I’ve been reading a book that has been around for some time but I hadn’t got round to reading. ‘Maverick’ by Ricardo Semler describes Semler’s journey from taking over his father’s business in 1980 to turning it into the successful business it is today. The journey has not been an easy one but his determination to run his business in a way that has been way ahead of its time is a refreshing read.
In the world of leadership development, the ideas on how he leads and manages his business are not new. What is unusual and refreshing is the commitment to and tangible evidence of success in a manufacturing business based in South America.
Semler has done much to involve his employees in how the business is structured and run. And the fundamental belief behind this being a successful strategy revolves around how we treat people when they walk through the gates or doors of a business. As Semler says, ‘Workers are adults, but once they walk through the plant gate companies transform them into children, forcing them to wear identification badges, stand in line for lunch, ask the foreman for permission to go to the bathroom, bring in a doctor’s note when they have been ill, and blindly follow instructions without asking any questions.’ At Semco, Semler says, ‘we simply do not believe our employees have an interest in coming in late, leaving early and doing as little as possible for as much money as their union can wheedle out of us. After all, these same people raise children, join the PTA, elect mayors, governors, senators and presidents. They are adults’ (’Maverick’, Ricardo Semler, Random House Business Books, 2001)
This got me to thinking about some of the things I hear as I travel around the country about how people are spoken to by their managers and/or the beliefs they hold about employees in their organisation. McGregor’s Theory X Theory Y has been around for a long time, yet it seems as though there is still a substantial number of managers who believe that people need to be kept under control and cannot be trusted to behave if not tightly managed and given a proverbial boot up the backside every now and then. And when it comes to understanding processes and procedures in an organisation, no matter how unwieldy or ineffective they may be, responses are all too often ‘we’ve always done it this way’. These beliefs and behaviours demonstrate an inherent lack of respect for and trust in the individual. It’s simple - treat people like children and they will behave like children. If you’ve used any or all of these kinds of statements and questions - or if you’ve been on the receiving end, you may have experienced frustration, anger, disrespect, sulkiness, lack of motivation, tension, stress - to name but a few. I suspect that long-term positive results have been hard to find - and a lot of energy and time will have been spent in chasing people up and checking they’ve done what you told them to do. Time that could have been spent more profitably.
The buzzword of the noughties has been ‘engagement’. There is a recognition that employees require a bit more than an inflation-linked pay-rise each year and a pat on the back (or a slapped wrist when they don’t do so well) to keep them motivated and committed and many organisations are looking at engagement programmes or are slipping the word ‘engagement’ and derivations thereof, into corporate communications. However, an engaged workforce this does not make. Engagement needs to be at the heart of every conversation and every relationship - whether with customers, stakeholders or managers and their teams. There needs to be genuine commitment throughout the organisation to communicate with people in a way that recognises and values their contribution - and that points people respectfully in the right direction when they make mistakes. Evidence from both Gallup and the Corporate Leadership Council shows frightening statistics for those who are genuinely engaged and committed to the success of the organisation (between 15 and 30%). That means alot of energy spent trying to gee up between 70 and 85% of your workforce.
Worryingly perhaps, as we approach the end of the decade and find ourselves in recession, we are trying to regain control over our lives. At home we cut down on our food bills, we switch lights off and turn down the heating to save on fuel bills. We bring in new, more stringent policies - switching electrical equipment off at the mains - only drinking wine at the weekend! In business, there is a tendency to play it safe, stick with what you know, stop spending money, minimise risks, manage people more closely. The rules and procedures become even tighter, the conversations tougher. The ‘grown-ups’ take over, not trusting the ‘children’ to behave responsibly or make sensible decisions, creating further disengagement.
Now may not be the time for your organisation to embrace the huge changes Ricardo Semler has instigated in his organisation (although if it is, fantastic - and we are up for the chance to help you!). However, taking small steps to think about the way you manage conversations with the people who deliver your business is a small first step towards genuine engagement - and a potentially enormous step to increasing employee commitment, improving individual performance and increasing business results. Gallup estimates around a 27% increase in profitability when employees are committed and engaged in the work they do.
