You know I have a passion for changing the way we lead our people in organisations. Each and every one of you is a leader and can take ownership of the challenge I make here today. You are the future. Do not leave it to those above you; lead the way.
I’m going to quote Gary Hamel here, author of What Matters Now. He is shaking things up in leadership development. I relate to what he says, so I am passing on his wisdom…
“How would you feel about a physician who killed more patients than she helped? What about a police detective who committed more murders than he solved? Or a teacher whose students got dumber rather than smarter as the school year progressed? And what if you discovered that these perverse outcomes were more the rule than the exception,. that they were characteristic of most doctors, most policemen, and most teachers? You’d be more than perplexed. You’d be outraged. You’d demand that something be done!
Given this, why are we complacent when confronted with data that suggests most managers are more likely to douse the flames of employee enthusiasm than to fan them? Why aren’t we a little bit angry that our management systems are more likely to frustrate extraordinary accomplishment than to foster it?…
There are many managers who have yet to grasp the essential connection between engagement and financial success. Companies that score highly on engagement have better earings growth and fatter margins than those that don’t….
In a world where customers wake up every morning asking, “What’s new, what’s different, and what’s amazing?” success depends on a company’s ability to unleash the initiative, imagination and passion of employees at all levels, and this can only happen if all those folks are connected heart and soul to their work, their company and its mission….
Trouble is, obedience, diligence and competence are becoming global commodities. If these are the only things you are getting from your employees, your company will ultimately lose….
So you have to move up the capability pyramid [to] initiative, creativity and passion. These higher order capabilities are gifts. Individuals choose each day whether or not to bring these gifts to work….
Managers have seen their primary task as ensuring that employees serve the organization’s goals – obediently, diligently, and expertly. Now we need to turn the assumption of “organizations first, human beings second” on its head. Instead of asking, how do we get employees to better serve the organization, we need to ask, how do we build organizations that deserve the extraordinary gifts that employees could bring to work? To put it bluntly, the most important task for any manager today is to create a work environment that inspires exceptional contribution and that merits an outpouring of passion, imagination and initiative.
It is managers who empower individuals and create the space for them to excel, or not. It is managers who help to articulate a compelling and socially relevant vision and then make it a rallying cry, or not. It is managers who demonstrate praise-worthy values, or not”.
This sums up my own beliefs that the organization can only succeed if it meets the needs of those who support it. Building human-centered organizations is about servant leadership.
What are you doing today, and tomorrow, and the next day to create a work environment that inspires exceptional contribution and that merits an outpouring of passion, imagination and initiative?
