The Connection Magazine The Connection Magazine Spring 2017 | Page 19

started with TED, according to Emerald, is to shift management’s philosophy to one of “Ask first, tell second” rather than the reverse. This means that when an employee presents a question to the boss, rather than jump in with the answer, the boss asks the employee what he or she would do first and then adds to the employee’s suggestions. The manager’s real role, Emerald says, is to coach employees into finding their own solutions to problems and then support the employees in implementing them. When a manager encounters a truly entrenched Victim who is hard to counsel, the best approach is to acknowledge the difficulty the employee is facing and then ask how the employee chooses to solve this problem, given the employee’s current reality. “It’s a matter of redirecting the ones stuck in victimhood and showing them how to create something great,” he says. To instill a more positive mentality in team members, Emerald recommends leading by example, showing rather than merely telling people the path to a more fulfilling life. Another useful tenet of TED, according to Emerald, is the notion of baby steps as comically illustrated in the movie What About Bob? in which Bill Murray’s character learns to take baby steps toward growth as coached by his psychotherapist, played by Richard Dreyfuss. In actuality, small changes often are necessary in order to achieve a bigger long-term goal. Change does not happen overnight, which is why both individuals and companies invest endless time and energy to reach significant milestones. Once the TED framework has permeated a corporate culture, it becomes much easier to indoctrinate new employees into how things are done at a particular company. If applicants are not good cultural fits for a company organized around this framework, they simply will not get the job no matter how good they look on paper. On an individual level, personal change may be more difficult to achieve. You can tell someone repeatedly that there is a path to a happier and more productive life, but if a paycheck isn’t attached, the effort required to change is often lacking. Those who do want to change—and I hope my friend Vicki becomes one of them— should recognize that the power to change lies right at their feet. Then, all they need to do is to take their first baby step forward. SPRING 2017 2017 SPRING ABOUT THE AUTHOR David Emerald Womeldorff is co-founder of the Bainbridge Leadership Center (Bainbridge Island, WA) and author (as David Emerald) of The Power of TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic), a best-selling teaching story about Self Leadership. His latest work is on the 3 Vital Questions ™: Applying the Power of TED* to Work and Life for use in organizations. David is a frequent presenter and facilitator on leadership topics, building collaboration and various applications of the 3 Vital Questions ™ and TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic) ™ frameworks drawn from on his 30 years of experience in leadership and organization development. Powerofted.com 19