what he or she would do first and then
adds to the employee’s suggestions. The
manager’s real role, Emerald says, is to
coach employees into finding their own
solutions to problems and then support
the employees in implementing them.
When a manager encounters a truly
entrenched Victim who is hard to counsel,
the best approach is to acknowledge the
difficulty the employee is facing and then
ask how the employee chooses to solve
this problem, given the employee’s current
reality. “It’s a matter of redirecting the
ones stuck in victimhood and showing
them how to create something great,” he
says. To instill a more positive mentality
in team members, Emerald recommends
leading by example, showing rather than
merely telling people the path to a more
fulfilling life.
FIGURE 1
TED* THE EMPOWERMENT
DYNAMIC
Another useful tenet of TED * , according
to Emerald, is the notion of baby steps
as comically illustrated in the movie
What About Bob? In which Bill Murray’s
character learns to take baby steps toward
growth as coached by his psychotherapist,
played by Richard Dreyfuss. In actuality,
small changes often are necessary in
order to achieve a bigger long-term goal.
Change does not happen overnight, which
is why both individuals and companies
invest endless time and energy to reach
significant milestones.
Once the TED * framework has permeated
a corporate culture, it becomes much
easier to indoctrinate new employees
into how things are done at a particular
company. If applicants are not good
cultural fits for a company organized
around this framework, they simply will
not get the job no matter how good they
look on paper.
On an individual level, personal change
may be more difficult to achieve. You can
tell someone repeatedly that there is a
path to a happier and more productive
life, but if a paycheck isn’t attached, the
effort required to change is often lacking.
Those who do want to change—and I
hope my friend Vicki becomes one of
them— should recognize that the power
to change lies right at their feet. Then, all
they need to do is to take their first baby
step forward. +
David Emerald Womeldorff is cofounder of the Bainbridge Leadership Center
(Bainbridge Island, WA) and author (as David Emerald) of The Power of TED * (*The
Toronto-based
Danis is His
CEO latest
of
Empowerment Dynamic), a best-selling teaching
story about Stefan
Self Leadership.
™
*
Mandrake
Human
Capital,
which
operates
work is on the 3 Vital Questions : Applying the Power of TED to Work and Life for
executive
recruitment,
coaching, topics,
and
use in organizations. David is a frequent presenter
and search,
facilitator
on leadership
career
transition
His ™ book
building collaboration and various applications
of the
3 Vital businesses.
Questions
and Gobi
TED *
Runner from
is available
Stefan
(*The Empowerment Dynamic) ™ frameworks