The How-To of Managing with Aloha Coaching
When I published Managing with Aloha I knew it was only the beginning.
It was never intended to be a book that would be read once and then put away; I wanted it to be a companion and resource for managers who considered their job to be their calling, managers with good intent who wanted to create the best possible workplace within their own circles of influence, fully understanding the impact they make on their employees' lives.
"Our ho'ohana" came together at the same time Managing with Aloha was published, as a value of the month program within which readers could get self-paced coaching from me on an on-going basis; completely free, and online for web-based access both from home and at work. I chose the blogging platform to do this instead of an e-learning course so that we could "talk story" about it and learn from each other's shared experiences.
My book had given my work experiences as examples in a nineteen-value primer; now your work experiences could be our on-going, real-time living laboratory.
The goal: Keep Managing with Aloha RELEVANT for you today.
Up until then (2004) I had never written online before, and I was learning how to use the tools available to me, starting with those which were most user-friendly. I was in my own transition too, finally making my break from a very lengthy corporate career into the new-to-me (and scary) world of self-employment. It's no longer scary; we're in great rhythm at Say Leadership Coaching, and it's very exciting!
You could say I was going right back into management, and into the operational, MWA-process that became my forte. Only this time it was online; my "employees" were all volunteers and all over the world, not just at the work site where I parked my car each morning, and not just in Hawai'i. They had gotten "hired" when they read my book or searched for something and happened to find my website, and now, via our ho'ohana each month, we were going to work -together by choice, even if just virtually. We were going to actually do the work of reinventing workplaces by managing with aloha.
That's still what this is all about.
My vision of reinventing workplaces value by value remains the constant. You deserve it, and the world needs it to happen. Our value of the month approach makes it realistic and practical.
People ask me why my value of the month program is still free, and the answer is because it's my mission; I want you to do it. "It" is managing with aloha, and I am going to make it as easy for you as I can. Teaching and coaching Managing with Aloha is MY Ho‘ohana, my passion for worthwhile work.
We give you Coaching. You set your Rhythm and Beat.
Just like in any vibrant workplace, what changes is the way we might go about making our vision our reality. As we ho'ohana, we are always seeking to be more responsive to the variables at hand, tweaking for improvements as we go along. We constantly create 'Imi ola; our best possible lives within living, working, managing, and leading with aloha. Form follows function.
Managing with Aloha Coaching is our current form for the rhythm and beat of the MWA movement. We work on value alignment one value at a time, one month at a time.
Management can seem complex because it is such a situational art. The short chapters in my book were primers, and Managing with Aloha Coaching can effectively double or triple the content in them. During our inaugural month of August 2007, I added twenty new articles to the ten pages written in Managing with Aloha on the value of 'Ohana (the human circle of aloha), most about the business model concepts of The 'Ohana in Business.
The work: Can you implement everything during your month?
No, and I don't expect you to. My intention is to give you a choice: Choose what resonates for your own situation. Just one new idea can take you quite far in your own workplace reinvention. Thing is, you have to choose it, and you have to take action on it.
I keep writing online, and offer subscriptions to be a source of your energy, and keep us focused as a community working together collaboratively. When you write back to me via email or comment on the site, you give me feedback as to what resonates and what doesn't, so I can improve too.
Motivation however, is an inside job, and you have to establish your own habits of connection here to keep self-motivated, and to have our sensibility for worthwhile and meaningful work happen for you.
Your call to action: Allow me to be your virtual coach.
Let's do this; let's manage with aloha. The one assumption I make is that you are here because you want better; you want to work with the wisdom of aloha.
Connect your weekly planning habits to Managing with Aloha Coaching, and click in often for encouragement. In the spirit of Lōkahi, your subscription means you don't have to go it alone! We ho'ohana together.
To “Connect your weekly planning habits” to MWAC, I recommend you next click over to Managing with Aloha Coaching in A 5-Beat Rhythm. It will share how we all got started here!
A hui hou; with much aloha,
Rosa Say,
Founder of Say Leadership Coaching, and Workplace Aloha Coach
Author of Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii's Universal Values to the Art of Business
Postscript: Who should read Managing with Aloha?
When I wrote Managing with Aloha my mission was to write to managers, urging them to bring nobility to the profession and discipline of management, for that is how I think of management, as a noble profession. It pains me to see managers abuse the privilege they have been given to value the human spirit through worthwhile work.
In my own management career, I had seen the great, the good, the bad and the ugly, and I became convinced that once a manager grabbed hold of the great, he or she would have it no other way. Thus my hope with writing Managing with Aloha, was that wherever that struggling manager may be, my book could find them and lead them to those wonderfully satisfying rewards that come with the practice of great management.
Managing with Aloha was released prior to Thanksgiving, and just in time for the holidays, it became the Christmas gift to give your boss, especially if the giver felt he or she was in that “bad and the ugly” category. Thankfully it was also purchased by those in the “good” category who had the desire to raise the bar on their own performance. It has been a book given to managers by their leaders, as a way to recognize their worth and say, “Thank you: As your partner in this endeavor I understand your challenges, and I value what you do.”
I also hoped that Managing with Aloha would find its way into the hands of those who may wonder, “Is management a career for me?” for too often we will only hear about the trials and tribulations of management. Unfortunately, those horror stories tend to overshadow the ones that tell how rewarding being a manager can be. I was one who rejoiced at the good fortune I had to become a manager. To nurture others in the celebration of their strengths, in a performance danced to the music of their personal values is truly an honor and privilege.
~ Rosa
