Tip 17: 10 Ways (+1) to let people flourish

Years ago I came across the below list*.

1. Create an open and honest work environment

2. Trigger people to step out of their comfort zone

3. See differences as complementary to each other

4. Asking the right question is worth more than giving 10 solutions

5. Offer professional and personal development opportunities

6. Every mistake is an opportunity to grow

7. Give people full attention in every touchpoint

8. A compliment serves as a social lubricant for every collaboration

9. Organize fun in addition to the focus on results

10. Never forget to laugh

1. Create an open and honest work environment

This is probably the most important tip for any leader. Be sure to create a safe environment for people to work in. How can you expect people to flourish and be productive if they don’t feel safe?

2. Trigger people to step out of their comfort zone

Trigger with caution. Being stretched is fine, yet to a certain extent. It depends on the person. Some enjoy the new, others like stability.

3. See differences as complementary to each other

This may be difficult sometimes, yet important. None of us are the same. See a previous tip about the use of the Strengthfinder tool.

4. Asking the right question is worth more than giving 10 solutions

I am still practicing this every day. It is not easy to refrain from giving instructions instead of asking questions. And when you ask questions, do you ask open or closed questions? I trust you know the difference.

5. Offer professional and personal development opportunities

Professional development opportunities? That goes without saying. Personal opportunities is a bit of a grey area. Hiring an external coach to support the personal growth of an employee might be a good investment. But could we ask an employer to fund a yoga instructor course?

6. Every mistake is an opportunity to grow

See a previous tip about making wrong decisions. Key here is to work in a safe environment that allows you to make mistakes without being punished.

7. Give people full attention in every touchpoint

Again difficult, but important. Put away your smart phone and stop multitasking, which actually does not exist. See for example this post about the myth of multitasking.

8. A compliment serves as a social lubricant for every collaboration

See a previous tip about the benefits of giving compliments.

9. Organize fun in addition to focusing on results

I’d encourage you to consider this tip. Even if you meet virtually only when you work in an international team. In some of my teams we used to block 30 minutes every 3 weeks to have a coffee or tea moment. The idea was to talk about private matters only, no business.

10. Never forget to laugh

Indeed very important. Some are convinced of the therapeutic effect Laughter Therapy.

Note: In one of my projects I converted this list of 10 tips into a 360 degrees feedback survey and asked my team to fill it in. In order to obtain honest feedback and with the intent to create a safe environment, I asked a manager from a different office to collect the input from the team. In this way the feedback could be provided anonymously.

* Supposedly the list is created by ICM (https://www.icm.nl). If I need to credit someone else, let me know.

Tip 11 is a tip for leaders themselves. They need to pay attention to their own (mental) health as well.

Have a look at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard. It promotes ways to flourish and provides practical activities supported by scientific research.

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