How would it feel to do something great? How would it feel to reach outside the confines of the status quo to have a positive impact? How would it feel to stay ahead of the curve and to set the standard for your organization?
As leaders, we possess the intellectual capacity, expertise, and innovative capabilities to truly make the world a better place. It is time that we embrace our collective abilities to create environments where everyone thrives, to lead our organizations into the future, and to build up the communities in which we do business.
Society is changing. Interactions and expectations are evolving. Change is accelerating. Signs of opportunities are everywhere, but so are signs of a crisis of trust. Stories of deception and abuse by social media giants, car manufacturers, airline industries, and pharmaceutical companies are plaguing headlines. People are losing faith in corporate America to do the right thing at the right time. Companies are in crises for lack of social competencies – dealing with sexual harassment, toxic work environments, and overcoming biases and gaps. The status quo is no longer tenable, and the tides are shyfting.
Brave, bold leaders and organizations are challenging the status quo. They are looking for ways to navigate and embrace today’s social dynamics. They are looking for ways to enhance their responsiveness to new challenges and new opportunities. Courageous leaders are not only focusing on the fiscal health of their organizations, they are seeking opportunities to participate in the development of a civil society, a healthy planet, engaged workforces, inclusive cultures, and strong communities. Courageous leaders are leading by example and building social awareness from within.
Social awareness is a 21st century skillset and asset that can empower organizations to create sustainable change and forge cultures where everyone thrives. You cannot build empathy, engagement, or meaning at work without social awareness. You cannot overcome biases, barriers and blind spots without social awareness. Social awareness is the key to uncovering the lens we use to see the world, to shyfting mindsets, behaviors, and cultures that influence our organizational goals and company directions.
People are the reason new initiatives succeed or fail. People are the reason company cultures flourish or become toxic. People are the reason cultures are inclusive or exclusive. No company policy, mission statement, satisfaction survey or strategic plan can overcome the influence of the people within an organization. To create cultures where everyone flourishes and to implement sustainable change, we must focus on the human factor. We must show empathy and understanding. And we must build trust with authentic leadership.
Creating sustainable change comes from understanding the interconnectedness of society and social dynamics. Understanding how sociological elements like social structure, historical context, cultural context, socio-demographic factors, and individual experiences intersect and fuse with individual thoughts, actions, and responses at micro, meso, and macro levels. It comes from building trust, conveying purpose, showing competency and empathy. Buy-in comes from developing the agility to know what to say, when to say it, and how to say it with authenticity.
Most of us need help and guidance coping with change and cultural differences. We need help letting go of what is known and comfortable to embrace the possibilities of the unknown and of what can be. Flexibility, agility, curiosity, and creativity are fostered by aligning business leadership strategies, company goals, and feelings of trust, meaning, and engagement.
At Shyft, we focus on the human factor. We build social awareness as a business asset to navigate and capitalize on today’s social dynamics. We help leaders and organizations develop a competitive advantage by embracing and supporting their biggest asset, their people.
It is time to raise the bar and set the standard on diversity, inclusivity, and equitable work environments and to foster psychological safety and innovation. Shyft connects the dots between what is and why to help you shyft to what can be and how. We help you uncover and address how social categories like race, ethnicity, gender, class, age, sexuality, and culture impact the balance of your organization.
No one wants to be the next crisis or headline. Embracing awareness and understanding that fuels diversity helps protect organizations from crises of character that do real damage. It helps protect organizations from the pitfalls of uniform thinking. Social awareness fosters diverse and inclusive cultures which are more adept at exposing blind spots and gaps.
Can you imagine the difference a diverse board with diverse perspectives may have made for captains of industry like Kodak and Blockbuster? Someone at Kodak may have realized that releasing the digital camera technology that they developed would be the path to success and sustainability instead of locking it up behind closed doors to protect their film business. Or maybe the team at Blockbuster would have more strongly considered purchasing the fledgling mail-order DVD company, Netflix, rather than brushing it off as a non-competitor in the early 2000s.
Today’s successful leaders are embracing opportunities to change, set the standard, and raise the bar. They acknowledge the need for risk intervention to embrace the shyfting social dynamics of the 21st Century. Today’s leaders are shyfting strategies to build awareness, understanding, empathy and engagement; to overcome barriers, biases, blind spots, and crises; to change mindsets, behaviors, cultures, and directions.
Shyft Strategies was not created to prop up a crumbling structure with a brace or a support. It was developed to expose the foundational thinking and behaviors that are weakening organizational structures. Unlike many traditional approaches, Shyft Strategists dive into the sociology of thinking, actions, and responses creating company culture, influencing organizational change and impacting personnel diversity head-on. Our programs are designed to inform, influence, and inspire. At Shyft, we believe that sustainable change, diverse workforces, innovative thinking, and inclusive cultures are built with intention and purpose. We help reinforce, tear down, and rebuild. Our goal is to help leaders, teams and organizations embrace social awareness as an asset to create environments they want and need to thrive and succeed. Shyft Strategies is here to help.
The time to shyft is now.
