October 2007: Kākou. Communicating with the Language of We

Our value for the month of October 2007, is presented in Chapter 9 of Managing with Aloha;

Kākou All of us. We are in this together. Learn to speak the language of we. ~ Kākou means all of us together. ~ Kākou is the language of the ‘Ohana, for it is the language of “we,” and we are in this together. Together we are stronger. We are better. ~ Managers depend on other people, both peers and employees, to gain their results most effectively, and Kākou teaches us inclusiveness. When we inculcate Kākou into our language we bring life and reality to the words we speak. ~ We. All of us in the ‘Ohana. We are in this Kākou, together. We have an ‘Ohana in business, wherein the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Kākou is the value of inclusiveness, where differences are valued, and expertise is shared. No burden, no task, no goal, no mission will be too great when we are Kākou.

I was torn in choosing my focus this month for MWA Coaching. Torn between MWA3P and Kākou.

October has a certain rhythm for me. Longtime subscribers may recall an essay I once wrote on “sweet closure,” something I pursue every single October because I want the impending holidays to be joyful and not stressful.

The way I achieve it, is to work on my productivity: Come October, I streamline, de-clutter, and hence de-stress all the existing variables present in my life so that I make room for the holidays to come. I go as far as putting my business aside: Say Leadership Coaching goes on hiatus annually from mid-December to mid-January. Many of those with whom I work go on vacation at the same time, and I encourage them to focus on their families.

MWA3P comes in as the “form” for this seasonal “function.” It is the nickname for the 3 Parts within the Managing with Aloha productivity module.

On the other hand, I have been so looking forward to Kākou too! Kākou is described in MWA as “All of us” for it is the value of inclusiveness. “We are in this Kākou, together. No burden, no task, no goal, no mission will be too great when we are Kākou.”

I have always looked at Kākou and Lōkahi, which we just wrapped up in September, as going together like laulau and poi ---or bread and honey for those of you who shy from poi! In short, Kākou and Lōkahi are partners in inclusiveness and teamwork, valuing differences and creating synergy, communication and collaboration. In my mana‘o (beliefs and conviction) and in my management experience, they are a marriage made in heaven.

So what was my choice? Both of them. I decided to go for palena ‘ole (no limits) and an abundance mentality (yes, you can have abundance when you streamline too). We all juggle more than one thing in our lives, right? We can do this too, especially because it makes so much sense!

Our value of the month is Kākou: Communicating with the Language of We. Those of you who have been following along at MWA Coaching will see we ho‘omau – continue our focus, now bringing Kākou into the Lōkahi equation we have started.

MWA3P will be my focus for the four Sunday Mālama essays on MWA Coaching. Watch for them on October 7, 14, 21, and 28.

For now, Day One of each month is for BEAT 1:

A Quick Review:

Managing with Aloha: Self-Coaching in a 5-beat Rhythm ~ ~ ~ BEAT 1. We start with an essay on the value of the month. That first time you read it, take some time to write down two things: 1) Your questions, and 2) Your intention in learning more about the value. Just joining us this month? For all 5-Beats, see the full Rhythm here.

Set your goals for October to get the most out of our time together: Are you in with me for both Kākou and MWA3P, or will it be better for you to concentrate on just one of them? You know the answer that is right for you - fulfill your own needs.

If you choose Kākou, know that my intention is to truly focus on the communication skills of this value. You may want to take a moment to simply inventory the way you communicate now, and how it may vary with different groups of people. No in-depth analysis, just an inventory that will give you a before and after once the month is done.

If you choose MWA3P, do another inventory. This one should be with what you consider your basic and favorite productivity tools. Then, ask yourself: Do I have a trusted system that serves me well? What do I now like about it, and what would I want to improve upon? Because we will only have 4 Sundays to work with, we will not go through much detail with MWA3P, but you will learn of an overview that will give you a new lens through which to view your own system. It will happen like this:

October 7: The MWA3P Overview - What are the 3 Parts and how are they used?
October 14: Part One - The Individual
October 21: Part Two - The Organization
October 28: Part Three - The Philosophy in Practice

As for the rest of the month, these are the subheadings of my chapter on Kākou which I intend to focus on (it is not a full list as is in my book); do let me know if there is any section in particular you’d like to discuss as our month unfolds:

Me too! Focusing!

• Inclusiveness
• The language of we
• Let language lead to action
• All of us, together in synergy
• Value the differences
• Carry the weight, but not the burden
• Kākou teaches us to communicate well
• Bring Kākou to your ‘Ohana in Business

What a great month this will be! Mahalo for living and working aloha with me.

I invite you to share your own goals this month in the comments: There is nothing quite like Ho‘ohiki, making a promise to keep, when it comes to achieving goals by stating your intentions publicly!

Let’s Ho‘ohana,
~ Rosa

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Postscript: Today is our first birthday at Joyful Jubilant Learning! Click over for the party :)

Comments

[Joanna Young]

Hi Rosa, both sounds delicious! But it may be no surprise to you that my focus will be on learning more about the language of we...

Joanna

[John Keoni Monte]

Aloha to All,
Growing up Hawaiian,for me,I consider a blessing...because, in part,of the enormous wealth of knowledge and wisdom passed on. We are all fortunate to Kakou with Rosa,as she guides us through this journey of business life! The bonus is: the MWA principles apply to personal life with the same effectiveness and character expanding qualities.
One of the wisdoms is: When you tell the truth, the lies have to go away. Learning how this applies in an action filled environment, like our daily work, is extra effective within Kakou.
We human beings get emotional hooks over many events and experiences while growing up - then as an adult, we have to cope,rearrange,change and adapt to working as a team. We get embarrassed about certain aspects of our being, and often that can lead to guarded disclosure among our team.
Kakou,embraced fully,seems to remove all walls and creates a powerful mind set that energizes any project, task or challenge. Maybe it is the sensation that truly 'all of us' are putting our okoles on the line, and with that kind of open, genuine collaborative effort, we suddenly surge forward with great intent and great results.
Rosa, count me in for both this month...I believe we are never given more than we can handle - and with Kakou top of mind, leading...then our Lokahi swells with pride and smiles suddenly appear...like the rainbows in Hawaii! No believe me, next time you spot a rainbow - see if there isn't a smile on your face and a joyful sensation in your heart! Kakou is part of that path to joy, to improvement, to unity! Mahalo Rosa!!
John Keoni Monte

[Rosa Say]

We will learn more together Joanna! It is the beauty of our doing this virtually, and yet still collaboratively – it truly is an abundance without being too much excess – that “drawing of strands” you taught me (I really am loving that expression).

John Keone it is always such a treat when you share your mana‘o with us! I begin to smile the moment I see the writing is yours, “hearing” your warm voice before my eyes light on your name. This that you share is powerful wisdom: “When you tell the truth, the lies have to go away.” Our speech is but one part of what “is said” – as the adage coaches, “what you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you are saying.” With the inclusiveness of Kākou, we examine how complete we have been with our actions too, and who we have included, or regretfully, neglected. The most sneaky lie to catch up with us is often the lie of omission, don’t you think?

[John Keoni Monte]

Aloha to All...the 'lie by omission' unfortunately, I sense was born out of, and a by product of, our own beloved 'management' and the varied styles, techniques - and all the 'why fores' which were positioned as being a benefit/perk along the journey of spiraling up the ladder to higher office/higher aspirations/ more,more,more-all the way to the Peter Principle. Dead end.
Today, I sense more openness amongst the ranks...just due to that karma catch up of-if I lie by omission, and it manipulated you into making a decision or taking action that you normally would not...well, there you go...my 'Carma' just ran over your 'Dogma'!
Neener,neener,neener.
Mark Twain, From his essay:

"On the Decay of the Art of Lying"

Among other common lies, we have the silent lie -- the deception which one conveys by simply keeping still and concealing the truth. Many obstinate truth-mongers indulge in this dissipation, imagining that if they speak no lie, they lie not at all.

All the cliches come into play here: the 'need to know' which offended the spirit, because people abused the privilege. No good.

I still believe in the 'team' concept that when all of us are fully aware of what needs to happen, for any plethora of reasons - our collective focus becomes our collaborative effort to making it happen, regardless or rank. Lets accomplish, together...let's Lokahi and Kakou to da max! Then, no worries.
Like wolves...we run together - we hunt together - we kill together - we share the spoils together. But all together, no exceptions. Much stronger mana!
John Keoni Monte