by Venchito Tampon | Last Updated on November 7, 2023
Bayanihan is uniting heroes to contribute value to the community. We want to embody the “bayanihan spirit” in every part of society, including the private sector.
In this guide, I’ll provide tips on developing the “bayanihan spirit” in the workplace.
How Do You Develop Bayanihan Spirit in the Workplace?
1. Lead by Example
It starts with the l leaders of the organization. From executives down to associate managers, leaders must demonstrate a strong sense of teamwork and cooperation among themselves.
When employees see their leaders actively collaborating, it sets a solid example of how Bayanihan works.
Imagine if most leaders promoted collaboration and harmony in how they planned and executed tasks. It would be much easier for team members to follow their example.
Leading by example is one of the most superb forms of leadership. Personal leadership allows ranking professionals to be more aware of their actions and words at work and toward their colleagues.
Personal leadership empowers their associates to check on themselves and be more accountable to their leaders.
2. Create a Supportive Environment
Foster an inclusive environment where employees of different races, religions, ages, and cultures can work together. Being an inclusive leader helps your team members appreciate their diversity more instead of considering it a barrier to developing their teams.
Encourage open communication where people are psychologically safe to say their suggestions and participate more in brainstorming discussions. It is best to help them be active listeners and empathize better with others.
3. Team Building Activities
See the importance of team building activities and request it with your human resource (or human capital) department to organize team building activities and workshops that promote cooperation and teamwork.
These activities include trust-building, collaboration, effective communication, and problem-solving challenges, which can help unite the teams and accomplish the organization’s shared goals and mission.
Hire a team building facilitator to conduct comprehensive, fun-filled team building activities for your employees.
4. Define Common Goals
Define and communicate your organization’s mission, vision, and core values. By effectively sharing these essential facets of your company, you’ll help your employees understand why they are doing what they’re doing at work.
So, their individual goals will eventually be aligned with the broader goals of the organization. Define the common goals with your executive or management committee. Then, properly cast these goals down to the bottom.
5. Encourage Collaboration
Bayanihan takes place when there is collaboration. So, you have to create an atmosphere where people from different departments can collaborate regardless of their differences in functions and roles at work.
You can hire an external team building facilitator or experienced corporate trainer to conduct team building and workshops for the different departments of your organization.
So, more than conducting town hall meetings where your CEO or top leader would speak about their goals and what they want to achieve, you have someone from other organizations who can inspire and encourage your team members to grow and do better at work.
6. Recognize and Reward Collaboration
More than just encouraging collaboration, you have to create systems to recognize and reward teamwork. This is how you acknowledge and celebrate your employees’ hard work.
Some rewards include bonuses and public recognition during special events, which increases the awareness among your teams that your organization is exemplifying the Bayanihan Spirit.
7. Encourage Knowledge Sharing
When there is psychological safety, employees have more courage to share their expertise, experience, and learnings with their colleagues. This promotes the Bayanihan spirit, which is more conducive to the growth and development of every individual in the organization.
Set up meetings with your team members where they can freely share learnings at work with other team members. Encourage knowledge sharing as it helps individuals gain a better understanding of their work and become self-aware of their capabilities and strengths.
8. Provide Training
Sustainable organizations understand the purpose of training and seminars for their employees. Investing in them yields a huge ROI regarding productivity and team performance.
If you’re an entrepreneur or one of the key decision-makers in your company, you should conduct training programs that focus on teamwork, effective communication, and conflict resolution.
You may also conduct training and seminars on basic leadership, coaching training for managers, or sales training.
You can check out lists of leadership training programs and sales programs that effectively elevate employees’ skills in any organization.
9. Give Back to the Community
In the corporate world, this is called corporate social responsibility (CSR). Companies encourage their employees to participate in community service or volunteer activities.
This is also one good way for employees to act and work together as a team. It helps them strengthen their bonds with colleagues and reinforces the idea of giving back to their communities. It is one of the core aspects of the Bayanihan spirit.
10. Communicate Regularly
Effective communication involves regularly delivering essential messages to the key recipients. In the workplace, you inform your employees about the company’s progress, challenges, and successes.
By being transparent with how the organization works, you can build trust and a sense of collective responsibility.
Regular communication involves sharing personal experiences that help others to know more about their colleagues better. There is value when people become more bonded (more than just being a colleague at work), but as friends that strengthen and helps them achieve holistic well-being.
Effective communication helps in personal development. It affects all aspects of personal development, which includes parental, marital, financial, and social.
When employees learn effective communication, they can achieve holistic wellness and well-being, which, in turn, helps them become more productive in the workplace.
We all know that when someone has high self-esteem at home, it translates to better them in the workplace. They exhibit better behavior and actions that stem from their core identity.
11. Lead Team-Building Discussions
Hold team meetings that reflect the Bayanihan spirit. Initially, you can facilitate interactions among meeting participants. Then, do it at scale with your other employees.
The main idea here is to lead team building discussions where you allow everyone to share their thoughts and ideas. You can group them first by two so they can only filter what is pleasing to share, which saves you a lot of time and resources. Then, another couple of minutes to share among the group.
Key Takeaways
The Bayanihan Spirit is not only an old tradition habit of Filipinos. It is the core of what we do as fellow citizens. And if we can bring the same camaraderie spirit to our workplaces, we’ll have a better and healthier atmosphere where people feel safe, valued, and appreciated.
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