What makes a Positive Organisation? How can systems move citizenship beyond their organisational boundaries?
According to Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) there are seven pillars that move individuals closer to civility. When citizenship is a critical component of a business value system it empowers employees to learn more about their impact on the people using their products and services. For instance, in WaterAid, recruits women in underdeveloped countries who have barely any access to water and include them in the planning, development and implementation women to learn more about their rights and awaken their leadership strength making them develop sustainable behaviours to improve living conditions in their communities.
Organisations that understand their local people and communities adapt their practices by learning about rules and cultures and align values of these community leaders with those of their stakeholders, inspiring the most vulnerable to think as citizens of a country who deserve meeting basic needs. These interactions equip locals with knowledge and tools that change their lives radically and open a myriad of positive possibilities. The level of satisfaction in their jobs is high as it fulfills their aspirations and brings autonomy, task identity and significance with new learning knowledge. These feelings generate positive emotions, which can produce a positive spiral effect, allowing new ideas to emerge. Another example includes Fair Trade who demonstrates courage in their efforts to deliver high-quality services that uphold the values of integrity and competent execution of their strategy, which is to enable producers to improve their livelihoods and communities through the work that they do.
The outcomes of these two organisations, as a result of helping others in this endeavor, bring out human values of fairness and transparency because as human beings deserve to live a life without many struggles. Stakeholders take away the focus on the differences in culture, regulatory conditions and resources to see the broader picture of the communities where they implement their practices. This moral claim sets the foundations to create sustainable and tangible contributions to increase equity levels in the world.
Organisations that constantly self-assess their value system moved by citizenship through a range of networking opportunities with many influential players in the field, send signals to their leaders and staff to refocus their purpose and meaning for the greater good, which takes them one step closer to being a positive organisation.
Businesses such as these can play a leadership role in transforming into Positive Organisations that flourish. Their experiences can help others in understanding what steps to take to merge the positive with the negative and balance their people, places and bottom line. Developing citizenship, re-evaluating individual values, validating their purpose to help people, putting aside self-interests, improving job satisfaction and balancing the ethical use of financial, human and environment resources creates the solid foundations towards better citizenship. Employees will be happier and healthier as well as the communities they serve.
But, what is holding many organisations to think in these terms? Not only not for profits organisations can think and act this way, any organisation can change their traditional profit mindset to a positive organisation mindset to flourish.
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blanca@wellbeingforgrowth.com to have a chat about this topic.
References
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