In two recent articles "Some Evidence of How We Are Spiritually Connected" and "Healing Dysfunctional Families" I reported on how individuals who live or work within a system or group are inherently connected at a level that goes beyond words. This realm of connection, which is largely spiritual or unconscious, may or may not be familiar to the more business minded person so I will take some time to explain the nature of this connection and then the wide reaching implications this idea has on the optimal functioning of organizations. Have you ever walked into a room full of people, say at a party, and had a strange feeling about the "energy" in the room. It perhaps felt a bit draining; perhaps it made you feel sad or gave you a strange feeling of heaviness in your body. Perhaps there was a level of anxiety that you picked up in your body, as if your body was taking a reading on the mood of the room. Well in fact when you feel any or all of these types of feelings you, may be, without knowing it, picking up on the kind of mood or mindset in the room. Clearly such negative feelings are telling you that perhaps this is not a good place for you to be. Now because most individuals are not tuned into their body's messages they often find themselves ignoring or downplaying such messages perhaps only to find out later, at a much higher cost, that they went into something they should have avoided. The negative messages that one's body picks up in such circumstances are key and important messages to be understood and heeded. They signal the net negativity that exists within that setting, group, system or organization. Yes, organization! Now a large number of people, who may be your customers, will feel such a negative energy in your organization, if yours happens to carry a net negative mind set or negative "emotional baggage". Such negativity can arise from employees whose lives are emotionally unstable, from high stress levels among employees, from a management that unknowingly promotes a culture that is unhealthy and demotivating, and even from the life history that the organization carries with it throughout its life time and many other factors. Examples of the latter may be such events as dramatic downsizings, hostile mergers, and severe economic downturns and so on. Such traumatic events get stored in the "memory" of the organization in the same way as traumatic memories are stored in the memory of an individual. They accumulate there and serve to impair the performance of the employees who work in that organization, even new ones. As the nature of most business operations are driven by the competitive model it goes without saying that the probability of a high stress levels, emotional instability, angst, and other negative emotions emerging within an organization are high. These negative emotions, in turn tend to frighten management because they have no understanding of how to deal with them. Such negative emotions which then become perceived as a threat to the stability of the organization get buried within the "unconscious" of the organization. They are however clearly felt by everyone else i.e. customers, suppliers, distributors etc. who come into contact with that organization. The net result is a breakdown in trust, relationships, performance and ultimately revenues. This area of research is such a new field that most top managers have little to no training in emotional awareness. This was the revelation I had when I attended Executive MBA studies at the Richard Ivey School of Management in London, Ontario in the late 1990's. It was at the time one of the top Canadian schools and ranked as one of the top in the world next to schools such as Harvard Business School. Most other top schools also fell short of having any real awareness of such issues. My colleagues, unfortunately seemed ill equipped to handle the kinds of emotional traps and that lay waiting for them both at the individual and at the organizational level. In recent years I have developed a new tool which I call the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that is easily applicable at the organizational level to help quickly and easily "iron out" the negative emotional factors that linger in the halls and offices of most organizations. The net result is an energy of optimism, possibility, and one that is refreshing for all who come into contact with that organization. It is serving as new tool in the organization's repertoire to build a larger customer base and draw higher revenues. |
