Prepare Your Employees To Win!
During the 80's, one of the great management gurus was Edward Deming. His approach in the transformation of company cultures was embraced by the Japanese long before his concepts were in vogue in the United States. His instructions are arguably the reason Japan became the economic super power they have become. The implementation of his principles and the demonstration of excellence is still celebrated annually by the Japanese government by giving the Deming Award to select companies.
His 14 points are still being used by a few firms in the U.S. and there are a handful of courageous leaders who are willing to do the hard work necessary to step away from the pack and do things differently. Known primarily for this measurement systems and SPC methods, many people missed Deming's basic management belief systems. This system was more of the "why" instead of the "how." Many organizations have rejected his philosophies and concepts to embrace the more "trendy" systems like Six Sigma, Lean, Re-engineering, etc. Then there are manages who have become bureaucrats and will not fight the inertia that grips so many in their organizations from change in protection of bureaucratic "silo's."
Many managers I meet want an ABC approach to management and would like for me to give them a formula for successful change. They would like to "program" their companies like CNC machines. But it does not happen that way. Shaping a culture for success is an ongoing process. Like developing world class athletes it requires "back to basics", hard work and discipline.
One of Dr. Deming 14 points is..."Drive out fear." I once thought this meant that we must make certain that our employees were not afraid of losing their jobs, or being afraid of saying something that would cause displeasure of the boss or the fear of punishment for making mistakes.
While those are certainly behaviors in which to be concerned and corrected, there is a much greater fear than those. It is a fear that permeates every level of the organization. It's the fear that paralyzes top executives, middle managers and hourly employees.
It is the fear of being criticized. People are more fearful of being made fun of, dismissed, belittled or being ignored. In other words...people have a greater fear of the critics than of making a wrong decision.
I have watched these fears of criticism manifest themselves in a variety of ways at various levels. Executives are paralyzed into inaction by the fear of lawsuits rather than action which is the right thing to do, even though it might be painful and/or difficult. I've watched employees stand like statues in group meetings when the managers ask for ideas or improvement. They prefer to say nothing than take the chance of being told...."we've tried that before, it will never work, we can't do that." Suggestion boxes collect candy wrappers and dust rather than ideas for improvement because of the fear the boss will put them down in some way. Arm chair quarterbacking and 2nd guessing peoples ideas and actions are common place in business around the world. Sadly, many have exchanged doing what is right in order to avoid having decisions criticized.
True Leaders "initiate!" True leaders allow others to "initiate" with out fear.
How is "driving fear out" accomplished? Well, I'm glad you asked! The freedom to express is created by the leadership in a firm. Creating an environment in which people can express themselves and take action without FEAR of being criticized does not happen naturally.
His 14 points are still being used by a few firms in the U.S. and there are a handful of courageous leaders who are willing to do the hard work necessary to step away from the pack and do things differently. Known primarily for this measurement systems and SPC methods, many people missed Deming's basic management belief systems. This system was more of the "why" instead of the "how." Many organizations have rejected his philosophies and concepts to embrace the more "trendy" systems like Six Sigma, Lean, Re-engineering, etc. Then there are manages who have become bureaucrats and will not fight the inertia that grips so many in their organizations from change in protection of bureaucratic "silo's."
Many managers I meet want an ABC approach to management and would like for me to give them a formula for successful change. They would like to "program" their companies like CNC machines. But it does not happen that way. Shaping a culture for success is an ongoing process. Like developing world class athletes it requires "back to basics", hard work and discipline.
One of Dr. Deming 14 points is..."Drive out fear." I once thought this meant that we must make certain that our employees were not afraid of losing their jobs, or being afraid of saying something that would cause displeasure of the boss or the fear of punishment for making mistakes.
While those are certainly behaviors in which to be concerned and corrected, there is a much greater fear than those. It is a fear that permeates every level of the organization. It's the fear that paralyzes top executives, middle managers and hourly employees.
It is the fear of being criticized. People are more fearful of being made fun of, dismissed, belittled or being ignored. In other words...people have a greater fear of the critics than of making a wrong decision.
I have watched these fears of criticism manifest themselves in a variety of ways at various levels. Executives are paralyzed into inaction by the fear of lawsuits rather than action which is the right thing to do, even though it might be painful and/or difficult. I've watched employees stand like statues in group meetings when the managers ask for ideas or improvement. They prefer to say nothing than take the chance of being told...."we've tried that before, it will never work, we can't do that." Suggestion boxes collect candy wrappers and dust rather than ideas for improvement because of the fear the boss will put them down in some way. Arm chair quarterbacking and 2nd guessing peoples ideas and actions are common place in business around the world. Sadly, many have exchanged doing what is right in order to avoid having decisions criticized.
True Leaders "initiate!" True leaders allow others to "initiate" with out fear.
How is "driving fear out" accomplished? Well, I'm glad you asked! The freedom to express is created by the leadership in a firm. Creating an environment in which people can express themselves and take action without FEAR of being criticized does not happen naturally.
At Gore-Tex, employees are asked to consider two questions before acting on their ideas. If they can answer yes to both of them, then they can proceed with their ideas and actions.
Question #1...Is your idea and plan good for Gore-Tex? If the answer is Yes, you're half way home.
Question #2...If you're wrong, can we survive? The amount of careful discussion, consultation, checking and double checking by the individuals allows them the freedom to dream and initiate like few firms experience. Why? Because they have taken away the fear that someone will criticize them. Of course there is much more to the story, but extensive effort is given to create this special environment.
Transforming a company is hard work. Mostly because it's all about dealing with the psychology of business and the behavior of people. The freedom to do things (beyond task) is a rare event in most companies. Being criticized will make you feel bad, but if that's the worst thing that can happen, it's worth the effort for taking action. Deming had it right! Drive out fear if you want engaged employees rather than people who have become extensions of machines and cubicles.
Unleash the minds of the people you work with by taking away "fear." You will be uncommon as a leader and as a company because of uncommon behavior. Mental toughness is important for success. Prepare your employees and company to win.
posted by Bill at
1:14 PM
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