“Companies must remake themselves into places of engagement, where people are committed to one another and their enterprise.’ – Henry Mintzberg
How many times have you seen or been part of a team that is led by somebody who tries to create competitive differentiation by exhorting their team to perform at extraordinary levels? Perhaps you have even been that leader yourself, pushing your troops to add value and be innovative yet doing nothing to provide a working environment with the same level of value, differentiation and satisfaction in return. In the mindset of ‘old think’ organisations this is a common occurrence, however in the new world of work this type of behaviour is becoming less and less tolerated.
The new world of work is not so much about putting your customers first, but rather your employees – they are, after all, the individuals who make your organisation tick and your product work. Why then, do leaders of these organisations still feel as though they need to extract as much as possible from their work force without giving them anything but financial compensation in return?
Bill Taylor, author of ‘Practically Radical: Not-So-Crazy Ways to Transform Your Company, Shake Up Your Industry, and Challenge Yourself’, believes that
‘You can’t be special, distinctive and compelling in the marketplace, unless you create something special, distinctive and compelling in the workplace.’
Organisations can no longer hope to survive by viewing their employees as expendable pieces of inventory or by working them until broken and then simply replacing. Rather, organisations need to focus more on what needs to be put into a team so as to enhance what will be received out of them.
In a global economic and social climate which is continuing to be unpredictable, groundbreaking and revolutionary, I believe that this style of thinking is yet another piece in the puzzle of creating an environment which focused on positive, win-win outcomes for all parties involved as opposed to one which services the greed of individuals and organisations only looking to extract.
What team are you a part of and how do you feel about the mindset presented above? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
2 Responses to “Are you Practically Radical?”
I totally agree in the value of putting employees first. When your workforce and the people in it feel valued and engaged put them infront of your customers and their positivity and passion will shine through. Like you mention, this should be a win-win situation. Companies expect the same for themselves when doing business so why shouldn’t it be the same for their employees too.
Hi Lauren,
Thanks for your thoughts – it does seem so obvious to do, but sadly few leaders are brave enough to do it. And it really works. Usually you can get a small start up, or small organization to try it, and when it works , they grow and then stop doing it !! They think the risks now become too high. I think in future the risks are too high not to do it, particularly if talented people are key to an organizations future sustainability.
Pete