Foster HQCs to Enhance Mission Impact

HQCs = High Quality Connections

If you want a workplace in which:

*Individuals are thriving

*Teams are more effective

*The overall organization performs at a higher level

Then you should consider encouraging more High Quality Connections among those you work with.  Ground-breaking research by University of Michigan professor Dr. Jane Dutton* and others demonstrates that HQCs in the workplace have these positive effects.

How can you create HQCs in your workplace?*

*Convey Presence.  Fully engage with a person when you are talking with them.  I know one executive who has started closing his laptop when people stop in to meet with him to help him be less distracted and send a message that he is fully present in the moment.

*Be Genuine.  Show people that you care about them in a genuine, heart-felt way.  You can’t fake sincerity, so seek to bring your authentic self to every work interaction.

*Communicate Affirmation.  Acknowledge the positive contributions of team members when you have the opportunity.  Expressing appreciation costs nothing yet is worth gold for people.

*Listen Effectively.  Be responsive.  Close out distractions.  Practice Active Listening and ask people if they feel as if you have heard them.

*Supportive Communication.  How we say things matters.  We can express our views without being defensive and use a supportive tone.  Communicate clearly without baggage.

People want a workplace that is vibrant and supportive, not corrosive!  When we utilize more of these HQC producing behaviors, we are building a more resilient workplace and making more of a Mission Impact.

*Dutton, J.E. “Fostering high quality connections through respectful engagement.”  Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter, 54-57, 2003

For more ideas on how you can lead breakthroughs in your organization, follow this blog and check out my web site at www.SheehanNonprofitConsulting.com   You will find free resources you can download, including a Breakthrough Strategy Workbook that you can download at no cost.  You can also check out my book, Mission Impact:  Breakthrough Strategies for Nonprofits, and buy it if you are interested.  And you can follow Sheehan Nonprofit Consulting on Facebook.