We all come from different backgrounds and so companies provide various trainings for their employees. Most often than not, these seminars and trainings are part of the benefits that employees get from the companies. Primarily, these trainings enhance the skills of the employees as they are more on content relevant to the employees’ line of work or expertise.
But there is this company called Institute of Integrality started by Dr. Cristine Margaret Atienza, a DBA graduate from De La Salle University, that offers transformative training that enables participants to determine and align their purpose in life. The priority is to ensure that the inner and outer self are aligned with each other and that they do not oppose each other. Employees are not expected to act differently in the office and to be another person when they are out of the office. There should be a coherence in the manner that employees behave and act wherever they are.
The topic integrality was discussed lengthily, more specifically the background of the company and what they do. The company was formed as a result of the speaker’s insider action research inspired by Coghlan and Brannick. The concept of the company is training and leading people to have a clear purpose in one’s life, have a positive outlook and work culture and ensure that the employee works well in congruence with the vision/mission of the company vis-à-vis the employee’s personal vision/mission.
The employees or human resources are the most important assets of the companies. They manage and lead colleagues. They make things possible in terms of the directions that the board of directors would like company management to achieve. So, to ensure that the most important persons in any organization are well taken cared of, the organization must ensure their completeness. The completeness of a person paves the way for an employee to be at his or her best all the time. His or her output transcends to the best output the employee can provide and not just merely to accomplish the task in exchange for monetary reward.
The company believes that when people are motivated, they know and understand their real purpose, they are guided in their decisions and their actions are in accordance with positive behavior. This enables individual to perform their tasks and relate well with others with dignity and integrity.
It is true that if all employees share the same attribute, they are in harmony with each other and that conflicts are prevented. Even if and when they arise, they are easily solved as there is a level of understanding that collaboration among peers is important and that every action will lead to a goal and that goal should be in accordance with the vision/mission of the company.
When people are happy, their engagement level is high. When they are engaged, they contribute and share their knowledge and they excel in what they do. They are positive and supportive of their colleagues. They think, feel and do well and that all things seem to be possible and reachable if all employees are united and are aligned with company’s vision/mission. Having to evaluate integrality in the workplace provides employees the opportunity to personally assess and align their values.
What seems to be more prominent in this Institute of Integrality, as I understood it, is that it prevents employees from being disengaged as it capitalizes on inclusivity regardless of the position in the company. Human resources research materials show that there is an increasing trend of resignations from employees due to their respective superiors. The Institute of Integrality has expertise in leading and managing leaders to become effective team builders.
I realized that companies who subscribe to such idea of providing work effectiveness, leadership trainings and positivity trainings to employees as offered by the Institute of Integrality help both the company and employees do away with office politics. Everyone in the company deserves respect, has responsibility, and is vital to the attainment of the overall vision of the company.
Companies that in turn are mindful of the welfare of their employees have low attrition rates as employees feel a sense of pride that they are valued and that they are integral in the operations and growth of the company. This is also in a way an advocacy of the organization as they truly care for the welfare of the employees who in turn can make every company great and sustainable.
The author is an MBA student at De La Salle University. This article is part of her reflections on her experiences in the course, Integral Human Development. She can be contacted at jerrel.lopez@dlsu.edu.ph. The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.