#342: It’s time to start leading, and stop coddling
We have gone too far in our quest for happy and engaged employees. It’s time to set some ground rules
Work-life balance. Flextime. Hybrid workforce. Extended benefits. Shorter work weeks. Unlimited PTO.
I hate to say ‘back in my day,’ but there was a point in the past where none of these terms were ever used. Not only not used, but considered radical and even treasonous.
Indulge me in a quick story to highlight the contrast.
One summer day in 1971, I had a pretty terrible accident. I was playing football in front of the school and straight-armed a plate glass window. I won’t review all the details, but I scored the touchdown. After a harrowing ambulance ride, four hours in surgery, and close to 1,000 stitches later, I drove home with my Mother in time to sit down at the dinner table with the family.
That’s when my Dad came home after his 14-hour shift at Chrysler. Dad took one look at me with a few spots of blood left on my face, a sling filled with a bandaged-up arm that was taped across my chest, and eating spaghetti with my left hand. He smiled, and I’ll never forget what he said as he looked at my Mom.
“So, Mother, how was your day?”
Back in 1971, Dad was not allowed personal phone calls at work. Even though he was in management and had a phone on his desk, it was strictly prohibited. There was no way to dial his number directly. The call had to go through a switchboard operator who owed her allegiance to the dictator known as the Plant Manager.
Contrast that to today, where it’s acceptable for a 14-year-old having a meltdown to call Mom or Dad in the heart of a workday because no one cut the crust off his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Have we gone too far?
No, I don’t want to go back to 1971, but we have lost focus at some point. Yes, we need employees who are happy and engaged. But when do we say enough is enough? Our company needs to operate effectively and efficiently. Profits still matter, and employee happiness is not the ultimate goal. Yes, we need people to make products, and people need to be happy. Happiness is a way to increase profits. If an employee’s attitude is between you and success, maybe it’s time to pull the big boy pants up and address the elephant in the room.
Jobs must still be completed on time and within budget. Uncontrollable stuff will happen, but we must lead with common goals and expectations. As exceptions arise, we address them, but when we manage everything at the edge, we have a bunch of 14-year-olds having a meltdown.
What is your response when an employee comes to you with yet another excuse as to why they didn’t accomplish a task? I wrote about this a few weeks ago, “If you feel like you are coasting, maybe you are going downhill?.” When was the first time you started to let it slide? How many unique requests are being granted to a wide variety of people? Maybe you let someone come in late because they had a childcare issue. Then you started letting another team member take an extra ½ hour lunch because they needed to tend to a personal matter. And there are always the ones with great excuses to leave early. At some point, you went from 100% capacity to 75% because of exceptions. Can you hire more people to get up to 100% without losing money?
Quantify everything
As a leader, you are expected to know the costs and benefits of your decisions. Before you know the costs, you must know each person's value in the supply chain. How much output is expected from every team member? Decisions and allowing exceptions become much easier when you have this information in hand. If an employee is required to handle ten operations a day and needs to leave early, they either get the ten done today before they go or more tomorrow without paying overtime.
It’s tough to be a leader of any size group. Ultimately, you won’t be judged by your team’s happiness but by your results. Again, happiness and engagement are a means to an end. They are a stepping stone on the path to success. If you have laid your groundwork, the path is smooth.
My two leadership mentors, John Maxwell, and my Dad, taught me this early on.
John Maxwell often says:
“Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.”
At the end of that day in 1971, Dad entered my room and sat on my bed. He asked me two questions.
“Are you okay?” and “Did you score?” Dad showed me he cared about me and the results.
Every employee of any organization must accept and acknowledge the expectations of their position. Your job is to communicate those with them so no one is surprised in the future. If you are having tough conversations with team members, it may be because you didn’t lay out the ground rules earlier.
And yes, there will always be those who bend the rules and take advantage of your kindness. But remember, you don’t owe them a job. You owe them a paycheck if they do their job. It is okay to say goodbye; not everyone can be saved. Not everyone will buy into your culture.
If you are having difficulty determining the value of a position or enforcing standards, connect with us at the Kole Performance Group for a 30-minute free consultation. We can help you work hard today to improve your tomorrow.