1. Prolegomena
Organizations have an organizational mission, purpose or reason for being. It is people who personify the organizational promise and purpose. As such, human relations in an organization is a highly complex and multifaceted phenomenon within which an almost unimaginable number of policies, methodologies, strategies, ideologies, politics and bureaucracies interplay. The challenge is to energize the individual mindset, transcend the comfort zone, liberate the new collective mindset, and work together as a team to make the impact on the bottom line beneficial to all. The increasingly heterogeneous work milieu, where employees bring their own values, cultures, traditions, methods of interacting and communicating, and worldviews to the workplace can be challenging. The challenge then is to co-create a lifestyle that is meaningful for all in a diverse workplace.

Allow me to pay homage to my parents who inspired this search to contribute to the meaningfulness of organizational life. Something that my late mama said: You cannot build lasting joy on the tears that you cause others. She also advised not to catch a falling knife. My late daddy said: You can force your way through a crowd but you cannot force yourself into the heart of one individual. My parents have made me realize that my identity is not just about who I am; it is about whose I am in the universe.

Organizabonding was spawned as both assessment and response to the challenges faced by organizations when South African civil society transformed from the apartheid ideology to embrace democratic principles as it strived to usher in a new political dispensation and culture of basic human rights for all. Many trends and factors contributed to the complexity of this transition. I was told by my supervisor that I have to stand behind workers to ensure that they perform. I was told that they won’t do a good job unless they are being watched. One had to crack the whip, proverbially speaking. This was puzzling to me because I experienced this differently. I knew of many people like myself who had a good work ethic and who were performing beyond expectations. Power, force, coercion, position and status were the order of the day during apartheid rule. Organizational life often mimicked the contemporary political will (or lack thereof). The only way workers could respond was through covert operations that undermined the productivity levels in organizations. Passive aggression was a well utilized tool.

I soon realized that for the new South Africa to emerge, we would have to transcend our differences, utilize our creativity and join in our best efforts to rebuild the nation. A commitment to professional standards and human relations based on mutual respect is crucial. At first we were all reluctant to leave our culturally sanctioned comfort zones behind us. However, we were convinced that connectivity in today’s corporate world is crucial. You need to connect with people across borders in spite of differences in order to energize the organizational mission. Whether you call it diversity, multiculturalism or pluralism; the bottom line is that you have to work together as a group or remain duped by denial or the delusion of your idiosyncratic indulgence. We need everyone’s input in order to respond authentically to what it is that we do as well as to the meaningfulness of our togetherness.

Organizations are often not productive because of conflicting interpersonal or human relations in the workplace. Senior management is often a causal factor because their management style and skills do not synchronize with the often younger collective mindset of the staff team. Senior management often “cap” the potential of subordinates and this is frustrating. Also, management does not always know the challenges presented by today’s customers/clients.
Many studies allude to problems in organizations because of “how” management staff is recruited and appointed. I personally have found that the biggest problem begins when organizations transition from one director to the next, in particular the critical moment when the new boss or supervisor “takes over” and inherits the situation, baggage, script and all. Organizabonding takes care of the potential transition period problems. It is a model that ensures that there is membership or a sense of belonging and ownership. There is the need to overcome the distrust or hostility created by the change and how it was handled or at best not handled expediently. This is also the time for the new director to be adept at using those skills to win friends and influence people and to enhance organizational synergy through compatibility, reconciliation and relationships. You can look back over your career and will be able to identify people and the difference they made to the organization, both good and bad. This I think is the crux of our work in leading change. What is modeled both vertically and horizontally is crucial to succession planning in the organization.

The most important concern is that staff often does not realize that professional workplace relations happens en route to self. The same holds true with clients; working relationally with others is in fact a confrontation with self. Self-knowledge is key. If you have not mastered yourself how can you engage in relations with others without trying to control them or to blame them for everything that goes wrong in your own life?

If you cannot manage your relationship with your customers, you cannot measure it either. Likewise if you cannot measure your relationship with your customers, you cannot manage it either. Customer relationship management and marketing strategies are essential for the sustainability of the organization, as well as for beneficial outcomes. This is a brilliant segue for developing a corporate citizenship agenda and can so easily unite the team.

We all need to make sure that the halo of our professional arrogance does not dim the radiance of our humaneness. We dare not forget that our customers, clients, and stakeholders are human too. We also need to remind ourselves that if people do not get what they need; they take what they want anyway, anyhow.

The issues and challenges inherent in this preceding descriptive narrative can be managed effectively through transitioning of paradigm shifts, mindset changes, skill sets training, self-awareness, awareness of learning styles, cultural diversity and competency, team building, and getting the right persons to do the job, amongst others.

2. Principles
Organizabonding is different way of engaging key players and participants alike. The trainer acts as host and teaches participants the skills of hosting protocols, persons, policies and procedures. The idea is to dialogue, to create synergy. Working relationally is the new challenge. Working relationally is about extending and accepting the invitation to take up responsibility for each other. The decision and right to make the choice is inalienable. In the 21st century world with its oversupply of choices, working relationally is not about prescribing what to choose but rather to teach and model those skills needed to make the right decision, the right choice. Understanding and respecting the lived reality of the other person as authentic is essential to the co-creation of meaning. The relationship is key. One cannot make an informed decision about people by just observing what they eat or what they wear. One has to know and understand not only their lifestyle but more importantly the rationale for that lifestyle. Learning about a lifestyle is identical to creating the lifestyle for oneself, or put in conventional wisdom, walking in their shoes. One has to remain open to learning. One has to remain teachable because working relationally is about re-education. Relational education is not about the mastery of abstract knowledge, skills, and attitudes only. It is more importantly, about the practical mastery of the “accomplishment of everyday life.” In relational education, effort is rewarded and celebrated more than achievement.

The human services field is interactive-intensive. This three day workshop is aimed at training staff those skill sets that will enhance positive interpersonal relations; the foundation of teamwork and synergy. Teamwork is key in interactions with the children, youth and families. Staff will be adept at dealing with workplace challenges and crises. A renewed commitment to a shared organizational vision and quality service delivery is the goal.

The interactive workshop starts with a Myers Briggs Type Inventory, stories and metaphors and role plays that help staff understand and confront themselves through introspection and self-awareness. The final day has a laser focus on organizational mission and outcomes.

Organizations and staff often use principles of social andragogics as a form of social control. However, should staff not have a sense of belonging and meaning in these organizational occurrences within the organization and the organizational system, it will indeed be complicated to achieve the goals set by the organization. Likewise it would be difficult to develop an organizational culture of belonging, ownership and quality that is conducive to service delivery and learning outcomes. There has to be a match between individual needs and goals and organizational needs and goals.

Organizabonding and Relational Education is an organizational philosophy that was spawned by experiential knowledge. Often staff members do not fail to perform; the organizational system performs or plays up in such a way that staff fails. A dysfunctional workplace does not boost staff morale. In the school system for example, teachers may be teaching to the state test because “FCAT” and other state comprehensive testing systems are driving the educational occurrences and processes. Until the value of relational education as an educational philosophy and applied practice is understood and implemented by administrators and educators, in fact by every person who may influence learners and learning outcomes, we will not have an educational or organizational system, but mere components or parts of a dysfunctional system; outcomes will stay in the balance. Albert Einstein stated that not everything that can be counted counts; and not everything than counts can be counted.

The relational education model of teaching and learning is relationship dependent. The quality of this relationship between educator and learner or student in the learning process makes the teaching effective. The real meaning or truth is engineered through the co-creative dialogue between teacher and learner. In this manner relational education engineers a learning environment that is liberating and growth producing. Even failure is understood as a necessary step towards success.

“Tuning-in” to where management and staff are at; is more important than speeding up the management and staff to “get “it.”

The Organizabonding, relational education model of teaching and learning is a system of interactive skills training and technical assistance workshops; mentoring management, and promoting moral support that will help directors, principals, teachers and staff and youth care workers, to make a meaningful difference in organizations, institutions, schools and in the lives of children, young people and families. This model is more than managing daily process complexities, more than doing “stuff” right, more than boosting sales; it is about managing human relations, co-creating synergy and a team commitment to service excellence. This model has life-changing potential because it is an encounter, that is, an unexpected experience leading to possible confrontation and conflict. This model deals effectively with differences and conflict.

3. Process
The following sequential synopsis will help you form a conceptual framework of this leadership and organizational capacity building, education, training and technical assistance model facilitating the comprehensive management of the human capital investment in human services organizations.

Ideally, this is a 30 day process. The actual training takes place over three days. You want to give participants time to reflect, report and re-learn. The training can however be customized to fit your schedule. One of the evenings could be used for social interaction, recognition and organizational storytelling.

a. The first step is to enter into an exploratory dialogue with you, the president, CEO, regional or department director. You will spell out your vision; explain your organizational SWOT analysis, culminating in your five year strategic plan for the organization. You will also give a brief overview of your personal and professional goals and frustrations.

b. The second step is to send me a job description for everyone who will be involved in the capacity building training.

c. The third step is to inform staff that you have contracted with me and that they will receive a questionnaire to assess organizational culture and climate, from me.

Based on this feedback, I customize the training and present it over three days.
I prepare personal workbooks for each participant. Your organizational logo is on the cover of the training manuals. Handouts are given to complement work covered during training.
On day one a Myers Briggs Type Inventory is administered. We may also use a Firo-B or any other relevant test that will describe interaction, learning styles and preference.
Staff members are equipped to construct a collage of their personal and professional live. Self-reflection is essential in these exercises.
Six weeks after the training you get the report on themes, trends, and issues. You will get a clearer picture of what needs to be commended and or corrected in the workplace. This is a summary of the report that is completed during the workshop. Should you require a report that includes recommendations for improvement of any unprofessional situation, it can be negotiated.
As you will see, this is a 30 day process of which the three day or customized training is part of the comprehensive plan. You will hopefully for the first time have a barometer of the quality of interactive-intensive engagement amongst staff, management and clients. You will move towards a high performing system and conflict and litigation risks will be managed. Your organization will not mimic dysfunctional behavior but will deliver on its promise…..to do what it is intended to do.
Once all your questions have been answered, we will hopefully negotiate terms and conditions that will be mutually acceptable.
All this training is based on my master’s and doctoral research into human services organizations in South Africa where I was the director in Human Services in the Western Cape Province. (Please feel free to “Google” me to see where I have been and conducted trained.

4. Payoff
4.1. Greater correlation between organizational mission and organizational achievements
4.2. Clearer communication that bridges the gap between managers and workers from different generations
4.3. Enhanced problem-solving skills and less conflict and loss of team performance hours.
4.4. Less resources spent on maintenance issues and more disbursements for mission challenges and imperatives.
4.5. Reduction of passive aggressive losses, litigation threats, carelessness in the workplace and “rationalized shrinkage”
4.6. Increased job satisfaction
4.7. Easing-in of new employees into the work environment and limited downtime in the productivity of new hires
4.8. More money saved on HR staffing solutions
4.9. Increased productivity of all.
4.10. Enhanced commitment to service excellence standards
4.11. Fairness in staff performance appraisals across the departments and sectors.
4.12. Improved team spirit
4.13. Enhancement of corporate branding and image
4.14. Greater customer satisfaction and CRM&M (customer relationship management and marketing). In today’s world return customers as well as referrals are essential for organizational survival.
4.15. Less institutional abuse
4.16. Reduction in staff turnover rates
4.17. Reduction of leave of absence due to “sickism”
4.18. Less hazardous organizational environment
4.19. A healthier, growth producing organizational culture. Organizational culture is to the organization what personality is to an individual.
4.20. Improved interpersonal relations in the workplace
4.21. Celebration of diversity
4.22. Improved problem-solving abilities
4.23. Greater positive impact on nation building
4.24. A legacy worth leaving behind
4.25. Respect for your leadership capacity and quest to define reality in diversity.
4.26. Reduction of sludge, destructive talk, blame and shame games and toxicity in the system.
4.27. Equitable promotions and career paths
4.28. Increase in innovative strategies.
4.29. Recognition and respect for leadership in difficult circumstances.
4.30. Most recent diversity audit.
4.31. Any important focus for you and your organization.
4.32. Knowing the difference between reality and problems.
4.33. Since you spend more than half your lifetime in the workplace why not have fun.
4.34. Ethics in administration is often complicated by the way management treats staff and workers.
4.35. A team commitment to professional ethics in the workplace.
4.36. A work milieu worth working in, for all.
5. Program
Delivering on the organizational promise,
“EVERY STAFF HAS AN OPPORTUNITY to
Co-Create A Work Milieu Worth Working in, for All”