By Jane Dutton and Monica Worline, Photo: from article, Greater Good Magazine, October 24, 2023
Three years ago, we met a woman named Denise when we visited her organization to offer a workshop. Denise shared her passion for learning about organizational culture and culture change. We had a brief, energizing conversation about how she was transferring what she was learning about culture change at work to her volunteer role at her daughter’s school.
Fast forward to earlier this month, when we were back at the same organization and bumped right into Denise! We greeted her enthusiastically and shared how wonderful it was to see her again. We asked about her daughter, and what was new in the culture change space. Later, as we said goodbye, Denise admitted something important: “I’m surprised you remembered me and even knew my name,” she confessed. “It is touching that you remembered what I care about, as so few people seem to do that. Thank you.”
Our experience with Denise might seem very ordinary, yet it also illuminates what we call in our research “high-quality connections.” Denise’s comments emphasize the scarcity of these connections in many work environments. Time and performance pressures, inattention, distraction, and overload can easily undermine our ability to connect.
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