Create a connection at work: writing with 'Ohana
The more I read about managing with aloha the more convinced I become of the power of this way of thinking about, of looking at - or rather of being in the world... to transform the way we do business and the way that we work - including the way that we write when we're there.
This month Rosa Say has been exploring the value of 'Ohana. Now the meaning of these beautiful Hawaiian words is multi-storied and multi-layered and I'd be struggling to do justice to it here, but in essence it's a value that means this:
In an ‘Ohana are those who are family, and those you choose to call your family. ‘Ohana is a human circle of complete Aloha, and in managing with Aloha, ‘Ohana is recognized as the best possible form for the association of all stakeholders in a business.
When I first starting reading about 'Ohana I found myself wondering how this could connect to the way that we write - and in particular the way that we write at work. But Rosa goes on to acknowledge that many people have a 'gut' reaction to the use of the word 'family' (or its Hawaiian equivalent) in a work context, teaching us to widen our understanding of the word and its associations.
So what if we set aside the word 'family' and used some different language instead. The members of your team. Not said glibly, without meaning, but with intention. The members of a team who are in it together. People who work together with a common purpose. No matter the grade or the salary: these people are your partners in business. Your business partners. And if your aim is to establish a strong and powerful connection with those people who are "in it together" with you - what words can you use to tell them?
Of course words and language cannot change working relationships on their own (you need to walk the talk - and believe the coaching philosophy behind it) but writing with positive intention can reinforce the other things that you're trying to do - and let you down if you don't pay sufficient attention to the words that you use.
So what are some of the things you can build into your writing at work to create a connection - to build a powerful human circle? Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Writing to create a sense of family doesn't mean you have to be over-familiar. Not everyone wants to be familiar at work, and some people find an opening of 'hey guys!' inappropriate and grating, and lacking in respect
- Focus instead on the specific things that connect you together: shared experiences, common language, events that have been significant (good and bad)
- Think about how you use the words "we" and "you". Are you clear which is which? Do you know why you're using one rather than the other?
- Use the language of intention: breathe the values that drive your work into the words that you're using and it will become part of the shared currency between you
- Don't fake it: readers can see through fake and phoney messages from 'well-intentioned' managers and will spot insincerity a mile off. You're better off not saying it than writing one thing and practicing another
- Write like yourself: the qualities of simple, honest writing will pay dividends here - writing with authenticity, demonstrating that you're human
- Be credible: as above, people will spot it if you're faking it. Don't over-promise or over-hype. Let people know when things don't turn out the way that you planned
- Don't waffle: that way people can form their own opinions on what you're writing about. The more excess words you use the more people are likely to think it's camouflage for something else
- Be positive: let people know that you notice the good stuff. Pay attention to the detail, be specific in your feedback and you'll be letting others know that you care enough to pay attention
- Focus on your positive intention: forget grammar rules, forget the writing style of other manager's (it's normally terrible, honestly), focus on the positive intention that you're trying to achieve and let that drive your writing.
And what do I mean by positive intention? Well in this context I'd come back to another powerful Hawaiian value: kakou. Over to Rosa for the explanation:
Kākou is the Hawaiian value of inclusiveness, and means “all of us,” we are in this together. Kākou is very unifying when applied to language, and all are taught to learn, speak, and practice “the language of we.”
Focus on that when you're writing and let it breathe life into your writing at work. Practice the language of we. Enjoy the powerful sense of connection that comes from knowing that at the end of the day: we are in this together.
One of my writing objectives is to learn more about the spirit of aloha and how we can breathe it into our writing. There's no better way to learn than writing about it! You can read my introduction to learning to write with aloha here. My aim is to explore a value month by month as Rosa teaches them to us.
If you are interested in the values and philosophy of aloha I would urge you to read the work of Rosa Say, author of Managing with Aloha, currently writing about her coaching practice at Managing with Aloha Coaching, plus tons of fascinating back articles at Talking Story
You'll find a few articles on 'Ohana in business on these sites. One of my favourites is this piece: The 'Ohana in business is a place for business partners
Explore the confident writing at work archive for more suggestions on business writing with confidence.
Business Writing With Confidence: 6 week e-course with coaching and writing tips to help you write with authenticity, brevity, clarity and confidence at work. Find out more here
Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count

One of the



