Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

In most business organizations… there’s a lot of talk lately about how so few control most of the money, authority, and access.... Do you agree?

Exit interviews tell us that conflicts arise and access is denied mostly from three words that either lock you out or let you in:

1. culture – In spite of the efforts to create quality culture through programs such  Total Quality Control ... many workers tell you the culture was created by a few and it only really fits a few. Those who do not fit the culture are usually forced out. Have you seen access denied to some in this way?

2. communication – While good communication skills tend to be written into most job requirements, in practice it’s quite a different matter.  Through exit interviews we see a growing number of dissatisfied workers who tell you they feel they are not known … nor do they sense an opportunity to know other workers at a deeper or genuine level. Often times cultural and gender differences are meshed into one language and those who differ tend to get left behind. Is that the case in your organization?

3. skill development – Large organizations call quality skill development… “training” and over time training has increasingly meant that a few people at the ‘top” train others to think and act in ways they feel most appropriate to the organizational culture. This kind of training may work well for dogs, monkeys or horses, but it closes access to people who bring different skills and experiences to the table.

In a brain based organization access is opened wider because…

culture is changed regularly by those it serves and so opportunities come to a far wider diversity of people… who build together with leaders and peers.
communication is interactive so that all leaders also learn … and learners at times lead in ways that multiple intelligences are unleashed.
skill development is interactive and gifted people are rewarded for creativity that results in quality and measurable production … rather than standardized methods.

Culture, communication, and skill development look different when  shaped with the human brain in mind. These same three doors that limit access to many can become the very gates that open new opportunities for most workers. Do you agree?