Last Words
OUR HOPES AND DREAMS
When we started writing this book, we initially were going to write about the 12 Inclusive Behaviors—behaviors we have been sharing with our clients for many years because they have had a profound, positive impact on work cultures in which Inclusion is the foundation for how people work.
Then one day we were in a client meeting in which someone said, “We love the 12 Inclusive Behaviors, but these 4 are the keys that change everything!”
Organizations face many challenges. And many people inside of them feel that their contributions don’t matter. They feel powerless to make a difference or to have more positive interactions.
It may be easy to feel at times that our organizations and society are on the wrong path. Some are afraid that this current state of feeling powerless and fearful is what life in organizations is and will always be.
We have written this book because we are optimistic about where some organizations are going and what all organizations can be. Yes, we see all that is going on today and how hard it is for many people at all levels in organizations. And we feel sad that many cannot see or don’t experience significant positive change today or in the foreseeable future.
But at the same time, we have seen organizations that can and want to be different. We have worked with organizations that have transformed themselves from being workplaces where people don’t count and individuals and teams feel powerless into ones in which people find their voices, feel valued, and together achieve wonderful things—breakthroughs.
It is always helpful for us to remember our favorite quote from our favorite futurist, Mary O’Hara Devereaux: “The future is here, but not evenly distributed.”
We have seen pockets of greatness in some of our client systems—unevenly distributed, for sure—but we know that greatness can spread. We thank our clients for that glimpse into making what can be a reality, and we thank the people of our consulting firm for helping nurture those pockets of success.
There are people in organizations all over the world who have committed to live life differently—to improve their relationships by changing their interactions at work (and at home).
Many people are working more hours and sacrificing more and more for work, and in doing so, many are becoming increasingly aware that they want more out of their interactions at work. They don’t want to settle for underperforming, having to do rework, and feeling as if they don’t matter—most people want to make a difference, want to have an impact.
People are ready for a breakthrough!
We can’t promise that this book is the breakthrough everyone needs. We do know it has been a breakthrough for us and many others. What we have shared in this book has enabled many people to have not only professional breakthroughs, but also personal ones as they apply the 4 Keys to create better, healthier interactions in all aspects of their lives.
It starts with realizing that if you want to have greater teamwork and collaboration (and greater speed in achieving effective teamwork and collaboration) that a joining mindset is critical. When you really see others as colleagues and allies, a new “we” sets the foundation to open doors and achieve things that no individual alone can achieve.
But the awareness of the need to join or even the desire to join with others is insufficient to open the doors to real teamwork. Without the willingness and ability to Lean into Discomfort, Listen as an Ally, State Intent and Intensity, and Share Your Street Corner, improvement for many organizations will not happen fast enough, and significant breakthroughs will not occur.
Collaboration, higher performance, and teamwork are not going to be achieved by wishing or wanting or waiting. They require action! They need a common language to reinforce and spread that understanding. They need a common set of behaviors. They need the 4 Keys That Change Everything.
And once you start using these Keys, you and your interactions will never be the same again.
Start Today
You can start putting these 4 Keys to work for you and your organization today. We hope that you do. As individuals, partners, teams, and organizations around the globe, none of us can afford to wait. The Keys are here for you to use.
The 4 Keys work even if you are the only one using them, because they give you the means to change the nature and quality of your interactions with others.
You can use them with your team members. You can use them with colleagues throughout the organization. You can use them with family members and friends, people in your community, people you see every day.
The more you use them, the better they will work for you because they will feel more natural.
The 4 Keys are simple, and if you adopt them as your standard way of interacting, you will change the quality of your relationships with other people. Your interactions will be enhanced, as will your life. The people you work with will start to treat you differently. They will join you. They will speak with you more openly and honestly, sharing their intentions, and partnering with you in new and exciting ways. Things will feel different, and you will experience life differently.
Doors will open
Why wait? What lie ahead are trust, understanding, collaboration, and breakthroughs for you and your team. And when the doors open, inside you will find the rewards of teamwork and collaboration, and Everything will change.