People need to feel a sense of belonging in order to find meaning in their work and to engage the power of their emotions. The more employees discover links between personal ideals, a meaningful organizational mission or intention, and larger social values, the greater their commitment to their goals. They need to be able to connect their own identify to the organizations intrinsic identity in order to feel a part of the collective. This provides them with a mechanism for the expression of caring about the organization they belong to.
The basis of our individual identity comes from the way in which we construct our view of ourselves and of others when we are in interaction with each other. As a result of our relationships and interactions, we may grow, or our growth may be thwarted. Ideally, through our initial relationships within our families, we identify with a scheme of socially imposed values that are deeply linked to our own personal motives. These values can create profound connections and a common language between individuals and groups because of their emotional intensity.
For this reason, when people talk about what they want for themselves and for their organization, it is in a very emotional and idealistic fashion. It is spoken of with similar fervor as when speaking of what they want for their children. If leaders do not understand the need to incorporate a set of values that employees can relate to and identify with into their missions, employees feel deflated and disconnected. As a result, they can easily lose sight of the larger meaning of their work and will withdraw their emotional commitment and its pursuant energy.
People need to feel a sense of belonging in order to find meaning in their work and to engage the power of their emotions. The more employees discover links between personal ideals, a meaningful organizational mission or intention, and larger social values, the greater their commitment to their goals. They need to be able to connect their own identify to the organizations intrinsic identity in order to feel a part of the collective. This provides them with a mechanism for the expression of caring about the organization they belong to.
However, as a result of the ever changing and evolving society that we live in, the identity that people once developed through a sense of organizational membership has all but disappeared. As well, the notions of job security or identity have become obsolete in rapidly evolving organizations. The intrinsic identity of an organization leaving has all but disappeared, leaving it dependant on how it is performing relative to other companies with a similar function to measure itself against.
For most organizations, it seems to be a question of “Who are we like?” rather than “Who are we?”. Instead of possessing an identity that reflects the inherent intention of the company, one in which employees can share this sense of purposefulness, company identities are now extrinsic in nature, and how the organization is seen, and its ability to adapt to external demands, have become the source of its identity. The core value shifts from the value placed by the organization and its leaders on its intrinsic identity (i.e. people, quality, community), to striving to achieve what is valued externally (i.e. how large, how much profit, how many awards).
What is critical for leaders today is their ability to connect people to their values, which can be achieved through understanding what their employees need in order to achieve emotional connection and commitment. It requires leaders to focus on organization-specific connections between personal, organizational and social values: leaders in organizations must understand the need to articulate this threefold set of values, in order to get employees emotionalized and energized. Leaders must be able to make the connections between their own passion, the organization’s core intention, the organizational culture, and a connecting set of social values that will motivate the employees.
Although the identification and promotion of organizational values has become popular, and forms part of most strategic planning sessions, it does not always reflect the true values of the leaders. In addition, these activities are rarely linked to human resource systems that might enhance their implementation. Many organizations have articulated their values; however, the stated values are often idealistic in nature and unilateral in their scope. They do not differentiate between personal, organizational and social values; any one of which can be a priority to an employee. This means that they are not likely to provide employees with the foundation for attachment; and, consequently, employees will continue to feel disconnected and to act out of their anxiety and fear of abandonment, in ways that are detrimental to the organization.
Cheers,
Anne Dranitsaris, PhD

Author's Bio: 

The Visionary Striving Style

Anne Dranitsaris, Ph.D, brings a lifetime of study, “psychological savvy” and hands-on clinical experience to helping people become who they are meant to be. Her interest in creating mental health, coupled with her interest in personality systems and the dynamics of human behavior, has influenced the development of the Striving Styles Personality System.

Holistic Approach to Learning

Driven by a vision for a holistic approach to emotional and physical health, Anne chose educational pursuits that aligned with her passion. At the same time, she studied at mainstream universities such as Ryerson (Business Management), University of Toronto (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Religious Studies) and ADR Institute of Ontario (Alternate Dispute Resolution). Anne looked for training institutes that would help her integrate the cognitive, emotional and physical approaches to healing the mind and body. This education included: receiving her degree as a Registered Massage Therapist; graduating from the International School for Spiritual Sciences (Montreal); psychotherapy certification from the Centre for Training in Psychotherapy (D.C.T.P); studies at the Masterson Institute for Disorders of the Self (New York); and a Ph.D. in Therapeutic Counseling from the Open International University for Complementary Medicine (WHO).

Committed to lifelong learning, Anne has completed postgraduate programs in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Spiritual Self-Schema Development, Brain and Behavior and Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i), and she has been a long-time follower of the work of Carl Jung. Anne continues to stay educated and informed about recent advances in neuroplasticity, brain development, mindfulness and social intelligence.

Executive Coaching & Corporate Therapy

Anne became one of Toronto’s first Executive Coaches in the late 1980’s. She could see the direct application of the therapeutic tools to the corporate world, which drove her to expand her work into that realm. Anne began using the title of corporate therapist to indicate the depth with which she worked with leaders and teams developing emotional intelligence, behavioral competence and relationship skills in organizations. She has also used her unique approach to work through dysfunctional relationships, partnerships, teams and boards.

Prior to starting SKE, Anne built several successful companies including Sage Developmental Resources, an organizational consulting firm focused on behavioral alignment, and the Centre for Mindful Therapies, which offered customized Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Programs to organizations and individuals. In addition, she worked extensively with Heather on Several global leadership development initiatives for Caliber's clients, providing both individuals coaching and facilitating high performance team development at the executive and senior management levels.

Sought After Writer

A prolific and frequently cited writer on the impact of behavior, emotional intelligence and personality styles in the workplace, Anne has written a series of books on personality type based on Jung’s theory of Psychological Type. The Personality Profile Series© books are used to help individuals in coaching and counseling to understand themselves, their environment, their partners, and their children. Anne's latest series of books, The Jung Typology Series©, focuses on understanding the impact of personality type on employees, teams and leaders.

Anne has been featured in the media — on radio and on television — as well as in a wide range of national and international publications including USA Today, The New York Post, Huffington Post, The Toronto Star, NOW Magazine, The Globe and Mail and TIME.com. Additionally, her work has appeared in three issues of “O” Magazine within the past year, with her article on Striving Styles being included in the “O” Annual as one of the year’s top articles. She has recently been contracted to write for an upcoming issue of “O”.