Water's Edge Coaching » Integrity

Fed Up Enough to Leave – The Job Seeker’s Perspective

Scott Andersohn — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:10:00 +0000

I have spoken to two people in the past week who were unhappy enough with their current employer to choose to quit their job. One acted to save their sanity, the other acted to get out of a really bad situation. I admire them both, as I admire anyone willing to act on the courage of their convictions. Both people knew that in this economy, their decision was a risky one. Yet both acted with a self confidence that assures them they will get through this and enough awareness of their personal values to know that for them not taking action was their least preferred option. Both understand that they want their work to be important to them. They want to put forth their best efforts on work that has meaning for them. A lot of people would look at them and say they are crazy. I think they are heroes. Heroes that will soon be looking back on that day when they made a stand for themselves and wishing they had done it years ago.

Does Trust Have Shades of Gray?

Scott Andersohn — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:49:12 +0000

For years I have been saying that I think trust is the single most important thing for an organization to get right. Without trust, communication suffers, decisions are met with skepticism and execution of organization strategy suffers. But is trust a black and white issue? Do you either have it or not? Are there levels of trust we share with others? I think our tendency is to talk about trust as a black and white issue as in “I don’t trust that guy!” or “I would trust him with my life!” But I think the reality is deeper than that. I think there are shades of gray to trust. Think of some of the ways we might describe the trust in a relationship: “I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him” or “I’m just telling you, watch your back around her” or “For your own piece of mind, I would just double-check his work.” Before I lose your interest, and worse yet your trust in me, let me explain why I am rambling on here about trust. The lesson I think, is in understanding where the basis for trust or distrust is coming from. Trust can be rebuilt, and the key to doing so is in understanding its sources and defining steps to take trust to the next level.

The Content of Our Character

Scott Andersohn — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:43:40 +0000

Dr. King told us that in his dream his children would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. He wanted us to see them for the person they were rather than taking the lazy way out and drawing assumptions based on skin color. As a manager, how inclined are you to look deeper into the attributes of each of the members of your team? Are you willing to move beyond a conventional point of view and get to know them as individuals? Are you willing to adjust your coaching style in order to help each individual succeed? In management courses I have taught, I refer to character as your “get out of jail free card.” Your past behaviors are what will cause people to say, “Scott doesn’t seem himself today” rather than “Scott is being impossible once again.” When you behave in ways that strengthen relationships and trust, people are more apt to be forgiving of minor transgressions. It is a two way street that begins with trust and communication.