BERKONOMICS

So, we’ve discussed why it is important to build consensus in an organization in most every major decision.  To do so, a CEO must be able to relinquish some degree of power, overriding decisions made by consensus only with some thought and certainly with an explanation to those involved.

A manager secure in the position should never fear empowering direct reports to make decisions that fall within the resources allocated to them and within the budget agreed to with them.  A micro-manager cannot cede that kind of authority, even within pre-arranged limits, and as a result meddles with decisions made by direct reports, removing authority from each whenever such moves are made, and rendering the individual more impotent in the eyes of that person’s reports.

On the other hand, a great CEO or manager not only empowers his or her direct reports, s/he directs those people to do the same with their reports down the line.  All this is done within limits that should seem obvious: financial impact has been provided for within the plan; and no other individuals or departments are affected negatively by such an empowered action without notice and involvement.

[Email readers, continue here…]  The more power you cede, the more you become a teacher and the more your direct reports grow in their positions.  Further, the more you share your decisions, the more you prepare those below to assume your position if ever necessary or appropriate.

If you cannot or will not empower your direct reports, you must ask yourself: why?  If it is insecurity that is the root cause, then the best course of action is to share the power even more quickly, as you’ll look and feel more like the group is supportive of you and your position.  If you are a micro-manager and are unwilling to allow those below to fail, even with more minor decisions, then you are restricting their growth in their positions, certainly causing dissatisfaction in their ranks, and missing the most important opportunities to enable scaling your organization to a much larger size.

Surely you’ve been exposed to articles, courses and lectures about various styles of management, and how each is appropriate for some companies and for some levels of organization and at some times.  For example, a consensus-building leader works well in that style until someone yells “fire!,” and the emergency requires a dictatorial style of management to act quickly, protecting lives.

If you’ve ever been on the board of a non-profit organization, especially one in education, you know that a dictatorial style of management has no place in the organization (again unless there is an emergency requiring life-saving decisions).   In the non-profit sector, all decisions move slower, frustrating many board members who are business tycoons or entrepreneurs used to making rapid, final decisive moves in the workplace.

But wait a minute.  Is it appropriate for managers in any business to make a habit of making rapid, decisive moves as a matter of style?  In a past insight, I used the phrase: “Bet the farm only when the crops are on fire!” to underline the risk in making continuous bold decisions that obligate a company’s resources in a single transaction.

[Email readers, continue here…]  It is much more appropriate and certainly more appreciated if you take the time to bring your direct reports along in the thinking process, to obtain their input with issues that affect them, and to attempt to gain consensus from the leadership team before moving into implementing decisions where risk is involved or where the others are affected.  Many a time I have thought a solution was obvious until one of my board members, peers or direct reports pointed out a facet of the problem not previously considered.  Bold decisions seem to reflect strong leadership.  More often, they reflect a deficiency in willingness to cede power to the group unless for some reason necessary to withhold that power.

A decision made by consensus is probably a wiser decision and surely one that will be received down the line with more willingness to implement it than one posted as an order.  Orders come from somewhere up there in the minds of most people below direct reports.  And there is no better way to destroy a company’s culture than having the majority of those in the workforce believing that they are just “workin’ for the man” (woman) when they walk in the door.

Almost all of us in our leadership roles are looked upon to provide clues for behavior by those who look up to us, whether family members or subordinates in the workplace or even those we associate with as peers, suppliers, or customers.

In your business and personal life, there will be moments that will define you forever in the eyes of those you might not be aware are watching.  And nowhere is this more evident in the way you respond to issues where your actions require extraordinary sacrifice financially or in personal ambition.

If a clerk in a store gives you too much change from a sale where you paid cash, do you think before returning the overage?  Is your decision effected by whether someone is with you and watching?  If an error is made that results in a customer or office superior asking “who could have done this?,” do you step up to take responsibility quickly to avoid casting the focus upon another person?  If your company could achieve inordinate short term profit from the lack of knowledge on the other side in a new sale, do you take advantage of the moment and profit from the ignorance of the individual on the other side?

[Email readers, continue here…]  The temptation to do these things is great.  But in every case the lasting negative effect is worse than the gain temporarily made.  For the short term profit in reputation or financial gain, you have established one piece of evidence that you are not living by the golden rule, whether someone is watching or not.  And somehow, there is always someone who finds out what you did, even if months later.

On the other hand, think of those individuals you trust to always make the right decision morally and ethically even when at great personal expense.  Your respect for that person is unwavering, and you would defend and trust that person if called upon to do so, likely without question.

Your subordinates, employees, family members, and peers are looking to you to measure your moral compass and perhaps to point their way as well as yours.  “Good people finish first” is a statement that requires a leap of faith that in the end, those that take advantage of others almost always find themselves behind those who step forward to do the right thing.

Start or maintain your business life with an unwavering moral compass.  Doing so is not the quickest way to profit, but the most honorable and ultimately most rewarding in so many ways.

Ever had a manager who hung those motivational posters around the office, spoke of “pushing together,” or “you’re empowered to give great service” – and then acted at least once in complete disregard of those statements?

It takes only one time caught by subordinates to lose the faith of an entire group of faithful followers.  And that certainly counts for customers too, although the customer jungle drums don’t communicate quite as fast as the virtual water cooler system, even with today’s many ways of posting negative reviews about company behavior.

[Email readers, continue here…]  On the other hand, there are great examples of managers who put their reputation or large amounts of company resources on the line to reinforce just such statements.  Think of a surprising positive interaction you had with a call center employee or store clerk who resolved your problem and calmed your anger by exceeding your expectations.  That happened to me recently when I made an off-handed complaint to a call center employee solving another problem for me and she immediately said, “I’ll take care of that by crediting you in full for the cost of that unit.”  I was floored, and told dozens of people about the unexpected service offered without an angered demand or even a request for compensation.

How do you empower your people to actually do what you claim as your motto or standard of service?  Some hotel chains have a policy that any desk clerk can make a problem right up to a cost of over a thousand dollars.  Now that’s showing faith.

I have told the story of a customer of our company whose facility was destroyed in a catastrophic fire which took with it all of the records of guests staying at and reserved to be coming to the property.  The catch: the property was on a remote island in Australia, and the manufacturing plant in Southern California.  Without a second thought, our people gathered to help the distraught property management recover data from backups, interview present guests, and quickly install the brand new computer diverted from another installation shipped overnight to theirs.  The benefit to the customer was obvious as was their continuous praise for the company and our people in helping them in their hour of need.  But just as important, the employees of the company participated as a unit in following the stated promise in our motto, “Customer first, always!”

Actions always speak louder than words. Always.

My brother, Barry, passed away recently.  A world famous architect, he is credited with the design of over 600,000 homes worldwide.  He had been named one of the world’s top 100 architects by Architectural Digest, and one of the ten most significant figures of the 20th century by Residential Architect.  He was quite a role model as a big brother, five years my senior.  Several years ago, I wrote the following insight about his ability to create a work environment that was full of joy, so much so that it seemed more like play than work.  There were only a few thousand readers then, and there are more than 25,000 of you now.  With your permission, here is that post again – as relevant today as it was then, and far more poignant.  Here’s to my brother, and to joy in the work place…

Have you ever noticed how slow time passes when you are in a troubled environment?  Conversely, sometimes you look up at the end of a great day and wonder where the time went.  Over the years, I have discovered that the difference is not just applicable to the good times, but to the environment, created by the senior executives, that filters throughout the organization.  Every time, a corporate work culture encouraging humor causes employees to enjoy their work, spend more time with associates, and laugh many more times through the day.

At one point in our mutual careers, my brother located his growing architectural practice just a mile from my record company in West Hollywood, California.  I would visit his office and immediately notice an atmosphere of “joyous creativity” throughout the organization.  Every cubicle was decorated with whimsical drawings, posters, kid’s creativity, and more.  As I walked through the facility, I could hear laughter emanating from cubicles, almost constant as a background song of simple joy at work.

[Email readers, continue here…]  Those visits were wonderful times to recharge my batteries, and I was not even a part of the company.  Imagine how they affected the attitude and creativity of those working there.  Think of how clients loved to associate with their counterparts in such an environment.

Try as I could to reproduce such an environment, my company was too spread out, the background noises of manufacturing too loud to make the same environment possible.  The best I could do was touch individuals and small groups with that same joy of the journey, adding humorous opportunities for lightening up as often as possible.

But after all these years, I will never forget the magic of that architectural office, and how much everyone there wanted not to let it ever slip away.

Take every opportunity to lighten up, to ease the often-self-imposed pressures of constant work, to unlock more of the creativity of your workforce through the use of appropriate humor.  What a lift that brings.