How to Succeed with ARC (Affinity, Reality and Communication)
"The ARC Triangle is the keystone of living associations." -- L. Ron Hubbard
Affinity: how well you like or love a person.
Reality: how much agreement you have with a person; what you agree to be real.
Communication: your exchange of information and ideas.
Understanding: The result of combining affinity, reality and communication. Part 7: How Raising the ARC Triangle Makes You a Better Boss Bad bosses cause breaks in ARC when they lie to employees, blame them for their problems or break their promises.
Perhaps the biggest break is when the bosses do not do their jobs. Employees think the boss is supposed to help them, give them advice and lead them in a clear-cut direction. They are right!
So when the boss ignores employees and does not help them, the group suffers.
Bad bosses are poor communicators. They do not have meetings, explain tasks or answer questions. They do not listen to their group members and do not acknowledge them.
Affinity is also low with bad bosses. They do not like their employees and their employees do not like them. They get angry with each other, treat each other with disrespect and do not help each other.
Managing with More ARC "A common denominator to all good executives is the ability to communicate, to have affinity for their area and their people and to be able to achieve a reality on existing circumstances. All this adds up to understanding. An executive who lacks these qualities or abilities is not likely to be very successful." -- L. Ron Hubbard
As a business leader, owner or manager, your business succeeds or fails based on the ARC Triangle. The most powerful groups in the world have the greatest amount of ARC between the members of the group and the managers of the group.
Having high ARC for your employees does not mean you are soft and permissive. You do not hug each other all day. The ARC Triangle is based on the work.
For example, when you and all the members of the group agree on a goal, you find it easier to talk. You find it easier to like the members of the group. When there is no goal, the group is not nearly as fun to be part of.
As another example, your staff members have more ARC for their work if they are trained. Training establishes hundreds of small agreements of how the job should be done and thus boosts their ARC for the work. If the boss does not train the workers, they feel overwhelmed and cannot produce much work. Well-trained workers know what to do and find pleasure in their jobs because they have a great deal of agreement with you on what they should do.
As another example, as a manager, you have a reality that your people can and should do a good job. You communicate that reality when you insist that your people perform to the best of their ability. They agree with this communication and bang! You have a hard-working group, doing what it does best. As a result, you really like this group and this group really likes you.
Five Recommendations for Bosses Note: If you are not yet a boss, you will become one, if you use the recommendations below with your coworkers and boss, whenever possible.
1. Take a few minutes to list the things you like about each of your employees. Go find a few new things for which you can have affinity. You will be more effective with these employees if you admire them.
2. Write down how you can have more reality with your group. What more can you agree on?
3. Communicate these points of reality to your group members as often as needed to obtain agreement. Take care to observe that they receive and understand your communication.
4. Make a list of things you want to tell your group members. Write down when and how you will tell them what you have to say. Plan to be persistent and gentle.
5. Find ways to increase useful communication in and around your work. For example, replace personal chatter with discussions about how to get more work done in less time.
Constantly increasing and protecting your ARC with your team not only makes your group more productive and powerful, it makes your job much more enjoyable!
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