The primary focus of many businesses is shareholder wealth. The drivers of this (I don't believe they deserve to be called leaders) fail to understand, or perhaps choose to ignore the fact, that shareholder wealth is one of many possible outcomes of good business practice - not a reason for being in business.
Good business is simple. Happy and honest staff meeting or exceeding the wants and needs of customers in ways, and for a price that customers perceive is valuable and memorable.
After 35 years in business I am convinced about one thing in particular: We have massively overcomplicated what it takes to be successful in business. Despite the incredible advances of the so-called industrial, information and technology revolutions, say 200 years of opportunity to be become wise, common sense is still the most uncommon thing in the majority of workplaces.
Real leaders have a primary focus: recruiting and retaining happy and honest staff. This is common sense of course. Fake leaders still play with other things, profit, shareholder wealth, re-engineering, and a whole bunch of stuff that takes care of itself when people are happy and therefore productive, creative, and innovative.
A remarkable workplace begins with unlearning, and the first thing many of us have to unlearn is about happy people
I ask many leaders why morale is down and people are unhappy. A typical response is, "In my day we just did as we were told and everyone got on fine. These days people want, want, want and we just can't afford it."
"What do your people want?" I ask. The fake leader doesn't know the answers, usually because they have never asked the question! Real leaders ask the question. Here are just some of the responses they get.
We would be happy if we were:
- Kept in the loop about change and involved in the process
- Recognised and valued for the work we do
- Permitted to make the decisions we can make
- Treated with respect
- Felt our work was thought by our bosses to be meaningful
To do these things doesn't cost anything, except maybe a little time and energy.
Possible action
Ask the people you work with what it is you are not doing, that if you were, would mean greater happiness. Act on the answers.
The second thing we need to unlearn is about success
What is success? One of my mentors, Peter Marshman, gave me this formula: Success = happiness.
We are happy when we have a healthy self image and we feel good about ourselves - when we are achieving in areas that are important to us.
Remarkable workplaces focus on helping people achieve in areas that are important to them.
Possible action
Ask the people you work with what is important to them and then help them achieve those things.
The third thing we need to unlearn is about empowerment
Control is the aim of the fake leader. Empowering others is the aim of the real leader.
Possible action
Arrive at a shared view concerning how problems will be solved, decisions made, and responsibility and accountability performance standards with the people you work with, then let go. That's right, let go. Give people control over their own destiny.
Warning: Real responsibility and accountability scares most people, so be patient.
Further, some people don't really want the power to make decisions etc. There is a place for all in the remarkable workplace.
Take the actions suggested above and you will be well on the way to having in place the three essentials for building a remarkable workplace; happiness, freedom, and peace of mind.
Buy Ian Berry's Audio Seminar CD from the Resource Centre:
What Real Leaders Do And Fake Ones Don't