Creating transformations
Yesterday I noted the difference between transactional and tranformational interactions.
When all we want is the exchange itself, it's transactional.
When we're aiming at the meaningful result of that exchange, it's potentially transformational.
And: In a transformational interaction, each person is always both giving and receiving.
By creating transformational interactions with each of our people, we we tie our mission's fulfillment to their fulfillment.
And that right there lays the foundation for a naturally self-reinforcing system, one where every good action builds momentum for the next good action.
So, I'd like you to try something, if you can take a moment:
Think about anyone who's contributed somehow to your mission in the past year. And ask yourself:
What's the transformation they could experience through that interaction with you? How could that interaction actually change their lives, renew their spark, create a meaningful result for them?
And just one more: Think of someone who has benefited from your work in the past year.
What's the transformation they could experience through that interaction?
A practical step:
If you really want to start building a positively self-reinforcing system of transformational interactions, you can take this a step further.
For each those two people, write down:
at least one feeling that you think they would want to have about their connection to your work;
at least one action you would like them to take in relation to your work;
at least one thing you might do or say to them at some time, to help make the connection between that feeling and that action.
(If you've made that list of categories of people with whom you are organization interacts, I suggest doing this for each of those categories.)
Why this matters:
What we're doing here is building a connection between:
the spark that motivates your people,
tangible actions that you can take, and
the building of deeper longer-lasting connections between your people and your mission.
This isn't the only way to do it, but it's a very good one.
This is the beginning of building a map to help you take your organization further than it's been before.
And the great thing is: it doesn’t just move your organization forward. It takes your people forward with it.
All the best,
A.