Managing with Aloha: It’s a Wrap! Or is it?

Series 3 on Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawai‘i’s Universal Values to the Art of Business. Eleventh in Series Three on Managing with Aloha

By Rosa Say

As filmmakers are known to say when they know their reels are done, “It’s a wrap folks!” With this issue, Series 3 of Managing with Aloha for Ke Ola Magazine comes to an end.

We had named our third series Ho‘omau Kākou, for as we had learned in Series 1 and 2;

—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!

With the 19 Values of Aloha of Series 1 and 2 kept ever in mind, this was the values-centered journey we embarked on in the past 9 columns:

With Key 1, Aloha, we explored our SPIRIT—our source of well-being.

With Key 2, Ho‘ohana, we explored the WORK we devoted ourselves to.

With Key 3, Value Alignment, we explored our VALUES yet again as our constants—we practice value-mapping.

With Key 4, the Role of the Manager, we explored our ROLE—as chosen, not as assigned.

With Key 5, Language of Intention, we explored our VOICE—how we communicate.

With Key 6, the ‘Ohana in Business, we explored our assembly with others—how we COMMUNE and SHARE.

With Key 7, Strengths Management, we explored our individual assets—our human TOOLBOX.

With Key 8, Sense of Place we explored our PLACE(s) and sense of belonging in them.

With Key 9, Palena ‘ole, we explored the GROWTH possible for us, as represented by the unlimited capacity gifted us as human beings.

This summary of the 9 Key Concepts reads past tense grammatically, yet to be in business and to Ho‘ohana—to work with full intention—with Aloha in all the work you do, is to now Ho‘omau Kākou individually, putting your own signature on Managing with Aloha, weaving it into your Aloha Spirit as you best can do.

Will you make Managing with Aloha your keeper?

Gifting it to you has been my ever-present goal in the 17 years since Managing with Aloha was first published. I love being a coach, and I challenge myself to purposely coach myself out of each job or project I take on when sharing the Managing with Aloha philosophy with others. I know it isn’t about me, it’s about you, your passions, your initiative, and your belief and conviction in your own values.

Therefore, I will leave you with this: Always remember your values represent the good in your life. They drive your best intentions and behaviors, and your best visioning of the future.

Values equip you well, for they are practical, useful, and relevant. They define your WHY, and they give you your HOW-TO. In applying our values to the 9 Key Concepts, I had hoped to offer you concrete examples of how that happens, so you can compile a list of guiding keys which are your own, just as you have done by choosing your core values.

For again, the values you choose will always represent your truth and authenticity. Thus, they will always be woven into your Aloha Spirit, assuring you are never without it. To connect your Aloha Spirit to your work ethic is doubly powerful and effective.

Further, when managers employ values as the building blocks of a workplace culture, they make that culture relevant to their community, honoring sense of place in the best possible way. In doing so, they also foster a culture which is healthier for their staff, a culture which impacts every relationship in their network positively.

If you are a manager, or strive to be one, please choose that role with the Ho‘ohana of full intention. To be an intentional manager, is to embark on a voyage of self-discovery, one who taps into the innate wisdom of values deliberately chosen and intentionally lived. Say “I am a manager” proudly, and walk your talk.

Discovering who you are meant to be in this lifetime, is discovering the meaningful-for-you answer to nearly every other question you’ll wonder about, because you know how you fit in, and how you’re a functioning, contributing part not just of society, but of the whole we call our humanity. You have your sense of belonging.

That’s what being a manager did, and continues to do for me. I know that self-awareness can happen for you as well. I believe in you. You can be a great manager, one who manages with Aloha. The world needs you.

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Contact writer Rosa Say at RosaSay.com or ManagingWithAloha.com