Ho‘omau Kākou

Originally published for the print edition of Ke Ola Magazine, September/November 2019 Hawai‘i Island issue.
Links are additions made expressly for the readers of this site and ManagingWithAloha.com.
This is the 1st article in the 3rd Series on Managing with Aloha written for the joint study of our Ho‘ohana Community and the business community of Ke Ola Magazine readers.

Ho‘omau Kākou

First in Series Three on Managing with Aloha | By Rosa Say

This column for Ke Ola Magazine’s Business Feature section, began with the January/February Hawai‘i island issue of 2013: Why Values? And Why “Manage with Aloha?” Since then, we have cycled through the 19 Values of Aloha presented in Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii’s Universal Values to the Art of Business twice, one value per issue. Now, we embark on Series 3.

The values of our Hawai‘i are timeless beliefs and convictions; they are wise, relevant and exceptionally useful to us, and I am very thankful to the ‘Ohana of Ke Ola Magazine for allowing me to share them with you.

We who live and work in Hawai‘i are her stewards, a privilege we in business do not take for granted, and a responsibility we must not take lightly. Our privilege and responsibility aren’t burdens, they are gifts which motivate and inspire us, and make our businesses flourish with creativity and lifelong learning adaptations.

In Series 1, we concentrated our conversations on “Why Values?” and “Why we seek to ‘manage with Aloha.’” Our values drive our behavior: Well-chosen values will function as the drivers of healthy workplace cultures and prosperous business missions.

To manage with Aloha, is to manage and lead our workplaces and businesses with the signature value of Hawai‘i as we simultaneously honor of our sense of place. That value is Aloha, and we express it with the Aloha Spirit which resides in each one of us innately.

In Series 2, we named our Managing with Aloha practice of value alignment our “Aloha Intentions.” Value alignment is the diligent practice of assuring that we are true to our values—we make sure that the actions we take (i.e. our behaviors) match the values we claim to be the primary drivers of our business missions and all of our future-forward decisions:

“Your mission is what you do best every day.
Your vision is what the future looks like because you do your mission so exceedingly well.”
—The Mission-Driven Company

With each value presented to you in Series 2, I encouraged you to verb your practice of value alignment in five expressions of meaningful and worthwhile work: Living, working, speaking, managing and leading—all with Aloha, and as your “Aloha Intentions.”

These verbs are personal, and aligning them with the value coaching of Managing with Aloha is designed to make the personal professionally noteworthy as well: You work on becoming an Alaka‘i Manager who conducts themselves with Ho‘ohanohano distinction.
– Who is the Alaka‘i Manager? A Manager’s Calling, the 10 Beliefs of Great Managers.

In Series 3 we Ho‘omau Kākou.

As we have learned;
—To Ho‘omau is to continue with the goal of renewal: It is our value of perseverance, wherein renewal fortifies our strengths despite any adversity.
—Kākou is to work together in ways which make us even stronger: It is our value of inclusivity where we share unconditionally, and with the Language of We, knowing life and business are not solo propositions!

We will experience more of the good coaching inherent in the 19 Values of Aloha, talking about specific value alignment practices you can weave into being Alaka‘i—being the best manager and leader you can be by merit of your Aloha Spirit. Some of these practices came to be in my own history as a manager and leader, and others have been shared with me as your best practices, thanks to my Managing with Aloha workplace coaching practice.

Series 3 will focus on our work’s detail, specific to management. All business owners and leaders must be savvy managers—and compassionate bosses—first and foremost. We work on work, fully understanding how important that is: The work we devote our time and attention to will spill over into every other aspect of our lives. It’s personal, and it’s pervasive, so we work on making it good.

To make it ‘good,’ we create it, and we practice it with Aloha. As we do so, we honor each other as human beings born of Aloha and meant to share its’ spirit.

I hope you continue to join me.

I’ve mapped out our value alignment in Series 3, however, as all good managers know, future plans are always works in progress—we’re humble enough to know they can always be enhanced and improved. Therefore, if you feel you have a best practice which specifically aligns your business with one of our 19 Values of Aloha, please contact me via rosa.say@managingwithaloha.com: I would love to hear more about it, and showcase your good work in a future column.

We ho‘omau kākou,
Rosa

Next issue: We launch Ke Ola Series 3 with the value of Aloha.

Read more about the values of Ho‘omau and Kākou at www.ManagingWithAloha.com and in these articles archived for Series 1 and 2:
– Series 1 Ho‘omau, the Value of Perseverance
– Series 1 Kākou, the value of inclusiveness and the ‘Language of We’
– Series 2 Ho‘omau; Love the one you’re with
– Series 2 Let’s Talk Story with Kākou Invitation

Postscript: Ke Ola is published 6 times a year, and distributed in print on Hawai‘i Island and by subscription. I have therefore made a practice of archiving the articles on RosaSay.com for those within our Ho‘ohana Community who may want to read them after their scheduled distribution.

You can access all 40 articles I had written for Series 1 and 2 via this index. The introductory column for Series 1 may be read here: Why Values? And Why “Manage with Aloha?” and here for Series 2: Aloha Intentions.