As business struggles to build a productive work force in the 21st century, and at the same time engage four generations with differing approaches to work in the same work force, we must not loose sight of the basic foundations of building a great team.
In the current employment market, good employees can easily find work in other companies. It is management’s responsibility to create the right culture that will make employees want to stay.
Rules – Relationships = Rebellion
Employees are people; people are relational. Management by rules without relationships will not work with the younger workforce. If you don’t know a person well enough to know their passions and strengths, how can you put them in a job where they will be engaged? There are three things that a person must have to do a job well; knowledge, skill and passion. Knowledge and skill can typically be acquired by education, but passion is different.
“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.” Simon Sinek
If employees feel you don’t care about them, they won’t care about want you from them; they will not be engaged. Without a good relationship, employees won’t feel valued. When employees feel like their voice matters and they are a part of something they believe in, they naturally become engaged.
Think of the generational difference between employees listening to radios and I-Pods with ear buds. The baby-boomers question how anyone can work listening to “that music” while they have no problem listening to their favorite sports team while working. Is there really any difference or are we talking about preference?
We obviously need work place guidelines. We also need to explain why they were created and we must be willing to change them if there is a reasonable explanation for doing so. However you look at it, it comes down to trust. You can trust the right employee to do the right thing. If you can’t trust them, you have the wrong employee. With the right guidance, good employees can self-govern in areas like listening to music, etc. They will know when it does or does not interfere with their quality and quantity of work.
Know what, how and why
I started working in the 1960’s. Management style at that time was very autocratic. Business was run like a dictatorship. We were told to “just do what I say” and “you are paid to work, not think”. In that style employees were told what to do and shown how to do it, but knowing why was not important. In that management style, mistakes happened when the “grey” areas occurred, and there was a lack of knowledge to see the warning signs of failure.
Knowing why is a basic human need. Ask any parent of a toddler how many times a day their child asks “why”. Throughout the child’s education process, we teach them what to do and how to do it, but they will never totally understand what they are doing until we teach them why.
We must ensure our people know why they are doing what they do and how it will affect the process and ultimately the product; positively or negatively. No job is ever black or white. Knowledge of “why” will guide decision making in those grey areas.
Employee Self-Government
As Jim Collins said in Good to Great, we must get the “right people on the bus” and then get them “in the right seat”. The right people given the right guidance in “what, how and why” do not need a “babysitter”. Why would we ever create positions where people are paid to make sure others are doing their job? If that need exists after employees have been trained, you either have a failed training system or the wrong employees.
Great employees must be self-governing to reach their full potential. Great employees will always accomplish more than you believed they could. Give them the guidelines to work within, the freedom to think creatively and let them go. You will be amazed.
“When we get the environment right, Humans will do remarkable things.” Simon Sinek
Christian Life Coach 