The Truth About Getting the Best From People

by Martha I. Finney

  Give them all the latitude they want, without special treatment—If your company offers some sort of flextime, give your mavericks all the elasticity they'll run with. Just make sure they know you expect to actually see some productivity. If they do their best work at 1 a.m., there's comfort in knowing that at least you're getting good training for running a global team.

  Hear them out—Much of that in-your-face energy that they bring to meetings (or conversely, the what's-the-point-of-even-trying energy) comes from a past of being discounted by people who dismissed their originality. Be the first manager who actually listens, even to the point of asking them questions that draw out additional ideas about implementation, distribution, marketing, etc. Be the one they know they can trust with a half-baked, but brilliant, notion. And they'll see you as one of their team members who might not be such a doofus after all.

  Ask them if they have any friends—Believe it or not, they just might. And you can bet these people are just as smart and visionary as your staff mavericks. If you mix more brilliance in your group, you could end up with a well-balanced team of collaboration, breakthrough ideas, and the round-the-clock energy to make those ideas reality.

  Be the one they know they can trust with a half-baked, but brilliant, notion.

  Who knows? Maybe those mavericks will make you their mascot.

  Truth 16

  You can sell an unpopular decision

  The trouble with making a really difficult choice is that someone is always going to hate it. And some of the decisions you make—especially the difficult ones—are going to negatively impact at least one employee. In fact, the more difficult the decision was for you, the worse it's going to be for the employees who had a stake in the losing proposition. The "losers" may feel that their ideas were discredited or, worse, dismissed. And maybe the "losers" might also feel that their job is at risk, if not, indeed, already obliterated. If the decision you had to make results in a significant layoff, no one's going to be happy with you—except for perhaps senior management.

  No mentally healthy adult expects to be happy with every twist and happenstance that comes along in life and work. But a hard knock is still a hard knock. And no amount of mental health is going to change that. Researchers are discovering, though, that one detail will make even the bitterest horse pill of bad news go down more smoothly: that's the employees' confidence that they were treated fairly in the decision-making process.

  If the advice to be fair in your decision making seems laughably obvious, that's good. But that's not the point. First of all, sometimes you can't be fair in the decision you finally come to. But the way you arrive at a decision can always be fair. And then (here's the not-so-obvious point) the extraordinary efforts you take to make sure all employees know that the decision-making process itself was fair will take you a long way to selling your decision and achieving employee buy-in (even from those on the "losing" end).

  Studies have also shown that employees' confidence in process fairness actually reduces the likelihood of retaliation and resistance. One study that tracked 1,000 terminated employees shows that only 1 percent of the employees who felt that they were at least treated fairly filed wrongful termination suits. But 17 percent of those who felt they were treated unfairly filed lawsuits. Researchers have also linked faith in fairness to lower incidents of employee theft and voluntary resignations.

  The way you arrive at a decision can always be fair.

  But fairness is in the eye of the employee. You may have your own ideas about what fair means, but when it comes to selling a difficult decision, the only definition that counts is the one your employees' hold. Generally, this means the following:

  They feel that they had the chance to have some level of input into the decision-making process. If the final decision affects them, it would only seem, well, fair, to give them a chance to voice their opinion and perhaps provide a determining idea or insight.

  They have confidence that the decision was made in a way that's consistent with the practices and culture of the organization. The decision must have been made based on accurate information. There was little or no favoritism. And managers can transparently trace the various key decision points for employees to follow and understand.

  The news is announced respectfully by an appropriately senior manager. Rule of thumb: The worse the news affecting the larger number of people, the more senior the executive must be. You must explain the process as fully as you can and then answer the employees' questions—and listen to the barrage of objections. And there will be many, to be sure. But employees who are unhappy with your decision aren't necessarily likely to quit over it, especially if they have the chance to express their opinions.

  Fairness is in the eye of the employee.

  Rumor has it that the employment contract is over. But that's not entirely true—it has just changed. Instead of the paternalistic promise of guaranteed salary for life, it is now more of an agreement struck between adults. Your employees are now truly stakeholders. And, as such, they expect explanations of the decisions you make for the business—especially the ones that negatively affect their livelihoods.

  If your decision can withstand the light of scrutiny, you can sell it to your employees. But you have to treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve as adults and show them the process in which you made that decision. After all, it's only fair.

  Truth 17

  Flex is best

  Workplace flexibility isn't a matter of more private time for employees as much as it is a matter of more control of all their time. And employers benefit as a result. Studies of workplace flexibility report higher engagement, more employee commitment, greater retention, and improved performance (even greater on-time performance in some manufacturing or distribution centers).

  Over recent years, companies have increasingly set policies allowing some kind of workplace flexibility. Flexibility can take any number of forms: staggered hours, telecommuting, split or shared shifts, and even distance working, where an employee works out of his home, his briefcase, a frequent flier's lounge, or a cubicle at Kinko's. But it's one thing for companies to offer flexible work plans; it's an entirely different matter for managers to actually allow it. Even though the pro-flexibility policy might have been hatched in the cool, crisp air of the C-suite, executives wisely leave its actual implementation to the managers who are best positioned to decide whether it's a realistic way to run their individual teams on a day-to-day basis.

  But many managers, focusing on the short-term issues of work in the trenches, are still seeing that the upfront hassle of setting up a program in their teams isn't worth the long-term benefits. Managers looking at flexible work arrangements can immediately imagine problems with perceived favoritism (even discrimination), lack of control over how employees use their time to maximize productivity, and communication issues. It's understandable that many managers resist the risk that flexible workplaces pose.

  Studies of workplace flexibility report higher engagement, more employee commitment, greater retention, and improved performance.

  Don't mistake your prerogative to say yes as a blanket permission to say no. It could be easier than you think to implement a flexible workplace.

  Double-check with HR in HQ—Make sure that there's commitment to flexibility at the very top. See what policies are already in place on the corporate level. There might be an incentive program that encourages managers to experiment with flexible arrangements. Or the organizational effectiveness office might send a team to help you with the planning and considerations you'll face.

  Don't mistake your prerogative to say yes as a blanket permission to say no.

  Recruit your employees as your collaborators—Work with them as a group to decide what kinds of flexible arrangements would work best for them. Give them a sense of ownership in the planning of the initial stages, and they'll take on some responsibility toward its success.

  Let them know what your concerns are—As thei
r coadventurer on this experiment, you have specific needs that your employees should help you with. You might have trust or control concerns. So let your team know that you'll need their help in reassuring you, especially during this early phase.

  Expect mistakes, disappointments, and process reviews—Just know in advance that there will be some missteps. Some employees won't be able to resist the temptation of taking advantage of the program. You might not be able to resist the urge to shorten the control leash on your employees, especially if you're subconsciously worried that you're losing control that you value.

  Get support from your colleagues—You don't have to pioneer this by yourself. Seek out the managers of other departments and business units that are implementing flexible work schedules. Find out what works for them and what mistakes you can avoid. If it doesn't already exist, create a community of managers sharing their best practices with each other and then extend that learning to other divisions in your company.

  Get some of that good stuff for yourself—It may dawn on you one morning while you're stuck in traffic that there's no reason why you can't enjoy a flexible work schedule, too. Your people know how to find you. The work is getting done. You've demonstrated to your boss that the flexible work schedule is actually enhancing retention. Why not? You've got a great case to bring to your boss, who will then have a great case to bring to leaders all the way up the organization.

  Truth 18

  Nobody cares if you don't mean to be mean

  Everyone has a story about at least one mean boss. Oddly, though, there isn't a commensurate number of people who have stories about being bully bosses themselves. You know the type. You see them on the evening news magazine shows: the folks who brandish guns at work; who discriminate against a race, gender, or religion in their promotion practices and then brag about it; bosses who hang their employees "in effigy" for the rest of the department to ridicule. The brutality of that kind of behavior is just so plain to see—unmistakable and inarguable.

  But the most common behaviors that beat down the human spirit aren't so easy to catch and stop the first time. What is truly unacceptable? The first time the boss pitches a screaming fit? Or the thirtieth time? The insults flung in private behind closed doors? Or the public humiliation in the store full of customers? In the comfort and safety of emotional distance, it might be natural to think, "Well, that's easy. No screaming fit is acceptable. I would never tolerate a barrage of personal insults, regardless of where it happened. I'd quit the first time it happened." But when there's rent to be paid and a family to feed, the first screaming fit is tolerated, as is the thirtieth, as is the one hundred thirtieth. And the insults in front of the customers? Oh! That was awful, but it's over now. And the boss hasn't mentioned it since. There wasn't even an apology, so maybe there wasn't anything to apologize for. You were just being sensitive.

  But you're the boss now. Do you think you might have become a mean boss somewhere along the line without realizing it? If you've been exposed to abusive treatment in your life, whether it was from an overly harsh parent or from an early supervisor who vented frustrations out on the youngest member of the company (you), you might have become desensitized to cruel behavior.

  Do you think you have become a mean boss without realizing it?

  You're really a nice person at heart. And it astounds you to think that people have become frightened of you. How could you have lost your sense of the difference between being a boss who gets things done by leading his people and a boss who gets things done by beating his people? Maybe it's not about what you think about yourself, but what you actually do. The Workplace Bullying Institute put together a list of 25 most common behaviors in its 2003 Report on Abusive Workplaces. Here are just a few examples, in no particular order of importance or prevalence:

  Falsely accused someone of errors not actually made

  Stared, glared, was nonverbally intimidating and showing hostility

  Discounted a person's thoughts or feelings in meetings

  Exhibited presumably uncontrollable mood swings in front of the group

  Stole credit for work done by others

  Used confidential information about a person to humiliate privately or publicly

  Assigned undesirable work as punishment

  Made undoable demand—workload, deadlines, duties—for a target employee

  Encouraged the person to quit or transfer rather than to face more mistreatment

  Yelled, screamed, threw tantrums in front of others to humiliate a person

  Made up rules on the fly

  After looking at this list, can you honestly say that you always lead your employees by elevating their self-esteem and what great things they're capable of? Or do you drive them by leveraging their fear and shame?

  Can you honestly say that you always lead your employees by elevating their self-esteem?

  You may be unpleasantly surprised to see more of yourself in this list than you'd like. And you may be shocked to see how far you've gone down the wrong road. Very few people begin their careers with the ambition of becoming a mean boss. But no one aspires to work for one. And no one deserves to, either.

  You may not mean to be mean. And you can intentionally make the necessary behavior changes that will transform you into an inspiring leader who cares for the team's well-being. And your people, in return, will support and encourage your efforts.

  Part IV: The Truth About Motivation

  Truth 19

  Engagement happens one person at a time

  Abe is a corporate security expert who has devoted his life to his profession. Born in India to a Muslim family, he moved to the United States as a young man, went to school, discovered corporate security, and started a thriving security consulting firm using his birth name, which was immediately identifiable as being Muslim. Then 9/11 happened, and his practice predictably plummeted. A Secret Service agent friend of his took him aside one day and gave him this advice: "You have a choice. Keep your profession. Or keep your name. At this point in time, you can't have both. Maybe later, but not right now." Abe chose to keep his profession.

  Because he had already converted to Christianity, he felt no religious allegiance to his name. So he adopted his American wife's Anglo-Saxon maiden name. But what about "Abe?" Why did he choose that name? His answer: "Abraham is the last prophet that Christians, Muslims, and Jews together revere. By calling myself Abe, I'm using my name as the symbol of my life's purpose, which is to unify people according to values we all share."

  To look at Abe passing you in the hallway, this is what you might see: a smiling, friendly guy, dressed in a suit or business casual, with his laminated employee ID hung from a lanyard and tucked into his breast pocket. He's just like any other guy you'd pass in the hallway. There's probably nothing especially deep on his mind, you might assume. He's just like your other good employees. They show up to work on time. They get the job done reasonably reliably. They come up with good ideas now and then. And they follow the rules. What more do you really need to know about your employees?

  Their jobs play an essential role in their saga of personal purpose.

  But, just like Abe, many of those other employees you'd pass in the hallway have amazing stories to tell about how their work helps them realize their own heroic missions in life. Everyone has a story—a saga, actually—of learning, working hard, pursuing his dreams, finding his life's purpose, making tremendous sacrifices, beating the odds, saving his family, saving his children, saving his marriage, saving himself. And, for many of these people, their jobs play an essential role in their saga of personal purpose. Capture some of that passion, and you can use it to fuel your company's mission-critical objectives.

  Give your employees the chance to express the fullness of their life's saga and talk about how their jobs intersect with their life's mission. You'll be amazed at the variety of their points of connectivity. You have employees just like Abe who have amazing stories to tell about how their jobs are helpi
ng them make dreams come true. Every single one of them has some compelling aspect to his sense of self that's driving him forward. Find out what that certain something is, discover how it links with your company's objectives, and you've got engagement that will outlast any paycheck, any promotion, or any awards ceremony.

  You actually have to talk to your employees one person at a time to find out what their story is. This is the "voice of the employee," but too often it gets aggregated into one huge clump of quantifiable opinions that emerge from surveys. Surveys may be important, but they don't breathe life into the flame of career passion. There are hundreds of books on "do what you love," but when was the last time you saw a book called, The Survey-Driven Life or Fill Out Those Surveys, and the Money Will Follow?

  If you want to truly engage your employees, engage them on the level of their passion.