Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance: A Values-Based Framework for Reinventing Leadership in Uncertain Times

by Yvette Bethel

An Out-of-the Box Perspective of Organizational Systems. Everything in an organization operates within an interconnected ecosystem. This connectivity supports communication, productivity and other types of flow that have a personality and tempo of their own. In dynamic workplaces, interconnectivity and flow are enhanced by the process of balancing multiple tensions which is an important pre-requisite organizational adaptability and sustainability in an unpredictable, complex environment. Interconnectivity, Flow and Balance is a road map to both self-transformation and cultural change. It introduces ideas that translate into practical models which can be applied to simple and complex workplace challenges. You can use these models • Enhance your climate by improving trust and engagement levels • Achieve healthy flow when communicating, producing output or even planning succession • Explore the potential for structural changes within your organization which can help to sustain balance • Maintain a state of balance that supports organizational sustainability Yvette Bethel is the author of E.Q. Unleash the Power of Your Emotional Intelligence and the USA Best Book award winning activity book, Getting to E.Q. Librium. She is an HR and cultural change consultant with wide-ranging experience with government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and non-profit organizations.

Genres: Nonfiction

442 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2018

About the author

As a consultant, author, blogger, advanced emotional intelligence practitioner, executive coach, speaker and trainer, Yvette Bethel understands the people side of organizations and how to effectively bring together the corporate vision of business with the know-how of staff offering deep insights into dynamics.

Yvette is a Fulbright Scholar who put her acquired skills to good use with over 20 years experience in a Fortune 500 company prior to launching her consulting firm, Organizational Soul, which has been in existence for 11 years.

Yvette is the developer of the proprietary system: Interconnectivity, Flow, and BalanceSM. All organizational ecosystems operate using these natural principles. Everything in business is interconnected: employees, strategies, communities and more. These relationships should be built on trust. When leaders connect with their strengths and are trusted, a natural balance can emerge that supports optimal performance. According to IFBSM methodology, balance is a process – not an event. It is both an individual and organizational experiengoodreadsce. Yvette also supports organizations with developing people strategies, performance platforms, organizational design, cultural change, and leader development strategies.

Yvette is a Preferred Partner with the non-profit organization, 6 Seconds, the largest global emotional intelligence network, creating her own products and collaborating with them to achieve their goal of touching 1 billion people with emotional (which includes spiritual intelligence) by the year 2039. She was a nominee for the Bahamas Icon Award, and has been a member of multiple scholarship committees and other organizations.

Yvette is the author of the CD audiobook, “Your Workplace Survival Kit” and books: “E.Q. Librium; and “Getting to E.Q. Librium” which received a USA Best Book Award in the category of self-help. Yvette is currently authoring the book, “Interconnectivity, Flow & Balance” and is the creator of the emotional intelligence simulation, “The Games People Play at Work”. As a conference presenter, Yvette connects with audiences at multiple professional conferences which include the 2013 Nexus EQ Conference at Harvard Medical School.

Reviews

[Don Gerstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

There have been many books I have read on reinventing myself or the business where I was employed. There were times when reading this book that I felt as if I was rereading advice I had learned years ago, although in fairness, it’s only inevitable that a book written today will cross over the same ground covered by numerous books over the years. Where this book stands out is through Ms. Bethel’s organized framework describing Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance, followed by a large section that addresses implementation of this system.

I’ll be honest with you, this was not easy reading in the beginning. I wanted to make sure I understood the initial premises outlined in the early chapters. Even when she crisscrossed over some of my previously-learned knowledge I took my time, confident that in the end, everything would work out.

And in the end, it did all work out. Grasping the concepts in the manner that the author wished for me to view them was crucial once I reached Part II (even more so by Part III). In other words, understanding the basic structure made it easier to grasp the practical elements once Ms. Bethel moved from the conceptual to the get-your-hands-dirty stage. Even though some of the points are everyday common sense, what is important is how everything fits into the system outlined in this book. Basically, don’t get lost in the trees and not know you’re in a forest. Everything in this book fits under one umbrella.

The book focuses on being an organization that is able to weather change. This is only possible if leaders do their homework upfront, and Ms. Bethel walks us through each step of what needs to be examined (sometimes charted) in order to understand all the dynamics of how your company works and how a small change can have massive impact (sometimes positive, sometimes negative). She will teach you about connectivity between departments, leaders, employees, outside influences, etc., and how each of those relationships affect the company in a minor or major way. She’ll talk about different kinds of flows, from work to informational to personal.

Many other authors list out their business plans, rigid instructions that must be followed in order to get results. One of the most striking items is that the author continuously would draw a flow chart or a grid and place items inside those pictures, then tell us that, depending on different factors, each could be interpreted as both good or bad. For example, you might have good work flow even though the employees crucial to that effort were operating in a disharmonious fashion.

The best part of this book? It features both conceptual ideas followed by practical applications. Part III is a step-by-step roadmap of how to get from where you are to where you would like to be. Most books present a great idea and then stop, allowing you to implement it on your own (and hoping to get it right). Ms. Bethel outlines everything you need to do, right down to the hard questions you must ask yourself and others within the company. I am not saying it will be easy changing a company’s values and culture. I do believe that with “Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance” you will have the guidance to get you there. Five stars.

My thanks to the author and to Author Marketing Experts for a complimentary copy of this book.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Everything in business is connected: people, policies, and strategies.'

Author Yvette Bethel is a consultant, author, speaker, trainer, executive coach, and advanced emotional intelligence practitioner. She is a Fulbright Scholar who put her acquired skills to good use with more than twenty years’ experience in a Fortune 500 company prior to founding her consulting firm, Organizational Soul, in 2006. Her goal in writing this book - to help leaders who desire a cutting-edge roadmap that can help them navigate cultural transformation and organizational strengthening. This system is based on a foundation of integrity and trust and is the impetus for the movement to transform conventional practices into redefining ones.

In a well-written Introduction Yvette states, ‘One of the overarching goals of this book is to stretch your thinking and invite you to perceive your organization through new eyes. New perspectives bring fresh insights you can use to resolve mundane, as well as dramatic, unconventional challenges. This book introduces a framework that functions like the operating system of a computer. The operating system is the most important software on your computer. It connects and communicates with hardware and other software, and while it operates quietly in the background, it makes your experience seamless. Once you know the ground rules, the operations they facilitate become routine. When your operating system malfunctions, you may experience interruptions, delays, or worse—a crash. Similarly, the Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance Model (IFB) is an operating system that functions in the background of your organization. Like computer operating systems, IFB is ever present, not always perceived, and prolific. It arranges your organization’s internal ecosystem around inherent rules of behavioral and other systems that guide daily activities, meaningful change, and innovation. When IFB malfunctions, the organization can still operate but there can be disruptions, unintended results, or delays. The IFB Model is an evolving, multipurpose tool that can stimulate the growth of your organization and give it the flexibility it needs to succeed in increasingly uncertain times. It is a model that takes the whole organization into consideration, balancing the development of leaders and teams with strategic needs. The model better equips leaders to enhance collaboration, improve internal communication, strengthen performance, and inspire innovation. Another invaluable use of the IFB Model is to improve engagement…. Engagement is linked to trust, and together they create a powerful driver of performance. The IFB Model is values based, centered on trust.’

One of the many strong points of this supportive book is the manner in which Yvette presents her opinions and studies. The gradual manner in which she unfolds the IFB model gives the reader the sense of discussing relationships rather than businesses, and that is a major aspect of what she is encouraging – evaluating relationships, trust, integrity, self-mastery and emotional intelligence
leads to the same sort of flow and balance that occurs in one on one binding relationships.

As she states following her user friendly and accessible information sharing, ‘My vision of IFB extends beyond organizations. My dream is for the model to be used to socially reengineer towns, cities, countries, in addition to organizations of all kinds. As a discipline, social engineering involves influencing attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale. Over time, I’d like the IFB Model to be used to help governments eradicate corruption and build cultures based on integrity, transparency, and collaboration. In time, I also envision the IFB Model being used to help address complex social issues such as poverty; it can also be useful for redesigning failing industries and making positive changes in how political systems work. Once the versatility of the model is understood, there are no limits to its applications. In the words of Walt Disney, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we’re curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” I invite you to create new paths using IFB!'

This is a very valuable book on many levels and is highly recommended for all readers.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this as a Goodreads Giveaway.

I'll start by saying that I don't think I understood what this book was about when I entered into the drawing. Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance: A Values-Based Framework for Reinventing Leadership in Uncertain Times was about reorganizing your business if you are a CEO or an executive. I had anticipated more of a leadership book. My fault for not reading and understanding the synopsis.

With that said, I agree with the general premise of the book: that leaders have to account for all aspects of the organization when making changes, and do their best to anticipate second- and third-order effects from decisions. However, after reading through this, I found I'm not really any closer to figuring out a practical application of the IFB tools within the book. I also found that there really wasn't any new ideas or concepts in the book, but rather a compilation of various ideas to make an overarching construct. And that's a perfectly good way to tackle this topic.

Where the book left me wanting was in its lack of real-world analysis and research. The book includes various "case studies" that should really be re-titled as "generic examples." They are on par with: Bob and Janice (from accounting) work together. Bob is the supervisor and rated Janice poorly. Janice feels her trust is violated, and is now creating a toxic work environment.

To me, that's not really a case study. A case study, to me, would be looking at something that really happened, using names of companies and employees and identifying how, had IFB principles been used, the outcome could have been different and detailing that difference. The fact that this is not the case in the book was very disappointing, especially as I flipped back to the author's biography and saw she had over 20 years of experience working in the corporate world and now consults for that world.

As a public sector employee, I don't think this book will be particularly helpful in changing an organization, as it provided no possible courses of action for changing organizational policies. The book just assumes that you can change anything, which may be the case in the private sector, but overlooks the laws and statutes that govern the public sector. So, if you're in the private sector, and specifically in a tumultuous, burgeoning field, this book might provide some value as a senior leader or executive. If you're a public sector employee, or if you're flipping burgers at McDonald's, probably not so much.

And as a final note on the book, it could benefit from some serious editing. The repetition of ideas, the myriad grammatical errors and omitted words, and errors in syntax all distracted me from the content.

Overall, I guess I would recommended it to business people in leadership roles.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance by Yvette Bethel defines an innovative new approach to managing work environments, starting with the leader’s understanding of the self and the expanding into their dealings with others. The central idea of this is, as the title suggests, that people and relationships in the workplace are interconnected. The book therefore sets out to establish a way of using this interconnectivity to practice good values and help create a positive balance.

I think the idea of the ‘Pillar of Trust’ that’s found in this book is really productive. Instead of just dealing with external relations that leaders have in the workplace like so many other, similar, texts, Bethel instead suggests that good practices must always begin with how the leader understands and presents themselves. By doing this, Bethel explains how everything else (the interconnectivity, flow and balance framework) will follow more positively and productively than it would otherwise be able.

I also really appreciated that Bethel’s aims and intentions are made clear, and are not about creating a perfect workplace. Instead, Interconnectivity, Flow and Balance is intended as a guide to handle the inevitable flaws and difficulties of any working environment in the most positive way possible.

The only (and I mean only) issue that I take with this book is its length - I felt that some sections (particularly the first) could potentially be reduced without missing out on any content, but the second and third sections really picked up and made it all entirely worthwhile.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance: A Values-Based Framework for Reinventing Leadership in Uncertain Times by Yvette Bethel is an informative book for business owners and managers on workplace behavior and culture divided into three distinct parts.

In part one, we are introduced to the idea of interconnectivity, flow and balance in business. At 406 pages, this is a pretty in depth look into the subject and I felt like this part could have been simplified and significantly shortened while still getting the idea laid out.

Part two is titled, Pillar of Trust. This pillar, consisting of integrity, self-mastery, and a "we" mentality, is what her model of leadership is based on.

Part three, IFB by Design, lays out the path on how to create and maintain a positive workplace environment encompassing interconnectivity, flow, and balance. Though a lot of this boils down to common sense, the author is correct that good values in business are less and less common. I'm not sure I agree with her claim that this system can be implemented across the board, from baseline social interactions to entire governments to cure all that ails us.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interconnectivity, Flow, and Balance is a well-thought out guide to implementing a framework meant to provide balance, ease, and efficiency, particularly within your career or workspace, but this framework can also apply to other areas of your life as well. I wish I could say that it was a unique and innovative read, but this is not the first career or office-related "self-help" book that focuses on using a "software-like" system to implement positive change. Having said that, the author is very thorough and understands and explains that such things as positive relationship dynamics, personal integrity, and mutual trust are so important to achieve that desired "flow" and "interconnectivity". As with other self-help books I've read, I do leave this one with some renewed inspiration and fresh ideas for how to make room for improvement and how to do so in an easy or comfortable way. Overall a helpful read with some positive inspiration regarding organizational change not only in the office, but in various aspects of life.

[Kelly McDonough · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone in business looking for change to their strategy and reinventing leadership, this book is a welcome and much needed accessory. Bethel provides the core values that encompass skills needed to sustain interconnectivity, flow and balance -- everything this book is about. It offers guidelines, designing, planning and implementing and sustaining the IFB concept on which this book is based. There are diagrams, tables and case studies and a glossary to help readers who want to learn from real-world examples of the principles this book is based upon. Cudos to Yvette Bethel for being an out-of-the-box thinker. Many people can use her concepts to build and transform institutions into change-based organizations.

[Katherine Hebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important Material

I love learning about new concepts and how I can apply them in my life. I’m not a business owner now but I hope to be In the future. So what I can’t apply just to my every day life, I file away for my future business. Interconnectivity, Flow and Balance presents important material. It gives you ideas of how to position your business to endure the ups and downs. My issue with this information was how it was presented. I felt like I was reading a business school textbook. I wish the author could have presented the material differently which would have kept me more engaged in the book. I found that part 3 was the most interesting and helpful.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this was an information-rich book! A lot of the content within this book went over my head a little bit, but it was still an incredibly fascinating read. If you really take the time to understand part one, it will help you with the rest of the book a lot. The author is really detailed in her step by step actions you can take and I appreciated that a lot. The case studies were also incredibly interesting and helpful as well. Excellent for anyone who runs a business!

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book from good reads first reads. It is a brick with all the feeling of a higher education textbook with what may or may not be useful in a real world application information. (A bit like trying to eat a pomegranate without proper utensils and arthritis hands.) The length was a big detractor as was the buzzwordy corporate jargon. A few of the examples were really yikes. The bones were fairly good.