A Balancing Act for Life

(page 2 of 2)

Based on your approach, how do you create awareness for personal integrity?
To develop personal integrity, it is necessary first to find a balance between your personal behavior and your personal ambition. The central questions in this contemplative process are: Do I act in accordance with my conscience? Is there consistency between what I am thinking and what I am doing? Does my personal ambition reflect my desire to act ethically? Have I done what was right?

You mentioned alignment between personal and shared ambition to stimulate employee engagement and commitment. How do you see that working?
Employees are often willing to work together toward the goals of the organization with dedication when there is a match between their personal ambition and the shared ambition of their organization. I therefore recommend introducing a one-on-one ambition meeting between the line-manager or superior and his/her employee. Although there will never be a perfect fit between individual and organizational goals, these sessions improve the probability of increased alignment.

This is a periodic, informal, voluntary, and confidential meeting between a line-manager and his/her employees, with the employee's PBSC and the shared ambition as topics. This has an impact on the organizational bonding of the employees. It gives them the proud feeling that they count, that they are appreciated as human beings, and that they make a useful and valuable contribution to the organization.

What you're suggesting puts new demands on managers and human resource officers in an organization.
Line managers and HR officers should understand that a healthy home situation has an important influence on work performances and this should not be ignored. Their task is also to encourage their employees to apply their PBSC within their family and to help improve the situation at home. HR has a new role in improving the quality of life of employees, having them enter into greater challenges, letting them enjoy their work, and making them happy.

My goal is to give our readers a variety of different perspectives on life and careers. While I do the small things, to help successful leaders achieve positive change in behavior, you are looking at the whole picture. I think that the type of introspection you suggest in the PBSC approach can be useful for any of us.
If any of your readers have further questions on how they can apply the PBSC process in their own lives, please let them know that they are invited to visit my Web site or contact me directly.

Goldsmith's new book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, was recently listed as America's best-selling business book in The Wall Street Journal. He can be reached at Marshall@MarshallGoldsmith.com, and he provides his articles and videos online at www.MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com.