What I am writing about today is not new and plenty of articles and books have been written about it! But apparently we still don’t seem to get it!!!
People are not gears or cogs in a wheel! They live and breathe. They have emotions and moods. Gears and machinery don’t. Machines can be thrown away and replaced easily. People --- that’s another story!
I work with a board for a non profit organization. Recently a few board members from this organization have been on a crusade to get rid of their executive director. They have accused her of all sorts of shortcomings and wrongdoings. As is sometimes done in such situations, they called for a performance review. I am all for performance reviews. I believe they ought to be done regularly and thoroughly. But this review had all the indicators of a witch hunt. There were no objective criteria by which to measure performance. As so often happens, this kind of performance review would be based on very subjective, emotional kind of data. I could see the handwriting on the wall so to speak. The ED was doomed!
This experience again reminded me of how we hurt ourselves and others by our insensitivities and carelessness in how we treat people. When Marshall Field first began building his department store he used to watch his employees leave work at the end of the day. With pride he would say, “There go our greatest assets!” How right he was. Our people are our greatest assets indeed!
By contrast I think of the words of the leader of a church based mission agency. He told his missionary force of several hundred that they were like gears, belts and pulleys on a huge machine! How inspiring! I am sure we all would love to be viewed as some gear or bearing on a machine. That would make me feel really valued! I could not wait to sign up to be part of his “machine”! I hope you catch the sarcasm.
How do you treat people? You may be a business owner with several or many employees. Perhaps you are part of a church leadership team and constantly work with people. Perhaps you are part of a social or civic club of some sort. Perhaps like me, you serve on various boards and committees. How do you view your colleagues and fellow board members? What is the “DNA” of your company when it comes to how you value people?
Tools we use to accomplish tasks are designed for one purpose. A wrench is not for cutting things. A pair of scissors is not designed to secure nuts and bolts to each other. These tools will never be anything but what they were designed to be. Plants are very different. They need to be watered, transplanted, pruned and fertilized. If we do that they will grow. Some will produce beautiful flowers. Others will produce delicious fruit. People are like plants not tools! They too need to be “watered and fed”. They will be more productive if we nurture them.
Here are some practical but powerful steps you can take to treat people like plants instead of tools!
1. Give recognition.
I recently transferred some investments to a new company. Precisely ONE day after we had made this transfer a Thank you card signed personally by the partners in the investment company was in my mail box. I was impressed. By contrast, earlier this year, I transferred some other funds from an account manager who had not contacted me even once in over 5 years. Even when I closed out the account I received no inquiry or contact from him. See how simple this is? It does not take much to make a positive impression.
2. Keep communication lines open.
No one likes surprises. If there are issues that may affect another person, be sure he or she knows what you are thinking and that it may impact the other person. I once was told via phone call that I would no longer be receiving remuneration from a certain organization I was with. It was a bolt from the blue and came from the board chairman who was vacationing in a sunny clime. He did not decide this while he was away and could have easily told me in person along with his rationale, well before he left town.
3. Be a person of your word.
If you make a promise, keep it! People latch on to things you say. A promise you make registers in the memory of the person to whom you make it. A broken promise erodes confidence and trust.
4. Be human.
No one expects perfection. If you blow it, admit it! Don’t make excuses or blame others. If you forget to do something you said you would do, or if new circumstances arise that change things in one way or another, explain what happened, express your regrets, ask for forgiveness, etc and move on. People tend to give each other a lot of slack as long as they trust and believe in each other and believe they are being dealt with in good faith.
5. Laugh often.
Scripture says that laughter is like a good medicine. I have walked into offices where the atmosphere is like the frigid arctic. I have also been in offices where there is good will, laughter and even frivolity. We take ourselves and life in general, too seriously at times. Share a great joke; don’t be afraid to be one too! Your colleagues will see your humanity. They will be more productive.
6. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
This is so simple yet so profound. Simply stop and think a minute. How would you like to be treated? What makes your day? What is it that draws you to a certain kind of person? Why would you gladly spend time with one person and perhaps not another?
7. Invest in people.
In a business this may mean providing certain kinds of perks and benefits. A family member called me this week to tell me about a 3-day trip his company had provided for him and his wife. The company does not know that this employee was seriously considering leaving. This little investment in him has changed his mind. Professional development is well worth it. It speaks volumes to people. It says your company values you. It believes in you and that you have the potential to become an even more productive employee. My work in the LIFO Survey for example is a wonderful way to increase productivity and enhance group morale. I always find it fascinating to observe the positive change in attitude of people who take this helpful training. Investing in people is like watering and feeding plants. They flourish.
People are our greatest assets! Let us never forget this. If you would like some encouragement in working with people, or if you would like information on the LIFO Survey productivity instrument, please feel free to contact me at rick@icarecoaching.com or take a look at the LIFO Survey section on my website www.icarecoaching.com
Copright, 2008
Dr. Rick Penner
