Business View Oceania

20 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 Michael continues, “There is a phenomenon we see in the business world, in which every organisation has a hierarchical nature to politics. Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘This meeting could have been an email’? It’s a prime example of what we call image management. We want to cover up weaknesses, explain away behaviours that don’t serve the organisation in a positive way, and make sure that we look like we are doing perfectly, all of the time. Our research tells us that over 40% of an organisation’s time and energy is chewed up by image management. When you are practicing image management, you are not walking your talk, you are not taking accountability, and you’re usually not self-aware. There is a very strong connection between wasted energy and leaders who are not practicing mindful leadership. There is massive unrealised potential for increased efficiency in organisations that can be released simply by cutting out this phenomenon.” The highest-performing teams have one thing in common: psychological safety. Psychological safety within an organisation is defined as a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking. The ‘Challenger’ level of psychological safety is fostered by The Mindful Leader; members of a team feel able to challenge the status quo, as well as each other’s behaviour and actions in the context of team values and commitments. Vertical Growth explains that Challenger safety is the level of safety that is needed for an environment of vertical growth to be fully supported, and that nothing short of it will do. Its Summary elaborates, “There are four key elements to building and sustaining a Challenger level of psychological safety, and therefore a values-aligned, vertical-growth environment within your team and organisation: A self- examining, values-based team leader is non- negotiable. Triangulation must be eliminated because it kills trust and disables vertical growth. All team members must be fully accountable for their behaviour and agreements and be enabled to hold others accountable. Defensiveness, blame, and denial kills challenger safety. Feedback needs to be totally honest, but handled with respect, empathy, and care. Respect and honesty are nonnegotiable values for challenger safety.” Michael concludes, “The more we align our behaviour with our growth values and cultivate deep integrity, congruency, and inner harmony, the better leaders we become. In turn, the better our organisations perform, while also making a positive difference in the world. A true and genuine commitment to Vertical Growth by an organisation’s leaders is the key to making this happen.”