GoHuman Blog

Whether willing to admit to it or not, most of us have experienced (and most likely participated in) some sort of dysfunction, within the workplace. Depending upon to what extreme or level of hierarchy the dysfunction occurs, if not addressed & resolved, it can be toxic, with the potential to cause irrefutable damage, throughout an entire organization. So, what happens when there’s dysfunction within a team, how does one deal with it and how much, if any of it, can be controlled?

Trust is the heartbeat of a functioning, cohesive team and without it, teamwork is impossible. Unfortunately, we use the word “trust” about as often as we misuse it. In reference to team building, trust is the confidence among team members, who have good intentions and no reason to be cautious about what they say/do around one another. Teams that lack trust, waste exorbitant amounts of time, energy and ultimately money, managing their behaviors and interactions with one another. All of which will result in reduced employee morale and increased employee turnover.

In Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” he writes about how the most important action a leader must take to encourage the building of trust on a team is to demonstrate vulnerability first. This requires them to risk losing face in front of the team, to ensure others will take the same risks themselves. He continues to say the leader/s must create an environment that doesn’t reprimand vulnerability. Even unintentionally, leaders can discourage trust by scolding others for weaknesses or failure. Finally, when displaying these acts of vulnerability, it’s critical that the leader/s be genuine and not fake. One of the best and fastest ways to lose trust on a team is to fake it, in order to manipulate other people’s emotions. A leader who displays regular acts of  being inauthentic, will most assuredly, be left with no one to lead.

Sunshine’s parents report on GoHuman.com’s Valentine’s day Microcause:

Beloved Friends and Family around the world!  Thank you for your prayers for our precious, much loved and only child Robert Omid aka. Sunshine.

8 years ago we learned of a wonderful therapy program which was beyond our reach until GoHuman.com helped us launch a global fundraiser.  My beloved cousin and her family in Sydney, Australia organized a hugely successful fundraising evening.  Donations from $1 to $6000 surpassed the original goal of $14,900, to also cover needed car repairs and travel costs.  We’re now leaving on a 3 day trip from Wisconsin to Massachusetts.

Our first destination is Chicago as today is a Baha’i Holy Day, the death of the Beloved Bab in Iran in 1850.  In memory of my beloved father, martyred with 3 other Baha’is in Qazvin on July 9, 1982, I have been asked to chant at the Mother Temple of the West in Wilmette, tonight, Friday July 9; at 12:30 p.m. public Devotions in Commemoration of the Bab’s Martyrdom.

We’re honored to start our trip this way, and hope and pray with all our hearts and souls that our precious son’s life will change during this intensive treatment program.  We, his parents, will also be trained, so that, God willing, we can continue treatment after our return.

You will all be in our humble thoughts and prayers at the Temple in Chicago, and we ask for your prayers as well

With utmost love and gratitude; Shohreh and Robert
Sunshine’s grateful parents

The Moldenhauers visit the Franssons

Having a vision is the single most important quality a leader possesses. It gives him/her the guidance necessary to achieve success. Vision motivates a leader to inspire others and share in that vision. A leader without a vision, is like a traveler who has no idea where they’re going.

To develop a vision requires us to look within ourselves, because it starts from the inside. It’s not something that just appears overnight, it grows from a leader’s past experiences, mistakes, lessons learned and the people around them.  A leader draws from their own strengths & talents, dreams and greatest passions, when creating their vision.

The greater the vision a leader has, the stronger of a team he/she will need to support and help accomplish the goals. It’s equally as important that a leader have someone who they can turn to for guidance, whether that be a mentor, coach, superior; someone with more experience than they have and who can keep them in alignment with the results they want to achieve.

Lastly, a vision should be greater than any past memories, mistakes or accomplishments. If the vision is clear, the journey begins by taking one step at a time. Discouragement and frustration aren’t caused by not practicing, but rather by not having clarity about the journey itself and where it begins.

1776 in the U.S. is symbolic of the struggle for freedom from those who would tax without representation.  Economic freedom.  Since last July 4 the markets had a wild recovery ride, but in the last month they’re trending dramatically down again.  The power of global government stimulus has run its course, and the fundamental problems have not yet been fixed.  New regulations have been authored and are in various stages of approval, but there is disagreement on what they will or won’t achieve, both positively and negatively.

There are many ways to look at this problem.  I like the chart at bottom with democracy and economic freedom on a grid.  We could discuss the placement of various countries, but to do so we’d have to first discuss the criteria by which we evaluate the terms.  That would lead to other discussions – and it gets pretty complex pretty fast.  Here’s an interesting video that shows there is hope we’ll get it right!

GoHuman.com’s answer to these challenges is to unite and strengthen local entrepreneurs, supported by a marketplace with transparent information.  This allows prices and services to find their own levels, as in so-called free markets.  But by building it from the bottom up, and putting ownership in the hands of the individual, we strip power from “market makers” who manipulate and control the so-called free markets to their advantage.  We welcome your input to this discussion.

Thank you to our members and supporters.  We look forward to working with you to make GoHuman.com even better in the year ahead.