Courageous Cultures : How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers, and Customer Advocates

From executives complaining that their teams don't contribute ideas to employees giving up because their input isn't valued--company culture is the culprit. Courageous Cultures provides a road map to build a high-performance, high-engagement culture around sharing ideas, solving problems, and rewarding contributions from all levels. Many leaders are convinced they have an open environment that encourages employees to speak up and are shocked when they learn that employees are holding back. Employees have ideas and want to be heard. Leadership wants to hear them. Too often, however, employees and leaders both feel that no one cares about making things better. The disconnect typically only widens over time, with both sides becoming more firmly entrenched in their viewpoints. Becoming a courageous culture means building teams of microinnovators, problem solvers, and customer advocates working together. In our world of rapid change, a courageous culture is your competitive advantage. It ensures that your company is "sticky" for both customers and employees. In Courageous Cultures , you'll learn practical tools that help you: Learn the difference between microinnovators, problem solvers, and customer advocates and how they work together. See how the latest research conducted by the authors confirms why organizations struggle when it comes to creating strong cultures where employees are encouraged to contribute their best thinking. Learn proven models and tools that leaders can apply throughout all levels of the organization, to reengage and motivate employees. Understand best practices from companies around the world and learn how to apply these strategies and techniques in your own organization. This book provides you with the practical tools to uncover, leverage, and scale the best ideas from every level of your organization. From executives complaining that their teams don't contribute ideas to employees throwing up their hands because their input isn't sought--company culture is the culprit. Courageous Cultures provides a road map to build a high-performance, high-engagement culture around sharing ideas, solving problems, and rewarding contributions from all levels. Many leaders are convinced they have an open environment that encourages employees to speak up and are shocked when they learn that employees are holding back. Employees have ideas and want to be heard. Leadership wants to hear them. Too often, however, employees and leaders both feel that no one cares about making things better. The disconnect typically only widens over time, with both sides becoming more firmly entrenched in their viewpoints. Becoming a courageous culture means building teams of microinnovators, problem solvers, and customer advocates working together. A microinnovator is the employee who consistently seeks out small, but powerful, ways to improve the business. A problem solver is the employee who cares about what's not working and wants to make it better. They uncover and speak openly about what's not working and think critically about how to fix it. A customer advocate is the employee who sees through your customers' eyes and speaks up on their behalf. They actively look for ways to improve customers' experience and minimize customer frustrations. In our world of rapid change, a courageous culture is your competitive advantage. It ensures that your company is "sticky" for both customers and employees. In this book you'll learn practical tools to uncover, leverage, and scale the best ideas from every level of your organization. -See how the latest research conducted by the authors confirms why organizations struggle when it comes to creating strong cultures where employees are encouraged to contribute their best thinking. -Learn proven models and tools that leaders can apply throughout all levels of the organization, to reengage and motivate employees. -Understand best practices from companies around the world and learn how to apply these strategies and techniques in your own organization Many leaders are convinced they have an open environment that encourages employees to speak up and are shocked when they learn that employees are holding back. Employees have ideas and want to be heard. Leadership wants to hear them. Too often, however, employees and leaders both feel that no one cares about making things better. The disconnect typically only widens over time, with both sides becoming more firmly entrenched in their viewpoints. From executives complaining that their teams don't contribute ideas to employees throwing up their hands because their input isn't sought--company culture is the culprit. Courageous Cultures provides a road map to build a high-performance, high-engagement culture around sharing ideas, solving problems, and rewarding contributions from all levels. Becoming a courageous culture means building teams of micro innovators, problem solvers, and customer advocates working together. A micro innovator is the employee who consistently seeks out small, but powerful, ways to improve the business. A problem solver is the employee who cares about what's not working and wants to make it better. They uncover and speak openly about what's not working and think critically about how to fix it. A customer advocate is the employee who sees through your customers' eyes and speaks up on their behalf. In this book you'll learn practical tools to uncover, leverage, and scale the best ideas from every level of your organization. Learn proven models and tools that leaders can apply throughout all levels of the organization, to reengage and motivate employees What is a courageous culture? -- The power of courageous culture in a gig economy and AI universe -- How courage works- according to research -- Overcoming courage crushers, common mistakes, and other barriers to courageous culture -- Navigate the narrative -- Courageous culture in action -- Create clarity -- Cultivate curiosity -- Respond with regard -- Practice the principle -- Galvanize the genius -- How to build an infrastructure for courage -- Managers who lead in courageous cultures -- People are different: how to leverage your diverse talent to build a courageous culture -- Your courageous future