Articles

Intimate Interaction vs. Generic Interaction: The “Real” Path To Real Results

Sep 10, 2019

By Dough Harris, CEO, The Kaleidoscope Group
This is part 3 of a 3 part series

To keep things simple, we describe what we do at The Kaleidoscope Group as Diversity & Inclusion consulting. However, that description is far too small to capture our mission. To put it simply, our mission is: To free the human potential.

We are real people…
having real conversations…
about real issues…
to affect real change.
The Kaleidoscope Group

Our Mission is more than a slogan or a clever piece of marketing. The statement declares who and how my colleagues and I are as we engage our clients. On a deeper level, we declare how we need to live to be prepared for that engagement. Fundamentally, it declares even more than the words in the statement can express on their own. It declares what is beneath those words as well: The Love Principle.

Love is the secret ingredient that elevates what we do and what our clients do from training to transformation. It expands potential outcomes from boxes checked to living “outside the box.”

The love I am describing is not the syrupy-sweet and superficial version that gets thrown around in popular culture. This love is a verb, not a noun. This love is what happens when I put forward the best of me to bring out the best in you.

Real People

Our first step, if we are going to show up as real people, is to get real about who we really are. Notice that does not say “who we’re supposed to be” or “who we wish we were.” In order to maximize our value to our teams, organizations, and the world, we must show up as who we really are.

“Know thyself” is a phrase that goes back so far in human history, we can’t be sure who said it first. My guess is that it will stick around, in some form, as long as there are people around working… and living…  and loving… and trying to make sense of this world.

In some of our work we call it “Insight.” Others may call it self-discovery. What we call it is unimportant. What is important is that we do the work to get to know ourselves, to discover what makes us tick and why, to discover our purpose.

You see, it’s only once we do that work, once we identify and connect to our purpose, that we are ready to live in The Love Principle, to be our best as we do our best. As I shared above,  our purpose at The Kaleidoscope Group is to free the human potential, to affect real change. Personally, it’s to help everyone I reach to move to a higher level of existence – to change the world.

What is it for you? Only you can discover that. And only once you discover that, will you unlock your greatest greatness, the power to propel yourself and those around you past surface success to profound fulfillment.

The Love Principle demands authenticity. And authenticity demands courage.

Real Conversations

Here’s the thing about courage: It’s contagious.

You’ll be amazed — I know I have been. — by how much others will share of themselves once you have led the way. Sometimes, that sharing may be in the form of opening up about personal experiences or views. Other times, though, it will be in the form of an insightful question you never would have asked or an off the wall solution you never would have considered.

That sharing, those moments, are only possible when we make room for people to bring their whole selves… their experiences… their fears… their quirks… their likes… their dislikes… all of it… to the table.

Here’s the thing, though: If we all bring our whole selves to the table, if we choose to be open and vulnerable rather than closed and safe, mistakes will be made. And there is, perhaps, no point in this transformation process where love is more critical than at those moments. It is when we are engaging real issues that we are most vulnerable, most likely to fight or flee, afraid to feel.

This is where and when a growth mindset serves us best. The instinct to correct, to shame, to “cancel” — I’ll run that past the millennials in the office to make sure I used it just right. — is real. The Love Principle guides us past that instinct. The Love Principle empowers us to address the statement (or action!) without tossing away the person. And when that is at the heart of your culture, people find the courage to take the kinds of risks that transform our lives, our organizations and our world.

We are real people…
having real conversations…
about real issues…
to affect real change.
I hope you’ll find the courage to join us.
We have the power to transform the world.

This article is the third of three in a series on The Love Principle by Doug Harris, CEO of The Kaleidoscope Group. Explore the rest of the series below

The Forum on Workplace Inclusion®
2211 Riverside Ave, CB 54
Minneapolis, MN 55454
workplaceforum@augsburg.edu
(612) 373-5994

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