Goffee and Jones' DREAMS

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Does your organization have an attractive vision and set of values?

When you last applied for a job, what was it that attracted you to the role? Was it simply the salary and perks, or did the company offer something more?

The paycheck is the deciding factor for some people. Others want to feel fulfilled by their roles, and to work for an organization that shares their values. So, how can you meet the needs of these more demanding candidates, so that you can attract the best people? And how can you keep them on board and engaged for the long term?

One way to do this is with DREAMS – a model for creating authentic organizations and for helping people to be their very best.

About the Model

In their 2015 book, "Why Should Anyone Work Here?,"   leadership experts Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones explore the issue of people feeling that they can't be "authentic" at work unless their organizations are authentic, too.

There are a number of definitions of authenticity   . Put simply, it means staying true to your own values and personality. Successful, good people have self-respect, and they won't stay at organizations that don't show the same integrity – they'll simply leave.

Goffee and Jones' solution is to harness the power of DREAMS. That may sound like a rather fluffy concept, but it describes a firm and sometimes radical framework to help organizations embrace six broad qualities:

• Difference.
• Radical honesty.
• Extra value.
• Authenticity.
• Meaning.
• Simple rules.

Reproduced with permission from Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones.

DREAMS is a useful model because it ties an age-old truth – that most of us want to do good work – to a new reality: we are demanding more from our employers. People want accountability   , transparency, responsiveness, and the opportunity to grow and develop   ....