Holy Toledo Blade- Week 2 & 3

Holy Toledo Blade
Week 2 & 3 Published: July 21, 2008

Week #2: The Big R

Voyagers:

Story of the Week

Justin was having a discussion with a family member who is having hard times, who is constantly coming up with reasons why something won’t work. Justin asked “If you could do anything you wanted, with no limitations, what would you do?” That one question changed the whole tone of the conversation and started the person thinking in a more forward focus direction. We all hope that life will turning around for this person.

NLOTB:

Mary: She has just been put into a new job position and is feeling that her Big R has diminished because of that. Mary relates the Big R to having or being in a certain comfort zone. In her previous position, Mary was confident and comfortable with her work. She was able to help others build their Big R’s by giving them reassurance on jobs well done. Now she is in the process of learning a new role and working on building up her Big R. Mary is a confident and bright individual and once she hits that comfort level, her Big R will be as big as ever.

PARTI:

Chris H:
Having a Big R allows individuals to take the high road when responding to a given situation. Chris provided a recent example of interacting with a co-worker. The person Chris works with is a driven, strong willed individual. During their discussion on an issue, Chris could hardly get a word in. Therefore, what did Chris do? He allowed the other individual to voice their opinion fully before he provided comments. Both Chris and the other individual came to the same answer as the recommendation to solve the problem. However, if Chris had not had a Big R and instead took the low road in dealing with this person, they would have ended up in a downward communication spiral.



Subject 2 ∆:

Jenilee- After only being at a plant for 10 months that had a history of poor audit results, internal audit had scheduled its next full audit before her departure to a new job in Corporate. Given the severity of the internal issues that had plagued this plant for years, she tackled the obstacles and applied best practices and process improvements to the best of her ability and with the tools she had available. The outcome at the plant was a giant step forward in the right direction and the newly laid foundation was well on its way to pure performance for this facility. The audit results showed a weakness in the department, but they noted the strides taken, foundation being laid, and process in place. The Big R came to play for Jenilee, she knows she did all she could given the circumstances and at the same time, internal audit recognized the accomplishments and helped build the Big R as well. They took the positive approach and noted it in the comments.


Week #3:


Voyagers: 3 Conditions that Support Change


Opener: What are some of the biggest changes that have taken place in your life that you inspired? What elements created success? Responses provided by Justin and Lynne

Justin: Biggest change was his career change to join O-I. He is impressed that O-I is investing in its people using the Pathways To Leadership program.

Lynne: Biggest change was the decision to move in with her parents to help support and take care of them. This change allowed her parents a better quality of life and strengthened their personal relationships with each other.

Subject 2 ∆: Wellness Culture- Work-Life-Balance

Jeff – practiced better communication during mid year reviews, both in giving and receiving. He practiced better communication and indicated much of the communication would not have happened in years past.

Suzette- experienced more communication during her mid year review and was even asked by her supervisory “what can I do to make your job better”. She realized her boss has seen more than she has been aware of and this was verbalized in the communication during her mid year review (building her BIG R).


Jenilee – Has taken steps to bridge the gap with her supervisor in her new job in corporate. She has kept a positive attitude and asked what was needed to complete her responsibilities.

The Wise Guys: Wellness Culture- Work-Life-Balance

….”What are the strongest elements of our Wellness Culture, and how do those elements impact your daily approach to work?
Collectively the “Wise Guys” agreed that having and maintaining a positive attitude goes a long way toward meeting the goal of having/maintaining a Wellness Culture, both at home and at work.

NLOTB: Wellness Culture- Work-Life-Balance

What and how were the Pathways to Leadership® tools applied? (Please be specific.)
One of the most successful tools employed by members of the team is the “Homeward Bound Framework”. By successfully using this tool to bring closure to the work day it allowed a smoother transition into the home life creating a more peaceful atmosphere for each of us.

What was the outcome and benefit to you, your colleagues, team, family, and/or the organization?
By creating this balance between work and home, this translates into a less stressful day and greater productivity. It allows us to engage our teams and family without the baggage of either stress from home or stress from work. It also allows us to cross the normal boundaries that tend to separate work and home by allowing us the freedom to engage our teams outside the work environment while still balancing the home life.

One example:

Kevin Pawlicki invited his entire team over to his house after work for dinner. He also included extended members of the project team. The outcome was tremendous, not only did the team members enjoy an evening of fun, games and food, he was also able to engage his wife in the event giving her the opportunity to build relationships with his co-workers. This will help Kevin and his wife have a better feel for the demands on his time away from the family.


With this new knowledge, what could be done more, better, or in addition, to continue Improvement?
The conclusion we drew as a team was simply, “nurturing the relationships with our co-workers” provides the greatest benefits of helping us development our work-life balance. It’s no secret that many of our peers face the same/similar challenges with work-life balance as we do, and can act as a role model for us to follow. By spending quality time with our peers we develop the good habits of spending quality time with our families.