Page 96 - Make Work Great

Growing Your Crystal

with the right soil, water, and climatic conditions. In the case of a cul-
tural crystal, you must start with a seed crystal and then encourage the
growth of the crystal by helping neighboring particles—in this case,
people—to “attach.”

Culture of Two
Consider again the crystalline network of your workplace. Figure 4.1 is
familiar, except that it indicates a new attachment between you and one
of your coworkers. You and that coworker have a “network upgrade,” an
enhanced link between you. You’re both being fully overt about your tasks
and seeking clarity in your interactions with each other. As a result, you

experience better information transfer and find it easier to support each
other’s work. That’s not to say you never have disagreements, but on the
whole, your interactions are focused and the results tend to be positive.
If you’re lucky, you might already have at least one relationship like
this, someone with whom you interact productively, get along well, and
share mutual support. As you read about overtness and clarity, you may
have thought about that person, realizing that you were reading about
things the two of you had already learned to do when working together.

FIGURE 4.1 A single-link upgrade

YOU

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