Claim: “People are our greatest asset.”
Reality: “People are our most variable asset.”
How often do you see organisations stating that their people are the key to their success? Yet just as likely is that when financial pressure mounts the first lever to be pulled by management is ‘streamlining’.
This is an unwanted hand-me-down from mass production theory. Typically there is low expectation that workers – including white collar, highly paid service sector workers – have any chance of contributing ideas that can transform the organisation’s success. After all, if they could, what would you need management for?
So the prevailing approach is crudely this: Hire for skills, not ideas and creativity. When skills aren’t needed or are no longer the right fit, get rid.
The implications of this way of treating people are embedded culturally. Yet this compelling NBC documentary from 1980 shows that questions were being raised decades ago about the dominant management thinking. It’s a fascinating watch.
The central point is that those who do the work are in the best position to improve how they do the work. So it’s not just about making things, it’s about improving the process of making things.
Evidence shows that the benefits are considerable for leaders willing to truly open up to their workers. But it takes humility and vulnerability – neither of which our patriarchal culture naturally affords. It is possible, however, and it’s being done. Here’s a great example from the CEO of Timpson’s:
When we have the agency to make change, and when our contributions are truly valued, we give so much more than our skills – we give our hearts and minds as well.
