Learning to Connect…
Learning to Connect…
How Collaborative Learning Can Help Create Healthier Orgs
In this issue: Learning to Connect… Why Collaborative Learning May Be a Key to Creating Healthier Orgs / The Most-Common Regrets From People Nearing End of Life/ Introverts are ‘routinely passed up’ for promotions—but have 3 traits that can make great leaders, says best-selling author Susan Cain/ The Lighter Side of Learning
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I'm Andrea J. Miller and this is my “On Leading Well” Newsletter. I send this to people in my networks, people I’ve met recently, and friends I want to keep in touch with. You can unsubscribe (SEE THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE EMAIL) anytime, I won’t be offended
Learning to Connect… How Collaborative Learning Can Help Create Healthier Orgs
There’s no going back.
Work From Home and Hybrid workplaces are here to stay.
And companies will have to address more the needs of their employees -- physical, mental, and emotional – related to these shifts, wherever they are.
While some may think that how people feel isn’t their responsibility, research (and personal observation) show its impact on our ability to work.
This makes the once nice to do, mandatory to be competitive.
While COVID changed the culture of work, it’s not what underlies the reason(s) for these changes… and whatever the future holds, the only certainty is that the most successful companies will have to continue to change with it.
…making the more important question, what can be done right now to benefit everyone given these shifts in an increasingly distributed economy?
Self-Determination Theory and the Art of Creating Healthier Organizations
In 1985 famed psychologists, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan provided a new context for how we think about motivation and psychological growth, in their book Self-Determination and Intrinsic Motivation in Human Behavior.
Their Theory suggested that we tend to be driven by the inherent desire to grow and gain fulfillment and that when this is satisfied it increases the likelihood of success across the many different areas of our lives.
So, what does this mean for you in real terms?
Deci and Ryan’s Self Determination Theory found that three things were needed in order to achieve this fulfillment: Autonomy, Competence, and Connection or Relatedness.
Autonomy or self-governance is the ability to control your behaviors and goals, in accordance with your values and interests. Simply put, you get to decide the actions you take in the way that’s best for you.
Competence or the ability to learn different skills and gain mastery over the tasks you need and/or want to get done. Basically, the more you feel equipped to take action, the more likely you will be to do the things you need to, to achieve your goals.
And. finally, the often overlooked, but essential component of Connection or Relatedness, which provides that critical sense of belonging and attachment to others.
While vital, it’s pretty clear that none of this happens automatically in the workplace, which is why it so often goes so terribly wrong… leading to a lack of engagement and inevitably people leaving.
Psychological growth and relatedly, happy and successful people and organizations, require intentionality and purpose.
Ryan and Deci suggested that creating the right conditions and support including unexpected positive encouragement and feedback makes this a lot easier to achieve.
This underlines why collaborative learning platforms (you knew I’d get there eventually) are so effective and increasingly popular -- they address all three of these basic human needs.
When individuals and teams learn together, they are not only able to connect they also increase their mastery of whatever subject they’re learning, and can do so in their own, unique, and autonomous way.
Not surprisingly, this is good for everyone.
Staff get the upskilling necessary for them (and their companies) to stay current in a quickly changing and increasingly competitive market, and they can also build relationships with co-workers based on common interests.
This more purposeful opportunity for connection, unlike some of the more awkward and forced social gatherings, works no matter where you may lie on the spectrum of extraversion and introversion.
This also benefits retention, given our hardwiring for connection.
If this is lost because we’re working remotely or if it never existed in the first place, not surprisingly, it impacts engagement and the desire to stay someplace if we feel like we don’t belong.
The research is clear on the subject. In a recent Eko study, they found that nearly a third of all respondents put friendship as their number one reason for staying at a job.
This stat Is consistent with the growing body of data.
It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive, but we need to find ways to connect and grow that are meaningful to our work and lives.
If companies can’t afford the growing list of platforms, book clubs, peer coaching and lunch learns can begin to meet the need…and it has to be met.
As we move into this brave and crazy, new world, it’ll be the companies that intentionally create the conditions that motivate, connect and engage their people that will thrive.
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The Lighter Side of Learning (this made me laugh :)
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RECOMMENDED LISTENS, READS And other interesting things
The Most-Common Regrets From People Nearing End of Life
”Death is inevitable but reaching the end of our lives without any regrets is something we have some control over … Learning the top regrets people have when they're dying can help us understand what specific changes we should make.”
“It can be easy to overlook the quiet person in the room. But they may actually harbor qualities that can make them great leaders, according to Susan Cain.”
Displaced: a short film inspired by true events
“When a first-time volunteer accompanies undocumented refugees through their court appearances, she learns first-hand how America’s broken immigration system breeds racial injustice that destroys lives.”
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Are there any other subjects you want me to cover? Hit “Reply” and tell me!
I love hearing from you :)!
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Andrea J. Miller
+1 (646) 556-5401 (Whatsapp)