What Is The Human Element® by Ben Houghton
The Human Element approach to personal development is underpinned by FIRO theory (or to give it the full name Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation.) "FIRO theory was created by Dr Will Schutz when the US Navy asked him to conduct research on understanding and predicting how groups work together, particularly in stressful situations. Dr Schutz studied teams in battlefield Combat Information Centres, who were working together to quickly evaluate information from different sources and then make life or death decisions. The research provided a wealth of information about how to improve the effectiveness of teams. In his research for example, if randomly selected new teams were successful 50 percent of the time, using FIRO theory to focus on team compatibility increased that number to 75 percent. In a business world so dependent on ever changing project teams, that is a remarkable increase in effectiveness." - Jim Tamm, Ron Luyet "Radical Collaboration"
The Human Element is an approach to personal development that tackles the issues in ourselves and others that hold us back and create these "people issues" inherent in businesses. The reason it is so effective is that it works with the most important driver we have within us: self-esteem.
The higher our self-esteem the more productive we are in our relations with others and in what we do.
By introducing more flexible ways of thinking around how truthful and self-determining you can be and in the use of 3 psychometric questionnaires (based on FIRO theory) the Human Element builds self-awareness, increases self-esteem and reduces defensive behaviour. It helps in creating the conditions for people to maximise their potential and contribution to a team or organisation.
A leader with a good level of self-awareness and self-esteem will be more effective in changing their style to get the most out of others and intentionally facilitate compatibility between people. A team with a good level of self-awareness and self-esteem will be more compatible and more productive.
So what is The Human Element?
The Human Element is a comprehensive approach to personal development. Either in a workshop or one to one, people are introduced to the two pillars of the approach "Truth" and "Choice" before being introduced to 3 questionnaires:
FIRO® Element B - Behaviour - examines our needs for Inclusion or involvement, Control or influence and Openness
FIRO® Element F - Feelings - examines our feelings that drive our behaviours
FIRO® Element S - Self Esteem - examines how our self-concept creates our feelings
As an experiential workshop people are introduced to the Human Element on a 5-day program that begin with individual self-awareness and then lead into practical applications such as leadership style, productive team working and personal change.
In both coaching and group workshops, behavioural needs are compared in the following ways:
- The behaviour we exhibit towards others
- The impact our behaviour has on others
- Why people may choose to behave towards us as they do
- The impact of our effectiveness in life and work which is initially predicated by our behaviour
- The implications of our behaviour on our facilitation, coaching and management style
What can you expect from The Human Element?
Individuals and leaders can use their increased self-awareness to adapt their style to get the most out of their teams with a non-manipulative focus on the individual. This builds trust in a team. Teams are more productive as a result of the atmosphere and compatibility or because of the way they are lead even when under extreme pressure. Interpretation helps to identify potential "blind spots" as a leader and in team compatibility. Learning & Development professionals can use their knowledge of the approach in supporting individuals and teams
Like it or not, a lot of our relationships are at work. Get the relationship right and more focus is placed on the objectives of the department and less on the drama played out by people.
Drama that exists because we all have "buttons" within us that we like to avoid having pushed!! These buttons create needs that we want other people to meet in our interactions with them.
As a leader or coach or facilitator the relationship you have with others will depend on your own needs and your ability to understand those of other people. Creating the right conditions for people to focus on what they need to.
Managing relationships between yourself and others and between team members is a key part of delivering output. By understanding the underlying causes of people's behaviour in a structured way, you can facilitate better relationships and much improved productivity.
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