Pink shirts for teambuilding
Some time ago, at one of the engineering companies I worked for, the people from the process area started wearing pink shirts on Thursdays. I don’t remember how the custom began, or if it was an even older custom, but we followed it because we all felt it strengthened our relationship as a team. Then, people from the instrumentation and control area also began with the custom. This became popular in the company and even several other areas of the company joined the movement. As the years went by, people who went to other companies continued this custom in their new workplaces. I have tried in every company I have been, to introduce this custom that seems picturesque to me.
Also during my time at an oil and gas operator, an environment with predominantly male employees, that would rarely wear this color in this country, this custom was adopted. Not only because I carried it, but also because several people from the previous company now worked there. Some people even had to go out to purchase a pink shirt because they didn’t have any pink clothes.
This custom also generated a good work environment, not only on Thursdays but every day. We did something beyond teamwork in our daily tasks that united us.
Every group needs a leader
In one of the last companies I worked, where I no longer had the company of people from the previous company, after a while, one of the members told me that people no longer came in pink on Thursdays because I did not wear pink every Thursday. It seemed that a simple custom of the fraternity was beginning to transform into an attitude of leadership. If the one who started with the idea came in pink, he could get followers. This reminds me of one of the most accepted definitions of leadership: Leader is one who has followers. Without going into the subject in-depth, from this short phrase we could derive any of the definitions or qualities of a leader, in any of the leadership styles, in any field that is applied.
Unconsciously and unintentionally, I had created a situation where leadership seemed to take precedence and a perfect ground for “uninjured” training. With this simple fact, I also understood the value of examples in leadership. Don’t request too much from your employees, be a role model yourself. This beautiful pink Thursday custom ended up teaching me valuable lessons on leadership and human relations.
Wearing pink as a symbol
At Yokogawa Argentina, we are currently promoting the use of pink on Thursdays as a small symbol in support of diversity (gender, nationality, age, thought, religion, etc.). Diversity teaches us and enriches us. We are all Yokogawa!
Do you want to join this movement?
Pink month
In a global effort to raise awareness on breast cancer, October has been designated as the Pink Month by the World Health Organization. The Pink Month is a month where efforts to educate those concerned about the disease, including early identification and signs and symptoms associated.
