Enable Leaders: What would you do?

Imagine this...

You're now living in Cyprus.

It's your first day, as now you're running a prison that has a long history of being brutal towards prisoners.

You've been charged with running things in a way that makes sense to you: what would you do?

You've got some choices here.

First, if you're not from Cyprus, what do you know about this culture?

What do you know about running a prison within this culture, plus the many other nations represented within the population?

A few quick points for background:

• Human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC.

• The nation has been ruled by many: The Greeks, the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Ottomans Empire, The British Empire and it has had a lot of conflict.

• Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots share a lot in common in their culture due to cultural exchanges (they also have differences), and are noted as being hospitable people.

Now that you have a few seconds of Wikipedia background on the country, we need to dig into the thought of running a prison.

While being a Warden is not a common job like others, it has a number of significant demands that can vary from place to place, and prison to prison.

Whereas in Nordic countries the approach is often more focused on rehabilitation of prisoners, in other countries, it's not that way.

Instead, many focus on "punishment" and hard time.

Back to our story

So, why are we talking about a prison in Cyprus?

Well, this prison is an interesting case where prison warden Anna Aristotelous came onto the job and turned things around FAST.

You've likely worked in organizations where things are bad:

• People are toxic to one another

• People are aggressive

• People work in silos and don't share information

And while there are organizations out there that have issues of abuse, we would usually think of prisons as being a place far worse than going to work at our job.

Yet, there are some similarities in terms of people, dynamics, tribalism, and more.

Further, imagine a culture that has over decades allowed for physical punishment to remain RAMPANT.

How is a leader going to fix all of that?

What she did

Rather than doing a six month tour, watching the continual patterns of behaviour go on, Aristotelous brought a different perspective immediately. That is, being human.

And, as you watch Rafael Rowe on Netflix as he navigates this prison (it's an excellent show, by the way!) it seems like the change is truly sincere.

You don't see people being harmed.

You don't see people unhappy.

In fact, you see people singing and dancing, getting married within the prison, and much more.

If you didn't know you were watching a show about prison, and could ignore the various elements you typically see in a facility like this (fences, etc.), you might just forget that you are locked up: well, at least for a few minutes.

How you can use this

Look, you might not be a prison warden tomorrow, but, we all deal with situations that are less than favourable where we need to DISRUPT patterns of behaviour.

The trick of what will bring change is the question that needs deep consideration.

You've probably had situations where a person is always disagreeable, it might be a dysfunctional team, or perhaps even a nasty customer.

How can you use this?

• Flip the script. As humans, we are prone to the same behaviours over and over. That is, if we are never disrupted, we will always act in the same way. Organizations are an amplification of this, as it's a grouping of many people, plus their interpersonal dynamics. For those that display problematic behaviour, look to understand these patterns of behaviour. Then, rather than doing what you always do towards that person, act differently.

For instance:

Now, imagine the difference that might make?

While you need to flip the script strategically (i.e. if you know the customer won't respond well to you laughing, don't do that), it is vital to shock the brain out of the typical patterns on the other side if you want to see change.

It's also, like Anna, about applying an intervention to a situation. In her case, being HUMAN was a strong enough vision to move guards and prisoners alike to a new paradigm. Let's remember too:

What would it look like for you this week if you can use an approach with someone to change a negative paradigm? 

Let me know what you try and your results and we'll share some thoughts next time with our readers.

Be sure to watch Anna's story as well and let me know: what would you do?

Did she get it right?

Do you believe her story, or is it all just some kind of fraud?

Watch it here.

Tools to Help You

One tool that may help you is the concept of nudging. The video below provides a brief overview of the concept.

Richard Thaler, Cass Sunstein and many others have done great work relating to the concept. It is normally ascribed to the family of behavioural economics.

A couple other articles that are worth your time:

• Which Are The Wisest Workplace Wellbeing Interventions?

• Dealing with a Bully Boss

Finally: do you want to understand yourself and others at a deeper level? We've just kicked off our first course (in a beta offering), and we only have a few more spots. Deadline to sign up is Friday! Join us!

Go be a great leader today! See you next time.

Jonathan DunnettCEOEnable Leaderswww.enableleaders.com