Introduction

In today’s tough work environments, embracing all aspects of employees’ identities, including their religious or non-religious beliefs, is key to building inclusive and supportive workplaces. In the third episode of the Reell Insights Series in August 2024, Michon True Smith, Managing Director of Interfaith at Augsburg University, will give us some important lessons on how organizations can improve religious diversity and create spaces where everyone feels valued.

Allow Employees to Bring Their Whole Self to Work

One of the most important insights Michon shared is the idea that people should be able to bring their “whole self” to work including their religious and spiritual beliefs. When employees feel safe to express all aspects of who they are, they build stronger relationships with their coworkers and contribute more fully to the team.

Seeing Things Whole encourages leaders to recognize that a person’s values and beliefs are part of what makes them who they are. Embracing this wholeness in the workplace helps create a more inclusive and supportive environment.

Religious Diversity is Part of DEI Efforts

Michon highlighted that religious diversity is often left out of broader diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. While companies focus on issues like race and gender, religious beliefs are sometimes overlooked, leading to a lack of understanding.

By recognizing the importance of religious diversity, companies can enhance their DEI programs and build more inclusive cultures where everyone feels respected.

Seeing Things Whole means understanding that diversity is not complete without recognizing the wide range of worldviews people bring to work.

Practical Steps for Inclusivity

Michon shared several practical ways organizations can support religious diversity:

• Create a religious holiday calendar so everyone is aware of important dates.
• Provide a space for prayer or meditation.
• Form affinity groups for employees who share similar faiths.

These steps can help employees feel seen and respected, promoting a sense of belonging.

Seeing Things Whole encourages practical changes, ensuring that employees’ personal beliefs are supported; alongside their professional roles.

Benefits of Interfaith Dialogue

Interfaith discussions in the workplace can help employees better understand each other’s beliefs and can foster respect. By engaging in these conversations, businesses can reduce misunderstandings and build stronger teams.

By promoting Seeing Things Whole, organizations can embrace differences as strengths. Encouraging open dialogue about faith and worldview helps create a workplace where diversity is seen as a valuable resource and not as a challenge!

The Importance of Reflection

Michon emphasized the value of taking time to reflect on one’s values and beliefs. In our busy work lives, it’s easy to overlook this, but reflecting on what’s important can lead to better decision-making and personal growth.

Organizations that encourage this kind of reflection, especially around values, help employees connect their personal beliefs to their work. Seeing Things Whole promotes this intentional reflection, leading to more thoughtful leadership and a stronger sense of purpose.

Conclusion

The key message from Michon’s insights is clear: religious diversity is a strength. When organizations create inclusive spaces that honor all aspects of identity, they foster trust, build stronger teams, and contribute to a positive work environment.

Seeing Things Whole encourages leaders to embrace the full human experience, including faith, spirituality, and worldview, leading to a more inclusive organization.

Introduction 

In today’s rapidly evolving organizations, the concept of followership is becoming an essential component of effective leadership. In the second episode of the Reell Insights Series in July 2024, Tiffany Moore explains why followership is a fundamental part of the leadership process, highlighting key findings from her research and how it directly impacts leaders, organizations, and employees. We will delve into these findings and understand how they strongly connect to the Seeing Things Whole framework.

What is Followership? 

Followership is the process of supporting and contributing to leadership. It’s a two-way relationship where both leaders and followers are influenced by each other. In most research,  leadership is often emphasized while followership is ignored. Moore’s research reveals that effective leadership depends on active and engaged followers. It is very simple: leaders can’t lead without their followers; for this reason, this dynamic is crucial for a successful organization.

Key Learnings from the Research 

1. Engagement is Crucial: Active followers, who regularly provide feedback and contribute to decision-making, have more influence. Engaged followers can be key to developing stronger organizations, and thanks to their work alongside leaders, they help create progress.
2. Barriers to Influence: Some followers struggle to influence leadership due to organizational barriers like rigid hierarchies or lack of communication. When these obstacles exist, followers feel uninvolved and less motivated to participate.
3. Influence Affects Job Satisfaction: Employees who feel they can influence decisions are more satisfied and likely to stay in their jobs. Those who feel uninvolved are more likely to leave their positions.
4. Power of Collective Action: Followers working together are more likely to influence leadership than those acting alone. Collective action provides strength and drives change within the organization.

Connecting Followership to Seeing Things Whole 

Seeing Things Whole is a leadership approach that emphasizes understanding the bigger picture of an organization, including the interconnected roles of leaders and followers. Moore’s research fits perfectly with this approach, as it highlights how vital followers are to the overall success of an organization.

Leaders who follow the Seeing Things Whole philosophy understand that their followers are not just subordinates, but instead key contributors to the growth of the organization. By recognizing the value of followership, leaders can create an environment more inclusive and collaborative, where everyone has value.

Tips for Leaders and Followers 

Leaders:

• Encourage open communication and feedback.
• Create opportunities for followers to collaborate and contribute ideas. Break down barriers that prevent followers from engaging.

Followers:

• Take initiative by sharing ideas and requesting feedback.
• Build relationships with leaders to strengthen your influence.
• Work with others to strengthen your voice when sharing suggestions or concerns.

Conclusion

Followership can play a crucial role in leadership and organizational success. Moore’s research highlights how active engagement from followers can improve decision-making, support, and overall effectiveness. Leaders who adopt a Seeing Things Whole model recognize the importance of their followers, leading to more holistic, thriving organizations.

Whole leaders reflect deeply on their own values and strengths as a means to take initiative and empower others. They thoroughly consider how their actions create impact and take a holistic view when making critical decisions.

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU?
Our Community Practice Cohort is designed to empower leaders by providing a collaborative space to enhance the leadership process and practice and gain insights around real-life leadership challenges and opportunities.

The Community Practice Cohort is accepting eight members from September 2024–June 2025 to embark on a 10-month collaborative journey toward effective leadership. Participants will gain practical skills and knowledge on leadership topics—like articulating a problem, communication, team collaboration, decision making—as well as personalized roundtables to focus on issues and skills directly related to your organization.

To learn more, please contact Program Director Keri Clifton at cliftonk@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1525.

You can schedule time with Keri to learn more about the opportunity — bit.ly/ScheduleReell

Over the years, Seeing Things Whole has brought together many leaders to support each other in the growth and development of their individual organizations. Bob Wahlstedt (co-founder of Reell Precision Manufacturing), Shari Erdman (current co-CEO at Reell Precision Manufacturing), and Tom Henry (former owner and CEO at Landry Bicycles) gathered recently to discuss a range of topics and reflect on the history of Seeing Things Whole in their businesses and in their lives. Central to those conversations were how Seeing Things Whole became frameworks for enacting a worldview in their business while also helping them to focus on what it meant to create a whole organization.

Utilizing Seeing Things Whole to Drive Meaningful and Purpose Driven Work

Seeing Things Whole provided language and a model for building an organizational culture at Reell Precision Manufacturing that aligned with their business operations where they can focus on growing and developing their coworkers to be all they can be. This allowed them to drive towards more meaningful and purpose driven work.

 

Why is Wholeness Essential to Leadership Practice?

 

They also discuss the nature of leading from a place of wholeness and how it can support leaders struggling with burnout today. As a practice of Seeing Things Whole, creating an environment where people can bring their whole selves to the workplace is needed to gain success across multiple bottoms.

As a leader, consider how you are seeking to “seeing things whole” in your work as you build an organization that can be successful across multiple bottom lines.

Start today by taking the Whole Leader Profile.

The first community practice cohort is set to begin in January. Three leaders from three different organizations will work closely together over the course of three months. Each will dig into a particular workplace challenge, gaining insights and perspective to see the whole of their situation and formulate an effective path forward.

You have the opportunity to support these individuals by serving as a temporary trustee during the Roundtables. Trustees provide care, wisdom and perspectives, but not solutions to our cohort members. Roundtables will take place on the following dates:

Tuesday, January 23 – Registration Full

Tuesday, February 27 – PLEASE NOTE: There is a waitlist for our February 27th Roundtable. Please reach out to Keri at cliftonk@augsburg.edu to be added to the list.

Tuesday, March 26 – PLEASE NOTE: There is a waitlist for our March 26th Roundtable. Please reach out to Keri at cliftonk@augsburg.edu to be added to the list.

Roundtables take place in-person at Augsburg University from 5:30pm – 8:00pm. Room, building, parking, and additional important details will be communicated to registered participants in advance.

Registration is now closed.

If you have never been part of our Roundtables, it’s a great opportunity to experience it firsthand to see how this way of thinking and process could support you and your organization.

Leaders create pathways for people and organizations to thrive, but it’s no easy task in today’s workplace. How do effective leaders navigate persistent challenges while remaining true to their values?

Join Augsburg University’s Reell Office of Seeing Things Whole for breakfast and conversation with compelling leaders from business, the arts, and education who share a common drive to bring greater wholeness and meaning to their organizations. You will hear candid stories of success and challenge at work, from creating space for individuals to thrive as their full selves at work, shaping policies to balance organizational and people needs, and navigating the practical realities of leading organizations through periods of prosperity and economic downturns.

The conversation is for anyone seeking to find greater meaning in their work and leadership—especially people who are new to managing teams, in charge of organizational policy in a post-pandemic world, or thinking about organizational futures.

Panelists:

●      Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri endowed chair and executive director of Interfaith at Augsburg University

●      Jun-Li Wang, associate director of Springboard for the Arts

●      Kyle E. Smith, co-CEO of Reell Precision Manufacturing

●      Tom Henry, former CEO of Landry’s Bicycles (moderator)

Following this session, stay for a special roundtable dialogue to consider questions around the future of work and business in Minnesota using the Seeing Things Whole framework. The roundtable will include a brief presentation by Kirsten Kennedy, executive director of the Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership.

REGISTER NOW

 

Who do you turn to for perspective on the thorny problems of leadership in today’s workplace? Are you a leader who would benefit from reflective practice, a framework for accountability, and customized coaching as you navigate organizational challenges?

Seeing Things Whole is a disciplined process that embraces the organization’s relationships to the larger world, cultivating whole leaders and thriving organizations to positively impact the common good. This fall, the Reell Office of Seeing Things Whole at Augsburg University will launch a Community of Practice Cohort to support the professional development of three leaders by advancing their strategic thinking toward action.

Working closely with professional staff and cohort members, participants will receive customized coaching, develop mutually supportive relationships, and learn to apply the Seeing Things Whole framework to real-life problems. Over the course of three months, cohort members will identify and dig into a particular workplace challenge, gaining insights and perspective to see the whole of their situation and formulate an effective path forward. Participants will:

• Attend three Whole Leader Roundtable sessions during January, February and March
• Work with fellow cohort members and staff to articulate and make progress on a leadership challenge
• Present the challenge to a Whole Leader Roundtable and receive focused feedback and insight
• Share progress and provide accountability within the Community of Practice Cohort
• Participate in structured reflection throughout the experience

Leadership challenges can encompass a wide range of issues, such as how to grow a program that requires many collaborators, how to share power within hierarchical organizational structures, or how to sustain motivation and resilience in a challenging leadership environment.

This opportunity is ideal for any individual looking to develop a deeper, more positive connection between their values and leadership action. The Seeing Things Whole framework has been used across sectors for more than 20 years by CEOs in retail and manufacturing, nonprofit leaders and managers, educators, and entrepreneurs. It is appropriate for leaders at all levels, particularly those facing complex organizational problems without straightforward solutions.

 

The Seeing Things Whole Roundtable provided a great deal of clarity and next steps around building out a new program at work. I gained new vantage points and got support from departments that will collaborate with me. The questions that were asked and the resulting insights gained about collaborative opportunities was the most valuable. Their insights and perspective helped me consider ideas and opportunities I had overlooked or needed to spend more time exploring. I was greatly energized by this experience and I feel better prepared to tackle obstacles I may face in building the new program.  – Gina M

 

For this initial Community of Practice offering, cohort members will pay a reduced fee of $600 (from $2500) for participation in the program (more than a 75% discount). The time commitment will be approximately 15 hours of face-to-face time (in-person and online) with additional personal work.

Contact the Reell Office Program Director, Keri Clifton, with specific questions at 612-330-1525 or cliftonk@augsburg.edu to share your interest in participation.