Conscious Community

We have previously addressed the value of #diversity in the workplace. The value it brings to organisational reputation is one thing but the opportunities it opens to increase profits and speed up problem-solving. But how do we get more diverse communities and how do we build those same communities to provide benefits to the business through increasing long-term growth, reducing employee turnover, and a reduction in HR issues, all while improving the business’s cultural sensitivity and awareness? This month’s newsletter explores this topic to bring focus to the importance of community building and its long-term effects. To grow a community initiative, we must establish a key purpose and values. After all, what is the point in #growth if it is not #sustainable or #rewarding? Following the set of principles listed below should ensure our first principle of long-term growth is achieved through setting out community “standards” or “principles” these will provide the spine to which the community can attach: Define and form your identity, what is your core purpose, and why should your community want to join the cause. People will only join the community if it aligns with their identity • Earn credibility and encourage participation. Show and prove your value to increase your credibility, the more people that see this as you scale the more improvement you will see in business cultural awareness through reputational gain. Inviting more and more people to join and participate through a mix of digital and in-person events. The step makes people see and feel the value, encouraging organic growth through word of mouth. • Feedback. In all community operations feedback is key to growth, continuous improvement, and trust. Did you know that Forbes lists achieving diversity through Inclusion in its top 5 reasons HR issues arise? Gaining feedback from the diverse populations in your communities will give a vital boost to inclusion reducing these HR issues and feelings of alienation. Allowing people to feel heard in the communities they belong to is therefore the foundation for success in this model. We can ultimately add as many people to a community as we like, but if we lose them at a similar rate due to HR issues and a lack of awareness, our businesses will not function as they will be failing the communities they endeavor to serve. Communities can be built in the modern day both digitally and in person. This provides businesses with an unparalleled opportunity to seek broad thought diversity from those external to the organisation. Here are a few examples of key networks that can be used to broaden #communities to allow us to #invest in the future #growth of the business: • LinkedIn connections • In-person network events • Learning events • Social media We understand that business is now a revolving door of talent, but strength and identity in a community that aligns with individual purpose can slow this process, and prevent it in some cases. Long-term community building will allow alignment of purpose, and values to the peer group, but will add value back by providing constant feedback that can fuel growth. Community building in business can feel like just another buzzword at the moment but the feedback loop and growth it subsequently provides makes it a key driver of the increased bottom-line performance. So why then do we focus on diversity when building these communities? Adaptability and awareness as a business, whilst growing cultural sensitivity allows us to ensure that we put inclusion front and center. There’s a saying that goes “we’re riding the same storm, but we ride it in different boats”. Those boats represent the different journeys people have been on in life, where the importance of this statement about community building is the feedback loop that we create in community growth. The more diverse the community is the broader range of feedback we will receive as people’s experiences will differ through their diversity. And we can go further. We know strong communities reduce employee turnover, and people want to stay in places where they have a sense of belonging and purpose, where they feel valued and heard. Acting on the feedback of a diverse community can improve employee experience and fix issues before they arise. It should be mentioned that a diverse community is proven to increase retention amongst both white and non-white employees. So what does this all add up to? Diversity brings people with different backgrounds into the feedback loop of a community. The full value of a community is in that very feedback loop. To enlarge it, we need to be clear about our purpose and identity as a community. HR is an expensive business for organisations so by taking the time and investment to listen and learn we reduce complaints and turnover greatly, but this again has to be underscored by diversity. If we don’t understand the journey of people from all walks of life, the community purpose of the organisation is quite simply flawed. Are you interested in learning how to leverage the power of community feedback loops to improve the experiences of your team members, and create a more emotionally well and supportive work environment? Connect with the Consciously Exposed team in an exploratory conversation to learn how you can leverage the power of community building, and how taking an arts-based approach can make this process insightful and enjoyable for your team.

Framework - A basic structure underlying a system, concept, or text. Human beings are hardwired to build connections, we thrive off access to open and honest communication paired with clear expectations. This holds true in the workplace, where interactions with team members directly affect our mental health and ability to provide for ourselves. At Consciously Exposed Consulting we utilize frameworks designed to help organizations maximize emotional well-being and mental wellness. This is a fancy way of saying that we encourage companies to have clearly defined roles with consistent expectations around communication and deliverables. When employees understand their role, know whom to go to when they have questions or need help, and respect whom they report to - quality work naturally happens. To achieve this, we use the GRPI Framework ( Goals, Roles, Procedures, Interpersonal Relationships) to help managers and decision-makers at organizations better understand how to organize their teams and view the relationships between staff. We’ll use an imaginary non-profit as an example to show how this framework could be applied to an actual organization. GRPI Example Let’s start with the first part of the framework - Goals. In this example, there is an imaginary non-profit working at eliminating food insecurity in underserved communities. This company has a very distinct extrinsic goal that It aims to accomplish. “ Reduce the number of households in (XYZ Zip Codes) who don’t have access to fresh produce by 15% within 24 Months.” This is an example of a tangible and measurable goal. Employees may work towards this goal, and may even be motivated by this goal - but not because they share this specific goal. If the company only reduced food insecure households by 10%, employees wouldn’t necessarily change their own personal goals. An intrinsic goal for an employee might be: To develop meaningful relationships based on trust & mutual respect. The Non - profit would then be responsible for creating alignment with the specific goal of the company, and the intrinsic goal. They can use the GRPI Framework to accomplish this. How does this play out? Let’s look at the second part of the framework - The Roles within the company. First, we look at the roles (examples) within the non-profit that are working to achieve this goal: • Director • Senior Manager • Program Coordinator • Community Liaison They all work to achieve the same extrinsic goal, however, their intrinsic goals may all differ. For example: Director - Support their families' material needs and provide their children with opportunities to be successful. Senior Manager - Expand their sphere of influence in the professional community. Program Coordinator - Develop more competence in transferable skills ( Public Speaking, Marketing, Graphic Design, UX, etc.) Community Liaison - Develop meaningful relationships within the community After looking at this list, you may already see where we would go with this. But the next step of the framework explicitly states this. The actual work someone does day in and day out should lend itself to the intrinsic goals of the individuals on the team. To create the alignment required to achieve maximum success ( an emotionally healthy work environment), the procedures undertaken to achieve the extrinsic goal, and the incentives offered to employees to meet the extrinsic goal must speak to what the individuals find meaningful. The procedures for each role may vary within the specific organization, but in general, these roles are fairly common. It is important to understand intrinsic goals during the hiring process to create better fits within the organization. Employees will follow the procedures because the incentives help them realize intrinsic goals, at least in theory. Example: The Community Liaison is responsible for identifying local farmer’s markets and connecting them with families in the community. The procedure for achieving this involves reaching out and developing relationships with families through town hall meetings and setting up exploratory meetings with the farm owners. The procedures and intrinsic goals are closely aligned - which helps the Community Liaison find meaning in their position. The final piece in this framework is what makes alignment possible, and is key in creating the kind of impact needed. That final piece is the quality of interpersonal relationships on your team. Interpersonal Relationships Their ability to find meaning in the workplace is immensely impacted by the quality of relationships within the team. This has changed due to the nature of remote work, but at its core, relationship-building is an indispensable part of growing a company, retaining employees, and nurturing development. The problem is - most companies are horrible at this. They use words like family, and community, and may even be successful at creating a community as a product for their customers, but will fall short of fostering that same environment internally. Without a strong enough relationship, employees may not even be willing to share their intrinsic goals/motivations with senior management and leadership within a team. The relationships are the foundation for this entire model. Your team-building activities should accomplish the following: • Create a space of trust, where a level of vulnerability is accepted ( Within reason - but ideally enough vulnerability to be honest about their intrinsic goals) • Create opportunities for the team to develop respect for one another • Space where they can talk about external factors that affect their mental state at work • The ability to hold other members accountable, while also being held accountable • Space for candid, honest, and direct conversation How Consciously Exposed Creates The Environment: The use of multidisciplinary arts and spoken word poetry art - More specifically the process of creating it, refining it, and then sharing it with a larger group is important, and can usually open a space where all the above points are covered in one fell swoop. Are you interested in learning how your organization could benefit from the GRPI framework? Maybe you’re a non-profit organization like the example we used in this article, or maybe you’re a for-profit company looking to build an effective team. Book a complimentary conversation to share your team-building goals - we’d be happy to help you craft a plan for arts-based team building!