The Deliberately Developmental Organization

"There's an emerging model for business success: the deliberately developmental organization." This from Harvard Business Review. "These companies operate on the foundational assumptions that adults can grow, that not only is attention to the bottom line and the personal growth of all employees desirable, but the two are interdependent, that both profitability and individual development rely on structures that are built into every aspect of how the company works." company operates, and that people grow through the proper combination of challenge and support, which includes recognizing and transcending their blind spots, limitations, and internal resistance to change.

Personal development and professional performance are inseparable.

The Harvard Business Review article "Making Business Personal" from April 2014 highlights two remarkable companies that embrace this principle.

It's time for more organizations to get on board. Over my 25 years plus of teaching martial arts and now about 10 years sharing these ideas with the business community, many people have told me that learning to think like a black belt has opened up new levels of personal and professional achievement.

Why? It's certainly not the kicking and punching. It's that combination of challenge and support emphasized in the HBR article.

People grow in direct response to challenge.

Ability, skill, talent, competency all expand proportionately to the challenges and the opportunities available.

With the right cultivation, development, and support, these qualities grow exponentially. Supportive, nourishing leadership is essential to this process. You also need to develop a culture that encourages and supports learning, growth, and development at all levels. The HBR article continues: Every job should be like a tow rope, so that as you grab hold of the job, the very process of doing the work pulls you up the mountain. This means a culture where risk is encouraged, in the sense that you're willing to expand your capabilities by embracing new challenges. The risk to the organization is that sometimes, despite your best efforts, people will fail. And some people will simply want to protect their reputations or their current standing. That instinct toward self-preservation, while natural, is counterproductive if you're trying to build an innovative, dynamic, and responsive organization. To an extent that we ourselves are only beginning to appreciate, most people at work, even in high-performing organizations, organizations divert considerable energy every day to a second job that no one has hired them to do: preserving their reputations, putting their best selves forward, and hiding their inadequacies from others and themselves. Pay close attention to this next statement: We believe this is the greatest source of wasted resources in nearly every company today. A master is never finished, never completely satisfied. The process of mastery demands constant introspection, a willingness to accept sincere and productive criticism, an enthusiasm for accepting new challenges, new opportunities for growth, and the courage to risk failure in pursuit of greater achievement. This mindset of mastery is key to developing that deliberately developmental organization. Cultivate this mindset for each individual, from leadership to the front lines, and collectively as part of your company culture. Many years before Harvard Business Review studied this issue, Lao Tzu said, "Cultivate the inner self, its power becomes real. Cultivate the community, its power becomes greater." Cultivate the organization, its power becomes prolific. Develop the individual, provide personal as well as professional development. Make your people more powerful, they'll make your business more powerful. And that's how you build a deliberately developmental organization.

Think like a black belt for yourself, for your business, or your next conference or event. Learn more at thatblackbeltguy.com.