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When Passion, Not Policy Drive Success & Employee Buy-In
First published in NAWBO Sacramento Valley (Spring Quarter) Newsletter
By Rosemary Roberts
In his most recent book, The 8 th Habit; From Effectiveness to Greatness , best-selling author Stephen Covey examines a growing disconnect between employees (including high level managers) and employers, categorizing an all-to-common management style as paralyzing; one carried over from the Industrial Age resulting in employees and managers being treated less as assets, but rather, more like machines, programmed through impersonal policy and micro-management. Much like equipment on an assembly line, encouragement of personal initiative is limited, replaced by policy as the single most over-used oil intended to maintain the working parts of an organization instead of human spirit and creativity. The result is a lack of loyalty, declining trust and a complacency that adds little to the goals or profits of an organization.
While we speak at great length regarding our employees as “assets”, studies reveal otherwise in day-to-day interaction, citing a loss of voice, passion and effectively, the “buy in” at every level to the success of large and small organizations alike. Financial needs (income), health benefits for themselves and family members, and a deflated sense of self-worth are some of the common reasons for an employee to tolerate their environment rather than alter it – or themselves -- through personal change, or change of employment.
Over time, a vicious cycle is embedded within the organizational DNA confirming roles: layers of managers manage (control and limit within the guidelines they've been given) the duties of their staff, limiting input and creative initiative as well, while judging an employee's performance based primarily upon their ability to follow directions. Those being “managed” continue to foster the belief that only a person of management (higher than themselves) can bring creative, profit-driven thoughts to the table and participate in the celebration of success at any level. Employees soon fail to act when a need is perceived, choosing instead, to wait for direction.
Employee buy-in to a company's goals is then, at best, limited by a lack of personal investment and/or a declining feeling of empowerment and accomplishment. Duties and roles are often carried out via a sense of willing compliance, and in some cases, malicious obedience, setting the stage for a reluctance to take initiative, lack of self-direction, and a litigious culture within the organization. Absenteeism and cynicism follow, for which all the policies in the world won't change the direction of the train. When an employee's hidden talents or creativity goes unnoticed and untapped, individual value that could translate into untold profits for the employer declines.
A young woman I'll call Jane, once a dutiful and whole-heartedly committed “warrior amongst chiefs”, always put the needs of her department first until recently when she told her immediate manager that unless she was desperate for the money, she would not be willing to come in on her days off (as she always had) when there was a sick call; that she would not take on any added shifts, no matter the consequences to the department. The manager's response was short, limited and defeating to the organization's goals, stating only, “I cannot force you to come in.”
There were no red flags recognized suggesting that if such a star employee would no longer advocate for them internally, perhaps there was a serious problem within the unit. Furthermore, the manager's reply, lacking any concern for the change in her attitude, further suggested to Jane that her value was not such that anyone would care enough to regain her loyalty or lost commitment, let alone explore the reasons for her disconnect. This is not to say that it is the manager's fault alone, for most are acting (or reacting) within the same climate, devoid of factoring human behavior into their wealth-building or business philosophy, and limiting too of any personal initiative that falls outside of specific performance expectations…to get the job done at all costs.
While there are some employees that seem to remain unmotivated under any circumstances due to life experiences that go beyond their job or inherent personality issues, they are outnumbered greatly by the once enthusiastic Jane's of the world whose performance becomes one of mediocrity based upon their perceived value to the organization and a prevailing inability to sense change on the horizon.
According to Covey, the age of the Knowledge Worker has arrived, driven by a technology-based world that demands a heightened dedication to employees as assets, not an expense. Businesses must learn new tools that allow them to tap into and foster the whole of an employee from management down. Four rules of leadership encompass Covey's plan for every level of management success:
By treating employees kindly, paying them fairly, using them creatively and allowing them to serve human needs in a principled way (quality of product or service and an organizational mission statement based on honesty) a company's ability to compete and grow in new and profitable ways will result, all the while, building a loyal and devoted roster of committed people that do far more than simply show up.