By Linda Florence

Organizations are dynamic in nature with constantly shifting priorities in a fast-paced business environment. The culture adapts to meet ever changing demands to ensure the business remains viable and even thrives. Despite continuous innovations in new technologies, organizations consist of individuals with a shared mission. The primary difference between the success and failure of any organization comes down to one common denominator; and that is, leadership.

The lines between work and personal life are increasingly blurred; separating work and life outside of work is increasingly difficult. It is not possible to be two entirely different people, one at work and one at home. We often hear the term ‘work-life balance’ as a successful leadership trait, and some organizations tout promoting this as part of its culture. What does that ‘balance’ really mean? Leadership is a choice, not a position. We cannot have one philosophy at work and a different perspective on life at home, with our friends and family. Successful leaders understand their role is to serve others.

To strike that so called ‘balance,’ leaders must have a consistent approach to all interactions both at home and at work. Leadership balance and engagement result in part, in increased career satisfaction and reduced stress. Given that employee engagement equates with business success, the employer naturally benefits from individual leaders who strive for balance. An engaged workforce is more productive than one that is disconnected from the organization.

Striking this balance refers to being in sync with yourself and living your purpose, regardless of your role; this includes being engaged in the industry, invested in the organization and helping others to success. It is not necessary to be in a formal leadership role to act consistent with serving others.

The culture of an organization reflects this leadership philosophy. Organizations that promote balance through leadership and engagement leads to higher levels of career satisfaction and overall individual well-being, which ultimately benefits the entity.

By Polly Walker

In my 25-year career, I have facilitated or been involved with approximately 80 process improvements. These projects ranged from small, quick fixes in one section or business unit all the way up to complex, multi-department systems improvements. Even though the size and scope of the process problem and solutions varies greatly from project to project, there is a technique I use that ensures the engagement of the workgroup, the buy-in of team members and management and, ultimately, the success of the project.

Almost all of us have heard of Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher. Among his accomplishments was coining the term “the three artistic proofs”, or Ethos, Pathos and Logos. If you have heard these terms, they are relevant to giving a great speech or effectively persuading an audience. For each of the three artistic proofs, I will provide a short definition and then outline how that technique is key to an effective process improvement project.

Ethos: Credibility or character driven by using language that is appropriate for the audience or topic.

As the leader (a facilitator, a project sponsor, etc.) involved with the process improvement, you want to use language that is appropriate for the team, the project sponsor and all audiences involved with the process improvement. You will want to adjust the technicality or the complexity of the language based on your audience. For example, the work group itself should be mainly comprised of the subject matter experts so when speaking with them or presenting results, use their technical language and acronyms. On the other hand, if you are explaining the process improvement recommendations to an executive leadership team you will want to adjust the language to simpler, higher level language.

Pathos: Emotional appeal, inspiring action by sharing experience.

Emotional appeal is also a critical skill for managing the project. You should be able to explain (by appealing to the emotions of the audience) how the process problem impacts both the team members and the customers. Additionally, as the facilitator you should be working to build relationships with and among your work group as you move forward with the process improvement project. Relationships and emotion are key to building consensus and moving quickly through the four stages of a team (forming, storming, norming and performing) not only during the process improvement but after the project is done and the team members are implementing the changes.

Logos: Appealing to logic, convincing the audience by using reason, citing facts.

Gathering and citing facts is key to your process improvement project. You need to have the relevant data and information on the process issues to ensure team buy in and share the depth and breadth of the problem. This is especially important if there is denial that there is even actually a problem. Additionally, data gathered before, after, and during the project to show if the changes worked is also critically important.

Even though the size and scope of the process problem and solutions varies greatly from project to project, the “three artistic proofs” (Ethos, Pathos and Logos) can help ensure the effectiveness and success of any process improvement project.