Value of the Month

June 6, 2020 All Staff Outreach Email

Colleagues,

As a continuation of our monthly communications on OIT’s core values, this month we are highlighting the value of trust. Author Stephen M.R. Covey describes workplace trust as the “the one thing that changes everything.” Mutual trust is vital for innovation and it fosters a culture of being ready for change.

Building trust takes time and commitment and risk – it isn’t created overnight. But when trust has been established between employees, they can be significantly more effective. The most high-performing teams are ones where trust plays a central role.

Value: Trust

Description: We start with the premise that everyone is doing their best and for the right reasons, in order to achieve the best outcomes. 

Opportunities to engage in building trust:

• Trust is built between people who know one another. Develop authentic relationships with your colleagues through interacting and collaborating. This provides them an opportunity to know more about you, including your goals and the way you work. With this increased understanding, they are more likely to trust you.
• The first step to cultivating a culture of trust in a work environment is to be a trustworthy person. Do what you say you will do, and make your words count.
• The second step to cultivating a culture of trust is for you to extend trust to others. Trust is reciprocal. How can you take steps to be the first to give trust to others, by communicating well, building relationships, and assuming good intent?
• Trust is earned and it can be depleted. This can happen when expectations are missed or unfairness is perceived. Anyone can model trust by clearly communicating expectations, and by ensuring a fair environment for all employees where they understand what it takes to succeed.
• Managers build trust when they demonstrate their commitment to their employees and invest in their well-being. Involve them in decisions that impact them and understand and connect to their day-to-day work.

In what ways are you cultivating a culture of trust in your work and among your team? 

• Share your ideas and best practices on the OIT hype channel dedicated to our culture initiative: Submit Your Feedback/Ideas link and check out our new Inspiration section where monthly emails and all staff presentations are captured. Be engaged by making comments and submitting ideas and sharing stories.
•  For more information on organization culture transformation initiative, visit: OIT Culture Components (Mission, Vision, Values): https://www.oit.uci.edu/org/oit-culture/

Send your questions to me or Shohreh Bozorgmehri (Culture Program Coordinator).

Kian Colestock – Chief Information Officer (Interim)
Office of Information Technology, UC Irvine
Phone:  949-824-4059 – Email kcolestock@uci.edu

May 6, 2020 All Staff Outreach Email

Colleagues,

As a continuation of our monthly communications on OIT’s core values, this month we are highlighting the value of transparency. Transparency is foundational to many other cultural values, including trust, respect and collaboration; conversely, secrecy erodes trust. When employees are part of a transparent organizational culture, they see themselves and their roles as a part of the broader organization. All of us will also be more open to change and develop stronger connections with our peers and leadership.

According to Craig Cingotta in Entrepreneur magazine, “transparent culture is one where employees are given meaningful insights that build trust with senior leadership and an environment exists where people can give honest and direct feedback, knowing it will be heard and shared with the right people.”

Value: Transparency

Description: We demonstrate integrity, honesty and openness in all activities. We generously share information, insights and knowledge.

Opportunities to engage in Transparency:

• Make important information available and tell people where and how to find it. Make it clear, accessible and helpful. A healthy culture of transparency promotes collaboration. Are you building time into your work schedule for the kind of sharing of insights that benefits individuals and the whole organization?
• Tell the whole truth. It’s easy to think that transparency is the same as honesty. However, part of transparency is not just truth-telling, but generosity. Don’t delay or withhold information – share freely and encourage others to do the same.
• Allow and encourage feedback to each other. Don’t retaliate because of honest and direct feedback shared with a group. Allowing others to share their thoughts safely promotes a culture of honesty and openness.
• One of the best ways to model transparency, is to be open and share about mistakes and successes. How are you sharing openly and modeling transparency for your team?
• Being transparent is not only relevant in your teams or among OIT, it’s also important to exemplify for clients and campus partners. When our partners see our transparent processes and communications, they trust our work and will collaborate better in the future

In what ways are you cultivating a culture of trust in your work and among your team? 

• Share your ideas and best practices on the OIT hype channel dedicated to our culture initiative: Submit Your Feedback/Ideas link and check out our new Inspiration section where monthly emails and all staff presentations are captured. Be engaged by making comments and submitting ideas and sharing stories.
•  For more information on organization culture transformation initiative, visit: OIT Culture Components (Mission, Vision, Values): https://www.oit.uci.edu/org/oit-culture/

Send your questions to me or Shohreh Bozorgmehri (Culture Program Coordinator).

Kian Colestock – Chief Information Officer (Interim)
Office of Information Technology, UC Irvine
Phone:  949-824-4059 – Email kcolestock@uci.edu

March 2020 All Staff Outreach Email

Colleagues,

As a continuation of our monthly communications on OIT’s core values, this month we are highlighting the value of respect. Each person, regardless of role, deserves to feel respected in their workplace. Creating a culture of respect means to foster an environment where everyone is inherently valuable, and where differences of opinion, perspective and approach are not only acknowledged but valued.

According to the Harvard Business Review, “employees who feel respected are more grateful for—and loyal to—their [workplaces].” A culture of respect promotes collaboration, trust, and resilience. Conversely, a lack of respect can create conflict, tension, and disengagement. Respect is built over time and grows when employees feel included, treated fairly, and appreciated. It allows them to bring their whole selves to work.

Value: Respect

Description: We are considerate of people, ideas, roles, experiences, and perspectives.

Opportunities to ensure respect in the workplace:

• Get to know those around you and find out what motivates them, what they feel passionate about and what their interests and abilities are. Expressing gratitude and appreciation, taking concerns seriously and seeking to understand and apologize when someone feels wronged are all important ways to increase respect.
• Respect is not often at the forefront of people’s minds unless it is noticeably not present. How can you call positive attention to those actions and acknowledge employees that promote respect, inclusion and civility? In what ways do you or your team demonstrate respect for one another?
• A key opportunity to demonstrate and build respect occurs within conflict. When you address conflict with another team or fellow employee, keep an open mind, practice active listening, speak civilly, and respond fairly. Ensure employees don’t feel marginalized, excluded or left out.
• Being respectful is not always a visible or verbal exercise. Being aware of your body language -including tone of voice, expression and demeanor – can be as important as communicating with your words and actions.

In what ways are you cultivating a culture of trust in your work and among your team? 

• Share your ideas and best practices on the OIT hype channel dedicated to our culture initiative: Submit Your Feedback/Ideas link and check out our new Inspiration section where monthly emails and all staff presentations are captured. Be engaged by making comments and submitting ideas and sharing stories.
•  For more information on organization culture transformation initiative, visit: OIT Culture Components (Mission, Vision, Values): https://www.oit.uci.edu/org/oit-culture/

Send your questions to me or Shohreh Bozorgmehri (Culture Program Coordinator).

Kian Colestock – Chief Information Officer (Interim)
Office of Information Technology, UC Irvine
Phone:  949-824-4059 – Email kcolestock@uci.edu

February 2020 All Staff Outreach Email

Colleagues,

As a continuation of our monthly communications on OIT’s core values, this month we are highlighting the value of quality. In today’s technology landscape customers’ expectations are higher than ever and as such, maintaining high standards of quality has never been more important. When our work quality doesn’t meet campus expectations, we risk losing trust. As we face challenges to keep up with work demands, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to a work product that exceeds the status quo.

The only way to deliver consistent quality across the enterprise is for all of us to take personal ownership for raising the bar on excellence – to talk about how we can take quality-based actions and to look for ways to elevate our work every day. Our commitment to quality not only serves our clients, but also allows OIT employees to have a real sense of pride in our work.

Value: Quality

Description: We strive to exceed the status quo in what we deliver and are continuously improving our services for our customers.

Opportunities to demonstrate Quality in our work:

• Ensuring quality begins with a solid understanding of the customer or client’s explicit and implicit expectations, so you can meet or exceed them. Ask yourself how you can improve communication to ensure that both your team and your client agree on what a quality product is.
• Ensuring that our work is maintained at the highest quality means being open to constructive criticism, even when it requires that employees apply judgment to atypical situations.
• Dive deep into problems to ensure quality solutions. Failing to understand the true needs or issues of a project results in only solving surface problems. This means that mistakes can be repeated and not permanently solved. Have you taken the time to understand the systematic root cause before exploring a solution?
• Maintaining high quality standards is always competing with staying on budget or delivering on time – but we must strike a balance. Always communicate to your team and supervisor when making decisions that may compromise quality.

In what ways are you cultivating a culture of trust in your work and among your team? 

• Share your ideas and best practices on the OIT hype channel dedicated to our culture initiative: Submit Your Feedback/Ideas link and check out our new Inspiration section where monthly emails and all staff presentations are captured. Be engaged by making comments and submitting ideas and sharing stories.
• For more information on organization culture transformation initiative, visit: OIT Culture Components (Mission, Vision, Values): https://www.oit.uci.edu/org/oit-culture/

Send your questions to me or Shohreh Bozorgmehri (Culture Program Coordinator).

Kian Colestock – Chief Information Officer (Interim)
Office of Information Technology, UC Irvine
Phone:  949-824-4059 – Email kcolestock@uci.edu

November 1, 2019 All Staff Outreach Email

Colleagues,

As a continuation of our monthly communications on OIT’s core values, this month we are highlighting the value of learning and growth. As the environment we work in rapidly changes, including the technology and the campus needs, we must change along with it. We must maintain an attitude that values adaptability, learning new ways of doing things and growing in our understanding of how to find new solutions for complex challenges. This means we must take the time and effort to learn new ways of working, develop new skills and be willing to challenge the status quo. Our commitment to learning and growth not only better serves our clients, but also provides new professional opportunities for our OIT staff as they upskill and reskill to respond to rapidly shifting and multifaceted university needs. 

Value: Learn and Grow

Description: As individuals and as an organization we prioritize professional development. We are adaptable, we seek ways to develop new skillsets and we are committed to a course of continuous improvement.

Opportunities to engage in learning and growth:

• Integrating learning into daily operations is the key to sustained change and ensure that learning is not a one-time event – isolated to an annual conference or single webinar. How are you making time for learning on a weekly and monthly basis? How can you share about what you have learned with others at work?
  
• Have you taken the time to identify gaps in your skills and strengths, so you can create a map for new learning opportunities? Include areas for growth and new areas of interest as part of the ongoing performance management process to identify goals for continuous learning and provide an opportunity to frequently check in on those goals.
  
• Are you taking responsibility for your own learning instead of waiting for others to encourage or require it?
  
• Acknowledge that change can be hard and that everyone on a team may not grow at the same pace. Find ways to positively encourage learning among your peers by sharing resources and knowledge across OIT and seeking out the same.

In what ways are you cultivating a culture of trust in your work and among your team? 

• Share your ideas and best practices on the OIT hype channel dedicated to our culture initiative: Submit Your Feedback/Ideas link and check out our new Inspiration section where monthly emails and all staff presentations are captured. Be engaged by making comments and submitting ideas and sharing stories.
• For more information on organization culture transformation initiative, visit: OIT Culture Components (Mission, Vision, Values): https://www.oit.uci.edu/org/oit-culture/

Send your questions to me or Shohreh Bozorgmehri (Culture Program Coordinator).

Kian Colestock – Chief Information Officer (Interim)
Office of Information Technology, UC Irvine
Phone:  949-824-4059 – Email kcolestock@uci.edu

October 2019 All Staff Outreach Email

Colleagues,

As a continuation of our monthly communications on OIT’s core values, this month we are highlighting the value of inclusiveness. Being inclusive is more than just bringing everyone together. It is the consideration of those individual’s thoughts, experiences, perspectives and background and how that impact what one may say or do. Within OIT, there is rarely a position that works solely by oneself – we all have colleagues, clients, deliverables that depend on one another. To be aligned with OIT’s vision, to serve as a trusted partner, we need to engage in activities and behaviors to build our trusted role, in order to be effective. 

Value: Inclusiveness

Description: We seek to understand, empathize, and validate other people’s viewpoints and experiences, incorporating this approach into our behavior and work.

Opportunities to engage in inclusiveness:

• When making system updates or process changes, are the right individuals in the metaphorical room to weigh in on the impact?
  
• When there is a difference of opinion, are you taking a step back to better understand the other perspective; is there validity to the concern, or is there an opportunity to provide clarity?
  
• Pausing from time to time to take into consideration feedback provided, regardless whether it is implemented or not, but at least taking a moment to consider it.
  
• Acknowledge that our different work styles, backgrounds and skillsets present an opportunity, rather than a roadblock. Use this spectrum of options to your advantage when assembling a new workgroup or team, for best results.

In what ways are you cultivating a culture of trust in your work and among your team? 

• Share your ideas and best practices on the OIT hype channel dedicated to our culture initiative: Submit Your Feedback/Ideas link and check out our new Inspiration section where monthly emails and all staff presentations are captured. Be engaged by making comments and submitting ideas and sharing stories.
• For more information on organization culture transformation initiative, visit: OIT Culture Components (Mission, Vision, Values): https://www.oit.uci.edu/org/oit-culture/

Send your questions to me or Shohreh Bozorgmehri (Culture Program Coordinator).

Kian Colestock – Chief Information Officer (Interim)
Office of Information Technology, UC Irvine
Phone:  949-824-4059 – Email kcolestock@uci.edu

October 2019 All Staff Outreach Email

Colleagues,

As a continuation of our monthly communications on OIT’s core values, this month we are highlighting the value of inclusiveness. Being inclusive is more than just bringing everyone together. It is the consideration of those individual’s thoughts, experiences, perspectives and background and how that impact what one may say or do. Within OIT, there is rarely a position that works solely by oneself – we all have colleagues, clients, deliverables that depend on one another. To be aligned with OIT’s vision, to serve as a trusted partner, we need to engage in activities and behaviors to build our trusted role, in order to be effective. 

Value: Inclusiveness

Description: We seek to understand, empathize, and validate other people’s viewpoints and experiences, incorporating this approach into our behavior and work.

Opportunities to engage in inclusiveness:

• When making system updates or process changes, are the right individuals in the metaphorical room to weigh in on the impact?
  
• When there is a difference of opinion, are you taking a step back to better understand the other perspective; is there validity to the concern, or is there an opportunity to provide clarity?
  
• Pausing from time to time to take into consideration feedback provided, regardless whether it is implemented or not, but at least taking a moment to consider it.
  
• Acknowledge that our different work styles, backgrounds and skillsets present an opportunity, rather than a roadblock. Use this spectrum of options to your advantage when assembling a new workgroup or team, for best results.

In what ways are you cultivating a culture of trust in your work and among your team? 

• Share your ideas and best practices on the OIT hype channel dedicated to our culture initiative: Submit Your Feedback/Ideas link and check out our new Inspiration section where monthly emails and all staff presentations are captured. Be engaged by making comments and submitting ideas and sharing stories.
• For more information on organization culture transformation initiative, visit: OIT Culture Components (Mission, Vision, Values): https://www.oit.uci.edu/org/oit-culture/

Send your questions to me or Shohreh Bozorgmehri (Culture Program Coordinator).

Kian Colestock – Chief Information Officer (Interim)
Office of Information Technology, UC Irvine
Phone:  949-824-4059 – Email kcolestock@uci.edu

August 2019 All Staff Outreach Email

Over the next year, we will be highlighting one of the eight OIT core values every month as a way to examine the cultural change topic a little bit closer. We also intend to bring in examples of OIT staff being agents of culture change at future staff meetings, by highlighting your stories and showing how we can overcome historical roadblocks. The value we are highlighting this month is collaboration. In our modern world everything is inter-dependent on the people, process and technology side of our work. As such, it’s critically important that we approach all problem sets in the spirit of collaboration with our peers, customers and dependent stakeholders.

Value: Collaboration

Description: We work well as a team, effectively communicate and interact with stakeholders or other groups inside or outside of OIT towards productive outcomes.

Simple Techniques we can use to improve our collaboration:

• When we have a problem to solve that impacts multiple stakeholders, involve them early during requirements gathering before proceeding with design and build.
• Be prepared to receive critical feedback and give critical feedback to improve the overall outcome. It’s all part of the process.
• Be respectful and transparent (also core values). When others see that you are approaching the work in good faith, the collective work of the team will become more productive.
• Check your ego at the door when working in a team environment.
• Identify the strengths of each team member and divide the responsibilities according to those strengths.
• When a potential duplicate role, process or technology solution has been identified in the course of your work, identify it – and work towards a less complex solution together.

What have you done to improve collaboration in OIT? Send your stories to Shohreh Bozorgmehri (Culture Program Coordinator), so that we may learn from each other.

Additional Information

We have created a dedicated collaboration space to inspire, create and connect ideas and experiences about out OIT culture transformation. You can showcase your collaboration by sharing your ideas and best practices by posting on the new hype channel dedicated to our culture initiative. Click on this Submit Your Feedback/Ideas link to get started.

As a commitment to our organization culture transformation initiative, we have published our mission, vision, and values on OIT website: https://www.oit.uci.edu/org/oit-culture/

Kian Colestock – Chief Information Officer (Interim)
Office of Information Technology, UC Irvine
Phone:  949-824-4059 – Email kcolestock@uci.edu