Last week I skied with a bunch of CEOs and company owners and they were are all great guys.
And yet, as is often the case, when I am around a bunch of CEOs, the conversation drifts to "managing people".
Now, when we talk about almost any one employee at a time, people almost always maintain a level of respect toward our fellow employees. But, when we talk about employees as a whole, so many CEOs and executives are simply OFF and WRONG and, in my opinion, OFFENSIVE.
I am offended when I hear many people talk about their employees. Offended in the same way as I was when my father talked about black people. Offended in the same way that I am when someone is disrespectful and ignorant toward their fellow man.
"At the end of the day, we are the parents, they are the kids." I often hear people say.
"You have to watch everybody all the time or they will try to screw you." Or versions of that statement.
"People are trying to get away with the least amount of work possible." So many Theory X'ers out there.
"People just walk into the company, and they don't care about anything. They just want to get their paychecks and go home."
Just a few days ago, I heard someone say, "At the end of the day, they are all animals and you just have to train them." That one blew me away, and it was said by a kind, caring and intelligent CEO.
I don't know about you, but AT NO TIME in my entire career have I EVER been wanted to be treated as a child! That would be PATRONIZING & DISRESPECTFUL. I am fairly certain my fellow Execs share that feeling, and yet, when we think about "employees" some people go there.
WHO BELIEVES THEY ARE AN ANIMAL THAT NEEDS TO BE TRAINED??
Some version of, "business is great, but managing people is just a pain in the ass, a necessary evil, comes with the territory."
Again, I hear it so many different ways, and I truly offends me when I do. I need to be careful not to show it because then they may not hear my comments back, trying to open up their minds to think about their employees, and people in a different light.
There are two general kinds of comments:
Theory X leaders, that still believe that people don't want to work hard, or do anything of value, and given the chance everyone will screw you over.
And,
Those who don't question the intent of people so much, nor their motivation, but who question their competence. Some simply see the rest of the employees on a completely different level of evolution.
i have never liked arrogance. I have heard that it is ignorance with confidence.
Again, in many cases, these are extremely capable and caring people who just have this "generalization bias" or this belief or this blind spot when it comes to "employees". Many don't go there with individuals, they stay respectful, but shift into it when they are grouping the employees together. Many stay in that mindset, even when talking about individuals.
In the book One Thing at a Time, it says... "Be careful how you see the world. Because it is that way." Meaning that the way that you perceive the world becomes your reality.
I am so convinced that our role as CEOs or Executives is pretty simple:
- Develop, set, lead and deliver the company's strategy and its correlating financial plan.
- Inspire and engage the organization to do so, and reassess your strategy along the way.
People are AMAZING.
I am in awe of my colleagues at EMG.
I feel for how hard the job that they do is when they are doing assessments in the field over and over again.
I recognize the stress that travel must put on them and their families.
I KNOW that people want to add value and want to do meaningful work.
I KNOW that everyone in the company is smarter than I am with respect to some aspect of our company and life.
In so many examples that I have seen over time, the "employees" have a better idea of the company's core competencies, strategy, opportunities, and challenges than the executives do, because so often Executives are playing in hypothetical worlds of powerpoint and the employees are having to execute in the real world.
The ONLY reason why I may know more than the employees is because I get the opportunity to talk to more of them, so I get to see the reality of our work and challenges from more points of view.
NET - I have MORE data than some of them do across the company. But they still will know more about the thing they are doing.
When it's one person's data against the masses... you will almost always lose. But, when one person is aggregating data from the masses, they can seldom lose to any one else who is not.
But, at the heart of this is mindset and accountability.
So many CEOs just DON'T get it. And, as a result, they dislike so much of the work that they do, and they make their work more difficult, and they create unnecessarily tense or uninspired environments, and they limit their company's upside.
PEOPLE ARE AMAZING.
PEOPLE ARE SEEKING MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION.
PEOPLE WANT TO BE ENGAGED.
And, the secret is... EMPLOYEES are PEOPLE!!!
Heck... EXECUTIVES are PEOPLE.
And, oh by the way, PEOPLE are IMPERFECT!
It is OUR jobs as Executives to ENGAGE our companies.
If the employees of my company are not engaged, its MY FAULT.
I haven't made them feel respected.
I haven't shown them clearly enough how their work contributes to a meaningful outcome for them and the company.
If employees aren't motivated, its MY FAULT.
If employees aren't trained, its MY FAULT.
Not theirs...
Once, I have done all that I can and should do... if I have made a reasonable effort and then I have someone who is still detached, unengaged and underperforming.. or sometimes unfortunately just does not have a good match of strong skills with those demanded by the job, then its my job to respectfully separate those people from the company... but not until I have attempted to do MY JOB really well.
When I hear so many CEOs talk about their employees, and I would say its the majority of them....
I want to cry.
I want to jump up and down.
I want to scream.
I want to help.
I want to do so many things...
YOU AIN'T NO BETTER THAN ANY OF THEM, I want to tell them.
You can't expect them to think and behave as you do, because you haven't necessarily trained them as to why you think and behave as you do. They may have a different passion, a different ambition level, a different level of understanding of the company, a different area of competence, a different set of goals in life...
But, that doesn't mean they are not AMAZING human beings with a tremendous desire to be productive, and a deep expectation to be respected.
ENGAGING people is not easy.
INSPIRING people is not easy (SPECIALLY IF YOU YOURSELF ARE NOT INSPIRED).
But, that is our role,
as executives and as leaders..
I am fortunate to be in the role that I am in, and I am humbled by it every day. My role is not more important than other people in the company, simply different.
But our employees, my colleagues... they are the reason that I wake up every day. They are the greatest asset of our company. They are the people that deserve my best. They are an AMAZING, dedicated, competent and caring group of people. And yes, just like me, they are imperfect and have areas in which they can grow.
Why is that mindset, so hard for some executives to embrace?
Our colleagues are not "a necessary evil", they should be at the heart of our passion, and they are our greatest strength.
Our roles are not to "manage" people. Our role should be to UNLEASH the power of our teammates through great strategy delivered in a respectful and inspired environment.
Some execs get that. Most still do not. And, the truth is that you can't find true harmony with your company until you do... because you will otherwise be constantly "wishing" you didn't have to deal with people.
To my fellow execs reading this... think about it this way. Our "burden" is not to lead people who don't want to be led. Our "opportunity" and "responsibility" is to raise OUR OWN GAME, to set a compelling and winning strategy and inspire and leverage our teammates to go to battle with us... to have an experience and a satisfaction with building value and our company that is greater they ever thought was possible...
THAT is LEADERSHIP...
And, our inability to create that, is why we as "execs" often have such disrespect and disregard from our organizations.
Truth is people care, and we should all embrace that and care in return.
It's the ULTIMATE WIN-WIN.
Yours in harmony,
Nestor