Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | January 23, 2017 | wbjournal.com 10 T H I NG S I know about... W o r k p l a c e d i v e r s i t y By Michelle Jones-Johnson Michelle Jones-Johnson is vice president for talent development and chief di- versity officer at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. K N O W H O W Having fun identifying your corporate strengths A s you may know, there are many blocks needed to build a successful business: produc- tion, research & development, purchasing, marketing, human resource management, accounting and finance, and a passion for what you create. These blocks are dynamic and contain specific infrastructures and characteris- tics, but fit together in a cohesive man- ner to become your business. Building a successful team takes on the same aspects as building a success- ful business. Each team member is also dynamic and has specific characteris- tics. Defining those characteristics in the confines of the workday can be a challenge to developing a more cohe- sive and efficient team. An immersive team building expe- rience, such as Live Action Escapes, allows for the dynamic characteristics of team members to stand out while working toward a common goal. We, at Live Action Escapes, strate- gically design the games to maximize the efforts of team building. Each room's experience contains a concen- tration of new thought process devel- opment and cultivation of coopera- tion while progressing toward a sin- gular common goal, all while racing the clock. Successful businesses continue to C harisma is that special some- thing, that confidence and personality that light up any networking venue and make people around you feel respected and heard. It's one of those things that is difficult to define, but you know it when you see it. Charisma is a rare personal quality attributed to leaders who arouse fervent popular devotion and enthusiasm … Personal magnetism or charm, according to FreeDictionary.com. In terms of lead- ership, charisma boosts morale, encourages communication and com- mands respect. Here are three ways to boost your business charisma. Quit complaining. Negative con- versation is a no-no among the charis- matic. Keep topics on a positive note, and others will pick up on benefit from your upbeat vibe. Take it a step further and go out of your way to deliver genu- ine compliments, too. "Most people don't pay attention to detail and they miss out on the opportunity to compli- ment others," says Joel Brown at Entrepreneur.com. Inquire. According to Vivian Giang at BusinessInsider.com, most of us wait for someone to finish speaking before we begin to talk. "Instead, ask them questions," she writes. It shows engage- ment. "If you're truly not interested, it will show on your face that you're secretly waiting for your turn to speak." Know what makes a charismatic leader. At Harvard Business Review, John Antonakis, Marika Fenley and Sue Liechti have identified some key charis- matic traits, including using metaphors, analogies, stories, and anecdotes, reflec- tions of the group's sentiments and expressions of moral conviction. Non- verbal traits include an animated voice and gestures, they write. "Charismatic speakers help listeners understand, relate to, and remember a message," they write. "Yet many business manag- ers don't use charisma, perhaps because they don't know how." BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal 10 1: H o w t o b e a s m o o t h e x e c u t i v e W 10) Diversity is not a numbers game. Successful organizations don't focus on the percentages of different types of people they employ but seek individuals with distinctive skills who can drive organizational success. 9) Diversity drives economic growth. Companies that embrace diversity open up a far greater pool of potential employees – each of whom is a potential superstar. 8) Diversity drives creativity. Problems require all minds working towards solutions. Not seeking the skills of people of all backgrounds would be short sighted. 7) Diversity must be a strategic focus, championed by the highest level leaders and supported with resources. 6) Generations view diversity differently. Gen X views diversity as a moral imperative rather than an economic one while Gen Y views diversity as a means to organizational outcomes, focusing on cognitive diversity. 5) Globalization allows firms to expand their talent landscape, but it also increases competition for top talent. 4) Organizations that don't diversify will be less attractive to recruits and less competitive. 3) Organizations are no longer static, especially those in innovative technologies. This goes hand-in-hand with diversity and inclusion; creative people are not limited by traditional stereotypes. 2) Student enrollment soars where diversity and inclusion reflected in the classroom and teaching climate. 1) Diversity fosters engagement that is critical to develop and retain key talent. Talented people want to work where they're valued and where their careers are fulfilling and intellectually engaging, and often that means being exposed to different people with different perspectives and different ways of working. BY KELLY PAQUIN Special to the Worcester Business Journal W Kelly Paquin is the co-founder of Live Action Escapes in Worcester. develop products through research and development. The strength of your team and the morale of one's workforce also require such research and development. We offer the opportunity to witness the acute ori- gins of team members' strengths and weaknesses by monitoring the prog- ress of the team during game play. This can become invaluable when the team returns to the workplace. A number of local collegiate sports team coaches have found this experience to be useful when selecting players for positions after observing one's performance in our escape rooms, overall creating a more efficient team for the upcoming seasons. Similar to a business' need for human resources management, when teams of co-workers are placed into one of our games, power dynamics can quickly become evident. Leaders emerge, team players interact positive- ly and some members may put up bar- riers. A singular common goal allows a unique opportunity for teams to learn to communicate with and rely on one another. In a work environment where the computer reigns and everyone has their own tasks, human interaction is growing increasingly scarce. The inter- action provided by working toward the common goal will strengthen bonds and leave a lasting impression. This all comes to creating fun ways to maximize your team's dynamic and specific characteristics. W

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