I have a friend whose company has done better and better in spite of the downturn in the economy.  I have several friends like that in fact.  But, the friend I’m thinking of gave me the opportunity the other day to revisit a simple business principle.  He called and told me how they were growing and hiring new employees and people were taking on new responsibilities.  He then lamented over the difficulty of getting people to do what they are supposed to do and do it right.  I reviewed with him five simple pieces of the puzzle that must always be present if you wish to have people manage themselves effectively.

1.       Clearly communicate the DESIRED RESULTS

2.       Provide and discuss GUIDELINES

3.       Put in place all RESOURCES needed to get the job done

4.       Establish a means of ACCOUNTABILITY.  How and how often will you hold them accountable?

5.       Discuss and commit to stand by CONSEQUENCES - positive outcomes for successful execution and negative consequences if not.

The FranklinCovey course, 7 Habits for Small Business Managers, refers to these five components as the essential pieces of win-win performance agreements.  When we do this well, we lay claim on the mantra for Habit 4 – Think Win-Win.  The mantra for Habit 4 is “Let them manage themselves.”  Unfortunately, if we neglect any one of these five keys to a win-win performance agreement, “letting them manage themselves” can be an absolute disaster.  All five are critical.

So, in which of the five key factors was my friend derelict?  Accountability.  He hadn’t really held his people accountable, and he knew it.  He understood the principle well.  But, there is a big difference between understanding and applying.  He thanked me for the conversation and advice.  I thanked him for letting me provide some guidance and offered further help.   That’s the joy of being a business counselor.  We get to do the fun part, and our clients get to do the hard part.  But, when they do it well, their payoff is tremendous.  And ultimately, when the client's business soars – that is the true payoff for me!

 I recently worked with a client company that had gone through significant ownership changes.  As a result of new management which instituted tighter controls and not-so-well-received changes, employee morale was a challenge.  Such are the growing-pains of companies that reach that point of being a good acquisition target for other firms.  This also occurs in family business transition situations.  Of course, there are a myriad of other things which can also drive morale down. 

I worked with about a dozen of the company’s top management team members over several days.  We discussed principles that may help them with a solution.  Ultimately, they wanted people to “love to come to work” again – like they used to!  So, the team determined that they had to make the changes that would help their employees value coming to work.  About halfway through one of our discussions, the team uncovered an important discovery I hoped they would find – that it is impossible to know how to help another's morale, unless you first consider what they value.  What makes them tick?  At that juncture, the whole conversation turned.  Managers stopped projecting what they wanted and started to really try to see what the employees wanted.  The management team began to think of their employees as “people” not just employees.  What could they do to treat them as “people” to really consider their interests and needs.   Then they began the process of finding natural solutions that the employment environment of their company could offer which may help those “people” get what they wanted – and no, it is not just a good paycheck.  People want work to not conflict with their personal goals.  Some people want autonomy.  Some need recognition.  Some need to find deeper meaning in their work.  Some need to be challenged.  Some seek personal development.  Eventually the team had lists of several ideas posted around the room.

Too often we view things as only choice “A” or “B.”  We get caught in the trap of feeling it is either your way, or my way.  We forget that there may be other alternatives, better ideas that none of us have yet discovered.  This experience was energizing.  They had paved the way to several possible solutions – none of which were superficial or short-term.

It reminded me of the classic management article by Ralph Stayer, titled ‘How I Learned to Let My Workers Lead.’  Mr. Stayer was the CEO of Johnsonville Foods, Inc.  The article was published in the Harvard Business Review in 2001, and remains an excelling case study for small businesses today.  If you are challenged by this type of problem, stop in to your nearest library or take a minute to find it on the internet.  Then, get a few Johnsonville bratwursts cooking and enjoy an interesting read!  Cheers.