Every company has an unexploited gold mine: its own employees. How many companies truly understand the vast knowledge and power their people possess? For companies both public and private, revenue and profit far exceed all other considerations. But employees make the decisions and do the work that will make or break an organization. Successful companies would do well to treat employees as if they mattered (because they do).
Too many organizations, even in our so-called enlightened age, treat employees as a necessary evil, a renewable resource, a blight on the income statement. First, they are PEOPLE, not "human resources" or "human capital" or any other host of derogatory buzzwords that encourage dispassionate use and disposal. Sometimes I wonder if self-serving executives see anything but little green dollar signs when they look at their employees. Only when these executives realize that employees are people with hopes, dreams, feelings, ideas and enormous potential will they begin to understand the full valuation of their companies.
Most employees, when committed to a cause, will give blood, sweat and tears to make a company successful. People want to make a difference! But instead of working to gain employee loyalty, companies are quick to introduce layoffs, cut vacation hours, reduce benefits and punish employees for arriving three minutes late to work. This sort of quibbling won't endear employees to a company and, consciously or unconsciously, employees will limit their contributions.
As an MBA graduate and experienced manager, I have built several effective teams. I have seen people produce beyond my expectations and have seen what individuals can do when they know the company, and their manager in particular, has "got their back". When I don't have the answers, or even when I think I do, I'm always amazed when I talk to the people doing the work and ask for their input. Their collective wisdom is much greater than my own. When I make decisions in a vacuum, I am doing a disservice to my company. When I turn to my team--the unexploited gold mine--the decisions we make are better not only because of collective wisdom but because involvement fosters commitment. Human beings naturally love what they helped create, and they won't let it fail.
If you are an executive or manager who thinks he has all the answers, now is the time to start panning for gold.
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2 comments:
Thanks for putting into words what I had a hard time expressing. I wish everyone understood this principle! There are many individuals who are good to people in "normal life" but completely change in a work setting because it's "business." I wish they would see that people are still people, and that principles of decency, kindness, trust, and appreciation still apply. And when those principles are put into action, it actually increases business effectiveness, rather than taking away from it!
Thank you for this post. =)
My pleasure. I have decided that it is not enough to be a good manager and treat people well. I need to help others do the same. Thus, the blog.
Thanks to everyone I've worked with, past and present, for the experiences and ideas that will form the core of my new work.
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