How do you get your team to dialogue? There are 3 conditions needed: •everyone must suspend their assumptions. Dialogue comes to a grinding halt when someone digs in their heels and says “this is way”. They need to suspend their assumptions to really see where truth lies. Suspending ones assumptions is not easy, as often they are so deep seated that we don’t even know that they are assumptions! Instead, we take them for being truth. •team members must be thought of as colleagues and equals. If you manage to think of others as colleagues you will interact as colleagues. Team members will feel less vulnerable and less likely to either want to dominate discussion or not say anything at all. Thinking of everyone as colleagues can be difficult in a hierarchical workplace environment. Can an individual in authority come down from their lofty position and talk to everyone else as an equal or do they like their elevated position and pontificate wildly? •there should be a facilitator. A facilitator can help ensure that ALL assumptions are suspended. This means questioning statements and beliefs as they are mentioned. They are also important in keeping dialogue moving. As a team gets better at dialogue needs for a facilitator is reduced.

You are closer to achieving dialogue when your team meetings are filled with questions. Questions indicate an attempt at understanding. Sit back in your next meeting and see how often a question is asked. No questions = no dialogue.

Teams can enter dialogue if everyone knows what is expected of them in advance and if they truly want results created through dialogue. Dialogue is playful conversation and everyone must be willing to play with new ideas. Who says you can’t have fun and grow at same time?

I hope you can achieve dialogue in your teams. Since we became aware of difference and have been trying to practice dialogue we have really had some amazing insights into our business and what we do. We have achieved a whole level of new understandings.

Who knows, maybe there is something amazing that your company could achieve if you all just put your heads together. 1 + 1 = 3 makes a lot of sense!

2nd Story: Intuit

Brooks Fisher, vice president and general manager of Intuit’s consumer internet business, told me Intuit’s signature story is following:

“Follow Me Home”

Scott Cook, founder of Intuit, was so focused on understanding and fulfilling customers’ needs that he invented “Follow Me Home.” He would go to a store where Intuit’s software was being sold. Then, while a customer was buying Intuit software, he would ask if he could follow customer home. At home, he would watch how customer installed and used software.

Intuit’s Culture

Given Intuit’s story, what is company’s culture -- or main focus? Fisher says story conveys Intuit’s culture which is “The customer always is first.” And, as Fisher puts it, “That’s how you win.” Note: The story also precisely meshes with Intuit’s big, compelling vision: “Our key goal is to revolutionize how people do financial work.”

Hire Applicants Who ‘Fit Into’ Your Company’s Culture

You know it proves difficult to “fit a square peg into a round hole.” Likewise, companies need to hire applicants who ‘fit into’ their organizational culture.

For instance, one company I consult to is ultra-customer service oriented with super-friendly employees. When we did benchmarking studies for this company with Abilities & Behavior Forecaster™ Test – to customize Forecaster™ Test to help hire best – we discovered successful employees in every job scored high on two of test’s scales: + Helping People Motivation, i.e., customer service-orientation + Friendliness

Such customer service-focused and super-friendly employees ‘fit into’ company’s culture, and prove most likely to succeed.

Message = Don’t bet against your organizational culture when you aim to hire best. Fortunately, you can do by 1. benchmarking your “superstar” employees in each job – by having them fill-out a validated pre-employment test to discover their “benchmark” test scores

2. focusing on hiring applicants whose test scores are similar to your company’s “superstar” employees’ test scores

Now, You Can Uncover Your Organization’s Culture

To discover your corporate culture, you simply need to uncover story that 1. employees hear in their first week on-the-job and repeat to new employees 2. perfectly conveys how all employees must act – even when no one is watching!

Usually, story is about company’s founder. It typically conveys insights and actions that lead to remarkable, profitable success.

© Copyright 2005 Michael Mercer, Ph.D., http://www.DrMercer.com

Michael Mercer, Ph.D., is a speaker, and book author. His five books include (a) Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change™ & also (b) Hire the Best -- & Avoid the Rest™. Dr. Mercer developed the Abilities & Behavior Forecaster™ Test – which helps companies choose productive applicants. You can (1) get a free subscription to his e-Newsletter at http://www.DrMercer.com or (2) call him at 847-382-0690.