Thomas Ilskov Nielsen is a Senior Enabler in Business Through People ApS.
Trust and Good Relations is Vital
MeToo has been filling the papers and news channels for months. Yes, there is an issue and yes there is problems that needs to be solved. No doubt about it.
We have seen examples of managers that don’t know how to behave, and we have seen organisations that don’t know how to restrain a culture of abuse and vulgar language.
Is this a problem – oh Yes. Is it something that we need to address – Yes indeed!
If you feel stuck in this and don’t have a good way of approaching your organisation, then let’s learn from the past. It is not a new problem, and some already have had good experiences with how to address it.
When large numbers of women entered the American industry during the 2nd world war. They knew that they had to tackle the issue with mixed sexes at the workplace. Therefore, they made a leadership program to help leaders and managers handle their mix of employees. A training program for leaders and managers that address the issue of mixed men and women in the work field. The emphasis was to help them focus on leading the Individual and to teach every manager to treat people, who are their responsibility, as individuals. They build the training on 4 foundations, that if used correctly and with respect for the individual person, will never hit the front page with a MeToo issue. Because you will not let your culture escalate to that level. You will deal with it much earlier and before it grows into a problem.
Besides the foundations of treating individuals. The program also has a method for how to handle “people problems” when they occur. Things will come up, and yes wherever people are present, there will be challenges and issues to address. In a workplace, MeToo issues need to be solved in a manner of respect for the individuals involved, the team around, and the production or services that the organisation provide. It is not something that we can treat lightly. It is something that we need to address. The sooner the better.
In the modern use of this program, we establish a forum where the managers in a company meet regularly to talk leadership and people development. The discussion in these Learning & Sharing sessions is based on everyday challenges, and in the perspective of the foundations for good leadership. This is not about KPI’s and results. It is a forum where we see the individual person, shape the culture, and develop good relations.
As a practitioner of Job Relation program, I see a great opportunity to help modern leaders and managers to overcome the MeToo challenges, to work with their organisation, their employees, and to address the issues before they become a problem.
If this has sparked, your interest to know more about the Training Within Industry and Job Relation. Send me a message and let’s talk about how this can influence the behaviour and dialog in your business.
Want to Know More About TWI?
The yearly Danish TWI and Toyota Kata conference and European TWI & Kata Summit are good places to start. Read more at https://twikatakonference.dk/ and https://twiandkatasummit.eu/.
Your next step could also be:
- Call or mail us for a dialogue
- Read more or see a video about Training Within Industry
- Join one of our Training Within Industry (TWI) events
- Read more about our TWI programs and our approach here
If you have any questions to the content in this article or to Training Within Industry (TWI) in general, you are most welcome to ask them directly to one of our Enablers, or by calling us.
No matter what you do, it all starts with you daring to take the lead.