If someone of our parents' generation had been told that one way to improve creativity and performance in the workplace was to include gaming-related actions, they probably would have laughed out loud or looked at us with concern to check if we were in our right mind.
Indeed, if anything characterized industrialization labor relations in the 1960s and 1970s, it was the marked hierarchy in labor relations, where there was probably not much room either for collective games or for similar “occurrences”. The work was a place where it was going to be produced and, of course, the least important thing would surely be the opinion or the feelings of the workers in the performance of the tasks assigned. It was done because yes, period. Hence, the opening of channels to collect opinions or suggestions for improvement by them were not lavished either.
Well, giving continuity to the previous post entitled "Stand out" or How it is possible to work passionately ", Edward M. Hallowell, defining his" Cycle of excellence ", in addition to:
1. Help people find the most suitable job.
2. Support employees to connect with those around them.
It also includes three more steps, to complete the Cycle, namely:
3. Encourage creativity and play in the workplace.
4. Help people identify what is the most crucial job and focus diligently on it.
5. Recognize the hard work that staff do.
Let's look at the following two:
3. Encourage creativity and play in the workplace
Hallowell argues that play and other recreational activities contribute to reducing stress, increasing the level of bonding with other colleagues and, by extension, with the company itself. " The game brings out talent and ideas." Today, working mechanically in the same way as the chain works of the industrial era does nothing to improve or innovate the processes or the products and services offered.
It is about achieving excellence, avoiding all unnecessary suffering for it. Quite the contrary, providing maximum space for the creativity and contribution of the individuals who participate in the production process.
Along these lines, the author encourages collaborators as a way of unleashing creative thinking about style: “We have a big problem here. They are all too productive. What can we do to reduce productivity? ” This unexpected challenge will spark employee creativity, inviting them to participate in the innovation game.
4. Help people identify the most crucial job and focus diligently on it.
It is about fighting and growing so that the work compensates. In the past era, too, the adequacy of job content did not matter much to the skills of the employee. On many occasions, someone with no aptitude or vocation for it and whose profile fit much better with the functions of the center forward: short dribble, vision and resolving power in hand to hand with the opposite goalkeeper.
In addition, to obtain the optimal results in terms of personal satisfaction, connection and imaginative commitment, as preconditions to contribute satisfactorily to the objectives of the group, it is not enough to identify the job that is most in line with the skills of the employee, but it is necessary to monitoring, coaching by the manager, trying to jointly identify what an ideal situation should be like for the employee and what would have to be changed to get closer to the situation.
According to Hallowell, the person in charge will have to:
• Help cope with stress and recharge creativity.
• Provide the exact quota of challenges or positive stress
• Avoid fear and anxiety.
• Ask only the questions necessary to generate progress in the stagnation, • Encourage thinking and eliminate distractions
• Help connect and create productive work environments and routines (personalized, individualized and enjoyable).
• Encourage conversations, outdoor walks, and short breaks
In short, promoting play and putting each member of the team developing those activities that best fit their skills and tastes within the organization, although they do not guarantee complete success, but they will contribute significantly to improving the work environment and capacity to produce of the group of people led under these premises.
I leave for a later entry the last of the conditions of the cycle of excellence, referring to recognition.
