By Brenda Zalter-Minden

One of the most toxic things in an organization that ruins morale is gossip. Gossip is really just stories we tell ourselves and repeat to others adding our own spin.

Recognizing that gossiping is a part of all organizations; imagine the power of taking this to a new and positive purpose.

Resource gossiping is when we talk about other people only from the position of strengths and resources.

Suppose we were able to create a completely different culture where everyone jumped out of bed excited, motivated and energized to come to work. What would this look like and how could we create this?

We believe the organization would be comprised of solution focused leaders. Leaders would listen, acknowledge, validate and genuinely compliment their staff. Ideas for continuous improvement would be generated by the people who work on the front line. Teams would work on the same goals for desired change. There would be a clear vision and small steps would be identified and supported.

A solution focused approach has three main tenets:

1. If something isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
2. If something is broken-fix it.
3. If something is working, do more of it.

It sounds simple yet we know it is not always easy. We suggest the following tips which will certainly help in creating what we fondly refer to as a FROG culture — Forever Recognize Others’ Greatness.

• Miracles (Envision a Future that is ideal. Spend time imagining and creating it)
• Use Relationship questions to solidify the goals and desired changes
• Look for Opportunities for greatness and exceptions (When is the problem not happening?)
• Identify Goals and look for coping strategies (How are they managing?)
• Use Scaling questions to help determine the first small steps

When working with staff:

• Provide affirming feedback
• Reiterate their strengths and greatness
• Review their self identified next steps

Solution Focused Leadership Principles:

• Change is happening all the time. Our job is to identify and amplify useful change.
• There is no one “right” way of looking at things; different ideas may really benefit the situation.
• Detailed understanding of the “problem” is usually of little help in arriving at the solution. The best solution building lies in identifying what is going on when the problem does not happen.
• The team creates its own benchmarks and monitors progress.
• Employees are engaged and involved in all steps along the way.

The Essence of Solution Focused Leadership

• To work with the person rather than the problem
• To look for resources rather than deficits
• To explore possible and preferred futures
• To explore what is already contributing to those possible futures
• To treat staff as the experts in all parts of their lives

Brenda Zalter-Minden is speaking at HRMA’s 2015 Annual Conference + Tradeshow. Her session with Sarah McVanel-Viney — Collaboration in Action: A Solution Focused Leadership — is on Tuesday, April 28^th.

Brenda Zalter-Minden has worked as a senior organizational development consultant—a strategic leadership partner responsible for achieving individual, team and organizational growth— in healthcare for over 10 years. Her areas of specialization are: team building, conflict management, and compassion satisfaction to name a few. She teaches post graduate students part time for Toronto Advanced Professional Education (T.A.P.E), Faculty of Social Work Continuing Education affiliated with the University of Toronto as well as for the Adler Learning Centre. Brenda is now in private practice where she offers workshop facilitation, coaching, training and consultation from a solution focused lens.