Preface
Therefore, what follows is not found within my book, however I freely offer it to you on the web to help you apply the book once you have purchased and read it.
I have written about values, management and leadership extensively since my book’s release, and if you find one of my articles on the web, I suggest this two step to you as self-coaching in the MWA philosophy:
- Ask yourself, “Which of my personal values does this article relate most closely to?” If the article resonates with you, that will be the reason why. Next,
- Revisit this page, and look for which of these 9 Key Concepts you can bring both value and article in alignment with in specific action steps.
There are 19 Hawaiian values defined in Managing with Aloha
When they are chosen for a business, I recommend these values be aligned with the organizational culture of that business within a framework of 9 Key Concepts.
To be clear, you need not adopt all my values. You can also do this with your own values, if you find you are strongly drawn to another value not listed within the 19 I chose to write about. The majority of values shared by humanity are quite universal; I did not come up with them: I packaged them within a business model. My book shares the story of the values I chose as a business executive working in the hospitality industry in Hawai‘i over a thirty year period, and it is filled with illustrative examples you are likely to easily relate to.
To get a sense of how the Managing with Aloha philosophy works within a company, think of a simple grid of criss-crossing lines:
- The grid itself represents an organizational culture.
- The left-to-right diagonal lines represent the values of the company.
- The right-to-left diagonals crossing the other way to intercept them are these 9 Key Concepts.
- The Managing with Aloha philosophy will synchronize a company’s values at each intersection point.
Normally there are five to seven core values in a healthy organizational culture. When the best possible intersection with the 9 Key Concepts happens for each of those core values, the workplace culture becomes value-aligned. It is stronger, more productive, and charged with creative energies.
It is also much more satisfying to you, and more fun to be involved with.
These are the 9 Key Concepts
The first two, Aloha and Ho‘ohana, are also values: I think of them as the guiding lights of Managing with Aloha. You will also notice that I use Kākou, the value of inclusiveness and “language of we” in these descriptions, for they refer to we when using my book together, we in the Ho‘ohana Community of MWA practitioners, and we within my own company, Say Leadership Coaching, founded to help bring MWA to workplaces within a for-hire consultancy.
1. Aloha:
Aloha is the genuine spirit of all relationships, and the fertile ground from which everything else will thrive. Your Aloha is the authenticity you bring to your connections with others, and to the self-expression of your work. Everyone has aloha; we help you bring it to fuller expression within whatever you do.
2. Ho‘ohana:
This is the Hawaiian value of worthwhile work. Work with passion, with purpose and intention, and with full joy while realizing your potential for growth and creativity. When you Ho‘ohana you create your best possible life and your own destiny.
3. Value Alignment:
Work with integrity by working true to your values. Focus all efforts on the right mission at the right time, for it honors your sense of self and brings compelling visions within your reach. For a business, deliberate value-alignment creates a healthy organizational culture for everyone involved.
4. The Role of the Manager Reconstructed:
In today’s workplaces, managers must own workplace engagement. The “reconstruction” we require in Managing with Aloha is so this expectation is reasonable, and so it is valued as critically important: Managers can then have the desire and ‘personal bandwith’ for assuming a newly reinvented role, one which delivers better results both personally and professionally.
5. Language of Intention:
Language, vocabulary, and conversation combine as our primary tools in business communications: What we speak is fifty times more important than what we write (yes, this is coming from someone who is an author too!) The need for CLEAR, intentional, reliable and responsive communication is critical in thriving businesses. Drive communication of the right messages, and you drive momentum and worthwhile energies.
6. The ‘Ohana in Business:
The best form for your life can be the best form for your ‘Ohana in Business® as well, where the goals of each will support the other. A business can be more than self-sustainable and profitable: It can thrive. We learn a value-based business model and organizational structure simultaneous to learning productivity practices which drive ROI (return on investment) and ROA (return on your attentions).
7. Strengths Management:
Keys 1 through 6 have put a great foundation in place for your business to thrive within: Together they have created the best possible launching pad for your organizational culture. Now we turn to bigger investments made in each employee, business partner, and stakeholder involved, so you can truly say, “Our people are our biggest asset” —and mean it. Cooperation, connectivity and collaboration evolve to optimization and co-creation.
8. Sense of Place:
Think “working in my neighborhood.” Sense of Place is about greater community locally and connectivity globally. It is saying thank you, and engaging at a higher level with those Places which have gotten you this far, and continue to nourish you daily in a multitude of tiny ways that collectively are absolutely HUGE factors in your success. It is giving back, recognizing that Place nurtures and sustains us; it shapes our experiences and lends cultural richness to life.
9. Palena ‘ole (Unlimited Capacity):
This is your exponential growth stage, and about seeing your bigger and better leadership dreams come to fruition. Think “Legacy.” Create abundance by honoring capacity; physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. Seek inclusive, full engagement and optimal productivity, and scarcity will be banished.
What will be the result you achieve when you work to manage with Aloha? New learning, increased energy, passionate commitment to vision, and dramatic shifts in personal engagement. Said another way, you will grow as you learn the Ho‘ohana of self-management and self-leadership as you make extremely valuable contributions to whatever organization you are presently involved with.
With my aloha,
~ Rosa Say
Additional Suggested Reading: Why Choose Values
Visit Say Leadership Coaching to learn more about: The Healthy Workplace Compass
Photo credit: Bling on Flickr by nataliej
