend then just go for the full “download”. Either which, sit back and treat yourself to a “cookie”!!!
Comments Off on An Office called INVOLVE continued… (By Jane Sladen)
On my 5.3 nautical miles cycle to work this morning, I started to think about the customer service I received at Pret a Manager last week. After ordering my drinks, the server delightedly told me that I had “won a competition for wearing orange” and then gave me my drinks for free. I told her it was also my birthday (thinking I might get the whole order for free) but instead I got a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday from the entire team. A team clearly happy where they worked and who thoroughly enjoyed engaging with their customers. On their website, their team members are described as the “heart and soul” of the company and “If they stop caring, our business goes down the drain.” I had heard of the Pret effect but never experienced it. Now Pret a Manger will be my coffee shop of choice as I loved my experience there so much.
The unique culture and core values that are deeply rooted at INVOLVE has affected me both professionally and personally. My previous company (who shall remain nameless apart from to say they were a TV station whose flagship show was “Topless Darts”) had no core values. They primary purpose was to maximise profit. ‘People’ came way down the list. No wonder their staff turnover was so high. What INVOLVE have created is a culture “where people can be themselves, where they feel confident, safe and respected, where they can be happy” (Raymond Klompsma –“The power of company culture & core values”).
But I digress, it was week 4 in our living the values competition and it was time to galvanise the team. Throughout the week there were several activities for everyone to get involved in. Our resident Canadian Justin was most passionate about Shrove Tuesday and treated us to the delights of American Pancakes smothered in maple syrup. Rachel, our new business manager, tried her hand at making Crepes. We had a rowing competition that was taken a bit too seriously amongst the ‘sportsmen’ of the office, a Pancake Art competition judged by our lovely client David Reilly from Mars and won by our wonderful intern Chirag and a Charity Bake Off. It was a real working as a team week.
Ellie and her Mars team were the stars of the office as they continuously radiated positive energy and effectiveness whilst putting the final touches to their project. Justin was on fire; making work fun and plugging shamelessly for votes. In fact the only value that was a bit neglected was Pioneering. That seems to be the hardest value to live on daily basis. I imagine it’s because everyone thinks Pioneering = Big Changes. But pioneering doesn’t have to be drastic – it can be small things like re-designing a document, taking risks or stepping out of your comfort zone.
So see what you can achieve today; “Dream, Dare, Believe and Do” (Disney’s founding and existing core values )
It has been a fabulous 5 weeks at INVOLVE: 1780km rowed, 42 pancakes tossed, 126 post its posted and 5 values lived in 450 different ways: all in support of our colleague James Prior who has rowed the Atlantic to raise money for Crohns Disease.
Amongst the fun and laughter, there was a serious (and some desperate) attempts from the masses to be involved in the “Pump up the Values” initiative. Everyone in the office received recognition at some point but ultimately there could only be 2 winners who would win the trip to Barbados to welcome James home.
The tension in the office was palpable as we gathered in the meeting room to announce the results. We kicked off proceedings by showing the documentary we made of James getting ready for his epic voyage. I don’t think I was the only one to shed a tear as we saw James saying goodbye to his 4 handsome sons and his very brave wife. The video really hit home about why James was embarking on his challenge and why we, back at the office, were supporting him in our own inimitable way.
Ash had the honour of announcing the results:
“Tom. It’s not you”, “Jonny. It’s not you”, “Rachel. It could be you” and so on, until only 6 people were left. By now our resident Canadian Justin, who was in the final 6, was almost beside himself. Knowing the result already, I quietly left to get him a tissue… The winners; David Ramsbottom (INVOLVE’s creative director) and Mike Miles (INVOLVE’s Head of Visual Involvement) were well deserved. They consistently brought each value to life demonstrating that it was possible to live the values brilliantly whilst doing an exceptional day job.
So, after 5 exhausting weeks (for us not James), the competition draws to close. When we look back at 2014, I’m sure “Pump up the Values” will be the highlight for most people. For those that had just joined INVOLVE, this was a great introduction to our values and for those that have lived with the values for several years, it served as a perfect reminder of why INVOLVE is so unique and why our values are important to us as company. Core values are not rules to follow, they represent who we are.
“Culture really is one of the most important things of your company, it’s who you are, it’s why customers choose you. Build a great company which you would want to do business with yourself. If you get this right, your culture is right. (Raymond Klompsma –“The power of company culture & core values”).
It’s not every day your Client Director announces he’s going to attempt to row the Atlantic in a record-breaking time to raise vital funds to help find a cure for Crohn’s and Colitis UK.
Naturally, when we heard about James’ gruelling challenge to help his son Fergus, who suffers from the crippling condition, we were 100% behind our man.
James and his army of supporters have raised over £110,000 to date to help Crohn’s sufferers. An inspirational achievement that we’re all incredible proud of.
We’re sure you’re just as intrigued to see how this novice rower and salt ‘n’ vinegar crisp addict got on in the lead up to, during and after his heroic feat as we were, so press ‘play’ and enjoy!
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” Helen Keller
It is widely agreed that collaboration consistently provides greater accomplishments. The combined brainpower of the intelligent, capable people in your team can solve complex problems and achieve astonishing results.
Identifying Strengths
Collaboration is the act of deliberately working together, and the acknowledgement that different team members bring different strengths, and ways of looking at a problem, to the table.
It is therefore vital to clarify these strengths beforehand, and the roles of each team member within the collaborative process.
Participants in a collaborative project must be chosen. They must be carefully considered for their skills, experience and motivations, and chosen based on whether like-minded people, or a diverse mix of perspectives, are preferred.
It is about sharing expertise, and being open to different approaches and opinions that might ultimately improve the outcome of the project.
Managing Collaboration
“Collaboration is the keystone of leadership success.” – Forbes
Leaders must make collaboration about the sum of combined skills, not an exercise in group work and learning to get on with your colleagues. You don’t necessarily need to get on with your colleagues, as long as you remain professional and respect each other’s job titles and strengths.
Some people feel threatened by collaboration, worried that they might not get credit for their contribution, or that others might not pull their weight. For this reason it is important to structure collaboration with simple guidelines and expectations so that everyone knows their roles and what is expected of them.
If you want to see the potentially groundbreaking results of effective collaboration within your team, but need advice on how to do it, please contact us.
When it comes to job satisfaction, is it better to have passion, or the core skillset needed to perform the job?
Passion
We are conditioned to believe that job satisfaction is directly linked with passion. To enjoy our jobs, we must be passionate about the work we do.
Do you head off passionately to work each morning, convinced you are answering your true calling?
No? Well don’t panic. Just because you are not fulfilling some personal destiny, it doesn’t mean that you are in the wrong job.
Granted, growing up our careers advisors and the news and media told us to ‘follow our passion,’ and insinuated that those who didn’t discover theirs were predestined to lead dull and colourless lives in our society. The assumption that there is a ‘true calling’ waiting for each of us somewhere along the line can be counter-productive. It leads to much procrastination and deliberation, worried as we are that we ‘missed’ our true calling somewhere…
Every time things get tough at work, we have a bad day or we hear of somebody doing something more interesting, we turn inward, and head towards a personal crisis. This inevitably leads to anxiety and hopping between jobs.
Is it more positive, therefore, to focus on core skills as a motivating factor than passion?
Core Skills
Knowing that you are good at what you do, that you have the core skills necessary to achieve within that field, and that you are making some impact can be just as influential on workplace happiness than any notion of calling. This sense of fulfillment grows over time, and so you have to put in the time.
If you are always looking for passion, you’ll never stay in a job long enough to find that fulfillment.
When it comes to involvement, therefore, you may do better to apply your employees in areas where they skillset is most useful. The sense of achievement associated with being good at your job can be better for employee engagement than the abstract notion of ‘passion’.
If you would like to discuss how best to apply your employees’ skills, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We’re incredibly proud to announce that our man James and the Toby Wallace crew have made it! After an astounding 32 days, 22 hours, 31 minutes and 25 seconds rowing the Atlantic waves, the 8 weary rowers arrived in high spirits into Port St Charles, Barbados on 15th March 2014 at the local time of 4.27pm. Just a couple of hours shy of beating the world record, the crew achieved the second fastest time ever in a mono-hull class (conventional rowing boat) on this ocean route!
Never happier to see dry land and sporting their impressive tans, it was an emotional reunion for the crew who were greeted by their families, flags and flares. Glad to say goodbye to the past month’s diet of dried food and energy gels, the crew and their families went straight off for a well-deserved team beer and burger (and we bet it never tasted so good)! James’ wife Fiona has reported that many of the crew are keeping their new ‘Castaway’ beards for a few days and are currently being nursed back to full strength in Barbados. Have a rest guys, you’re an inspiration and have well and truly earned it!
Having raised over £110,000 for Crohns and Colitis UK, James, consider yourself ‘Crewed for Crohns’!
So, after 5 exhausting weeks (for us not James), the competition draws to close. When we look back at 2014, I’m sure “Pump up the Values” will be the highlight for most people. For those that had just joined INVOLVE, this was a great introduction to our values and for those that have lived with the values for several years, it served as a perfect reminder of why INVOLVE is so unique and why our values are important to us as company. Core values are not rules to follow, they represent who we are.
