Let me ask you something. In business, who’s the enemy? . . . I’ll give you a hint. It’s not those who work for you, those who work with you, or those you work for. . . .
In this gameshow, your time’s up. Who’s the enemy? If there is one, it’s your competitor. That being the case, why do so many companies treat those who work for them as if they’re on different sides? Why do managers think that their employees are the enemies?
I’ll give you an example. I know of a company (who will remain nameless on this occasion) who believes that it needs to change the way it does business in order to remain competitive. But, it also believes that the one thing that’s holding it back is its employees.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “It’s true. I’ve got the same problem!”
Perhaps; but, I also happen to know that a bright spark at this company went to the powers that be and said something like, “You’re absolutely right. There are people who are holding you back. But, what about those of us who want to help you change the company? How can we help you to do that?”
Guess what the answer was. “I don’t know.”
You see, it’s a lot easier to point the finger away from ourselves than it is to admit we may be part of the problem. If all of the employees are categorized as “the problem,” then managers are free to identify themselves as “the solution.”
When their bluff is called, however, and employees say, “I want to be part of the solution,” then it makes at least some of the managers part of the problem.
Which are you? Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?
Tags: different styles of leadership, difficult bosses, leadership traits, manager traits