Recently, the
wonderful business book club
Cornelia and I belong to did something for the first time--we read Supreme
Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's memoir, My
BelovedWorld, went to hear her
speak about her book, and then discussed the book! It was an amazing experience to hear her tell some of the
stories I had already read in her book and then to discuss what we'd heard and read with our book club
colleagues.
I could go on and
on about the lessons learned from hearing her tell the stories – but one thing
stood out from all the others and that applies to our 2014 focus on
organizational culture.
The facilitator for
the event was the president of Martha's Table in Washington, DC. She brought along some teenage members
of their book club who had read the Justice's book. Several times during the evening, she asked a student to
read his/her favorite part of the book to the audience. Now, you have to know the event was
being held in Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University which holds
1,000 people (the event was moved there because it sold out in a few minutes – and,
there were over 300 people on the waiting list!) so, imagine you are a teenager
and you have to get up, walk to a microphone and read to an audience of a
thousand people including a Supreme Court Justice—and don't forget the many
security people stationed around the room!
As the first
student approached the microphone to read, the Justice stood up and walked to
where the student was standing so that it appeared the student was reading her
words to her! It changed
everything – and not just for the reader but the rest of us as well. When the teenager finished reading, the
Justice talked directly to him or her about what they had read. We all listened but I couldn't help
think about the impact she was having on that young person as she held what
appeared to be an intimate conversation with them.
What does this have
to do with corporate culture, you ask?
Well, leaders set the culture and the example of the Justice physically
moving to where the student was standing and speaking directly to them is a
powerful reminder of how a leader's presence can affect and define the culture
and the workforce. One-on-one
encounters are extremely impactful for employees. I spent much of my HR career with Marriott International and
the last two years I worked at corporate headquarters in Bethesda, MD. When I first went to corporate, many
people shared stories of personal experiences they’d had with Bill
Marriott. He was famous for eating
in the employee cafeteria by himself and taking his tray and approaching a
table with Associates (Marriott's term for employees) and asking if he could
join them. Once they recovered
from the shock of eating with the Chairman and CEO, they said they relaxed
under his warm, approachable style as he asked them questions about what they
did, what they liked about their job and the company, and if they had
suggestions for him!
Mr. Marriott also
spoke to people in the elevator and the hallways. He was, and is, approachable and personal – exactly what
Justice Sotomayor did that night with the students. She created a warm and safe place for them to perform the
task before them. And, isn't that
what you want your corporate culture to be – a place where the great people
you’ve hired can use their skills to the best of their ability in an
environment where they feel comfortable?
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