Management styles have evolved over the past few decades. I was a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force in the early 70s. The military is a dictatorship. You listen up closely and jump when commanded. There’s no need to ask how high. Just jump as high as you can all the time. At least that was the theory. I worked as a civilian in increasingly responsible positions after my discharge. Fifty years ago organizations were often either dictatorships or semi-enlightened despotisms. The boss hired and fired at will and his word was law. Working in this system as a mid level supervisor made me uneasy. When I mention semi-enlightened despots, I was being literal. Decisions were made with inadequate intel but by definition, they were law. No second guessing the boss, right?
Things changed in the 80s and 90s. I felt like some of the more positive philosophies germinated in northern California. I went to a number of seminars which pointed out adults respond better to positive reinforcement. Discipline wasn’t the right word, it was actually punishment. When you discharged an employee, it became known as workplace capital punishment. Supervision without punishment meant re-training and counseling. Sending folks over to human resources (formerly personnel) to visit the employee assistance program. There was an underlying reason why Billy didn’t show on time. Let’s get him some help.
At first I felt constrained. I had education. I had training. I had worked my way up and knew what the organization’s goals were. We were all about the customer. Putting the customer first. How could we compromise our mission by letting up on the employees?
In my 20s, it was, look, let’s do it my way, okay? When all else fails, listen up. I see the path clearly. I think logically. I work hard. Nobody works harder than me. And what the hell, I’m in charge. My way or the highway. It’s the “because I said so” mentality. A mother and her children. I got some of this philosophy from the “boss.” That’s the way he treated me, after all. I passed it along. But I saw the boss discharge people for pretty odd reasons. I saw the organization become confused at times because what management did could be justified but now and again, things seemed more random to the rank and file. The other thing was leaders who surround themselves with sycophants want to hear echos. One head is better than two. If I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it. Over time I became disenchanted with this process. Not because pin heads in California told me so. Because common sense began to creep in.
I’ve always said people don’t change, they adapt. But I must admit, over the past half century I think I’ve actually changed. It may just be society changed and I went along. Adapted. Who knows?
I now approach management in a much different way. Before I act, before the organization moves, we work toward a buzz word of the 80s and 90s. By now it may be trite but I need to use it:
The word is consensus.
Consensus and consensual are forms of the same thing. With more than one or many in agreement.
You may be the smartest (or at least think you are). You may have the power and position of authority. You may be better educated and motivated. But here’s the thing. You’re not alone. If you were, you’d be in trouble. There’d be little disagreement but you’d be isolated. There’s good reason to feel isolated if you are alone. It’s a damn shame if you are one among many and manage to be isolated. You are in trouble if you fail to use the most powerful resource you have, your brothers and sisters. Does that term bother you? I’m not related to these people. Hell, I don’t even like half of them and can’t stand a couple of them. Besides, siblings fight a lot, don’t they? You prefer “workers” or “co-workers” or “employees?” "Team members" and "associates" are popular. You spend all day or all night (your shift) with them. More waking time than with your formal family. They are your surrogate family and by extension, your brothers and sisters.
They don’t like you? Who likes to be given orders? You didn’t, that’s why you wanted to run things. They tend to disagree? If you fail to take them into consideration, that’s a given. Will a consensus always be achieved? It’s the goal. If it isn’t, something may need to be reorganized. I personally believe consensus can be reached but all generalizations are false and I’m wrong now and again. Let’s see what might be wrong if consensus can’t be achieved.
First, let’s go over motivation. What do people want? Of course if it’s work, they want to be paid. You can’t have starving employees and expect unity or harmony. They want to be positively recognized and they want to feel that there are worker’s rules that protect them. Active management means fair work rules that are uniformly applied. I was surprised at my first supervisory job when employees sought me out to try to get management to start paying more attention to the work place. They wanted co-workers who were ignoring rules to be held to account. It was a union shop. Fairness is ephemeral but a worthy goal. Good employees want bad employees counseled, retrained and if necessary, terminated. They only want to be protected from arbitrary or discriminatory management, not aggressive or active management. It is also true that non-discriminatory union practices mean legal protection for the same individuals they want terminated, if they can’t learn. That slaps management upside the head for doing what membership wants. Irony, however is a universal fact of life. Its often why you explain to your kids that nothing’s fair. But let me cut to the chase.
What people want:
Bread and Circuses (McDonald’s & Netflix)
Sustenance and Shelter for themselves and their family
A reason not to fear Illness and Injury
Dignity and respect & feel a sense of community
A way to achieve old age with dignity
If they are not achieving the basics while expending their creative energy at your workplace, they likely won’t agree with management very often. So consensus achievement is a manageable goal for the enlightened workplace. It should also be a goal in other situations, just be aware of what you’re dealing with.
Once working in an enlightened workplace, employee’s desire (in fact, everybody desires):
Creative Control.
It’s what you were after when you grabbed “control” and got a position of authority. It’s what drives politicians to run for office. The slacker, who tokes up all day and achieves nothing, is still seeking creative control.
If you are granted a position of authority, you are empowered to give everybody what they want. A sense of control. You must listen. You must write it down. You must repeat it back. You must have a fairly large control group. Most people are fair and want fairness for all. Widening your input will increase that fairness.
Why? What’s in it for me?
What I learned over decades of management is this:
You can’t control the behavior of other human beings. If you don’t understand this fact, you haven’t been in management very long.
Their behavior cannot be controlled through discipline, punishment or discharge. You can move them around and hurt or help them but ultimately what they do is up to them. So you need to stop trying to control their behavior and begin to open up to the idea that those employees will be much better motivated to do the things the organization needs if they think it’s their own idea. They will control their own behavior by doing what they agree to do. Consensus means they agree. Wow.
The other thing is people listen best after they are heard. Knowledgeable and intelligent people sit around patiently listening to everyone else, biding their time until they have a chance to be heard. Everyone wants to be heard, sooner or later. Once they are heard, they can relax and begin to listen. Why not let them be heard early and often. You will find they listen to you longer and harder and with a more open mind if they are heard from first.
Again, you don’t have control over other people’s behavior. They control their behavior. What you have is the ability to be heard. And what you must, above all, speak of is what you hear. Listen first. Listen hardest. Repeat it back. Write it down. Respect it. That’s the first step to consensus. Listening. You are paving the way for a two way street. People want (desperately need) to be heard. To be respected. To have some level of control. “I know what I’m going to do.” Have you asked anybody else? Did you discuss it with those it impacts the most, personally?
New managers must take the time to let everybody they supervise be heard. To make notes. Learn everybody’s name. Make few if any changes immediately because you have a golden opportunity to give your co-workers the feeling that have contributed to any changes that are made. Some of the changes you know you are going to make, need to be made AFTER your co-workers suggest them to you. You may already know it needs to be done but wait until others can take credit for it. They will soon understand the process is inclusive. They will soon share in the responsibility for the results that are achieved.
That may seem counter-intuitive for the ambitious. Organizational climbers want to take credit for all positive change. But employees know that individuals who glory hunt are out for themselves, alone. They won’t like and won’t support me-first supervisors and will submarine results. Engender a sense of community by making decisions based on consensus. This will share the responsibility with those who produce results and make success a mutual ambition.
Does achieving consensus slow the process? Yes. Does it make your job more difficult? Yes and no. It slows the process down, at least at first. It takes time to listen. It requires some patience. It means your own creative control is constrained. But here’s the thing. You can’t control other people’s behavior anyway. You can, however control a process that will empower others to control their own behavior. Slowly, gradually, your respect for those who work for you, your quiet way of listening, will build mutual respect. In time, the organization will become more of a team. More of a unit. The decisions the unit makes will work out sometimes and other times it won’t. You will get better feedback from people who feel they are responsible for the decisions. Subsequent decisions will get better results. Workers will begin to take ownership of the decision. It was their decision. Refinements will become second nature. Nobody’s waiting for management to recognize problems that they, the front line workers, see immediately. They will want to meet and make changes to make things work smoother. They know they’ll be heard. That benefits line workers. Ultimately it improves the organization. Success is shared, as it should be. It may have taken longer to implement the process but in the long run, everyone will benefit. That includes management, of course. Doing the right thing often pays off.
If you would manage, listen. If you would make changes, seek consensus. If you achieve success, recognize the strength of your team and reward them. It was achieved mutually.
Editor's note: Your team will include negative people who won't want your organization to succeed. You will succeed in spite of these people IF they are in the minority. No organization will ever succeed if a majority of it's workers want it to fail.
Things changed in the 80s and 90s. I felt like some of the more positive philosophies germinated in northern California. I went to a number of seminars which pointed out adults respond better to positive reinforcement. Discipline wasn’t the right word, it was actually punishment. When you discharged an employee, it became known as workplace capital punishment. Supervision without punishment meant re-training and counseling. Sending folks over to human resources (formerly personnel) to visit the employee assistance program. There was an underlying reason why Billy didn’t show on time. Let’s get him some help.
At first I felt constrained. I had education. I had training. I had worked my way up and knew what the organization’s goals were. We were all about the customer. Putting the customer first. How could we compromise our mission by letting up on the employees?
In my 20s, it was, look, let’s do it my way, okay? When all else fails, listen up. I see the path clearly. I think logically. I work hard. Nobody works harder than me. And what the hell, I’m in charge. My way or the highway. It’s the “because I said so” mentality. A mother and her children. I got some of this philosophy from the “boss.” That’s the way he treated me, after all. I passed it along. But I saw the boss discharge people for pretty odd reasons. I saw the organization become confused at times because what management did could be justified but now and again, things seemed more random to the rank and file. The other thing was leaders who surround themselves with sycophants want to hear echos. One head is better than two. If I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it. Over time I became disenchanted with this process. Not because pin heads in California told me so. Because common sense began to creep in.
I’ve always said people don’t change, they adapt. But I must admit, over the past half century I think I’ve actually changed. It may just be society changed and I went along. Adapted. Who knows?
I now approach management in a much different way. Before I act, before the organization moves, we work toward a buzz word of the 80s and 90s. By now it may be trite but I need to use it:
The word is consensus.
Consensus and consensual are forms of the same thing. With more than one or many in agreement.
You may be the smartest (or at least think you are). You may have the power and position of authority. You may be better educated and motivated. But here’s the thing. You’re not alone. If you were, you’d be in trouble. There’d be little disagreement but you’d be isolated. There’s good reason to feel isolated if you are alone. It’s a damn shame if you are one among many and manage to be isolated. You are in trouble if you fail to use the most powerful resource you have, your brothers and sisters. Does that term bother you? I’m not related to these people. Hell, I don’t even like half of them and can’t stand a couple of them. Besides, siblings fight a lot, don’t they? You prefer “workers” or “co-workers” or “employees?” "Team members" and "associates" are popular. You spend all day or all night (your shift) with them. More waking time than with your formal family. They are your surrogate family and by extension, your brothers and sisters.
They don’t like you? Who likes to be given orders? You didn’t, that’s why you wanted to run things. They tend to disagree? If you fail to take them into consideration, that’s a given. Will a consensus always be achieved? It’s the goal. If it isn’t, something may need to be reorganized. I personally believe consensus can be reached but all generalizations are false and I’m wrong now and again. Let’s see what might be wrong if consensus can’t be achieved.
First, let’s go over motivation. What do people want? Of course if it’s work, they want to be paid. You can’t have starving employees and expect unity or harmony. They want to be positively recognized and they want to feel that there are worker’s rules that protect them. Active management means fair work rules that are uniformly applied. I was surprised at my first supervisory job when employees sought me out to try to get management to start paying more attention to the work place. They wanted co-workers who were ignoring rules to be held to account. It was a union shop. Fairness is ephemeral but a worthy goal. Good employees want bad employees counseled, retrained and if necessary, terminated. They only want to be protected from arbitrary or discriminatory management, not aggressive or active management. It is also true that non-discriminatory union practices mean legal protection for the same individuals they want terminated, if they can’t learn. That slaps management upside the head for doing what membership wants. Irony, however is a universal fact of life. Its often why you explain to your kids that nothing’s fair. But let me cut to the chase.
What people want:
Bread and Circuses (McDonald’s & Netflix)
Sustenance and Shelter for themselves and their family
A reason not to fear Illness and Injury
Dignity and respect & feel a sense of community
A way to achieve old age with dignity
If they are not achieving the basics while expending their creative energy at your workplace, they likely won’t agree with management very often. So consensus achievement is a manageable goal for the enlightened workplace. It should also be a goal in other situations, just be aware of what you’re dealing with.
Once working in an enlightened workplace, employee’s desire (in fact, everybody desires):
Creative Control.
It’s what you were after when you grabbed “control” and got a position of authority. It’s what drives politicians to run for office. The slacker, who tokes up all day and achieves nothing, is still seeking creative control.
If you are granted a position of authority, you are empowered to give everybody what they want. A sense of control. You must listen. You must write it down. You must repeat it back. You must have a fairly large control group. Most people are fair and want fairness for all. Widening your input will increase that fairness.
Why? What’s in it for me?
What I learned over decades of management is this:
You can’t control the behavior of other human beings. If you don’t understand this fact, you haven’t been in management very long.
Their behavior cannot be controlled through discipline, punishment or discharge. You can move them around and hurt or help them but ultimately what they do is up to them. So you need to stop trying to control their behavior and begin to open up to the idea that those employees will be much better motivated to do the things the organization needs if they think it’s their own idea. They will control their own behavior by doing what they agree to do. Consensus means they agree. Wow.
The other thing is people listen best after they are heard. Knowledgeable and intelligent people sit around patiently listening to everyone else, biding their time until they have a chance to be heard. Everyone wants to be heard, sooner or later. Once they are heard, they can relax and begin to listen. Why not let them be heard early and often. You will find they listen to you longer and harder and with a more open mind if they are heard from first.
Again, you don’t have control over other people’s behavior. They control their behavior. What you have is the ability to be heard. And what you must, above all, speak of is what you hear. Listen first. Listen hardest. Repeat it back. Write it down. Respect it. That’s the first step to consensus. Listening. You are paving the way for a two way street. People want (desperately need) to be heard. To be respected. To have some level of control. “I know what I’m going to do.” Have you asked anybody else? Did you discuss it with those it impacts the most, personally?
New managers must take the time to let everybody they supervise be heard. To make notes. Learn everybody’s name. Make few if any changes immediately because you have a golden opportunity to give your co-workers the feeling that have contributed to any changes that are made. Some of the changes you know you are going to make, need to be made AFTER your co-workers suggest them to you. You may already know it needs to be done but wait until others can take credit for it. They will soon understand the process is inclusive. They will soon share in the responsibility for the results that are achieved.
That may seem counter-intuitive for the ambitious. Organizational climbers want to take credit for all positive change. But employees know that individuals who glory hunt are out for themselves, alone. They won’t like and won’t support me-first supervisors and will submarine results. Engender a sense of community by making decisions based on consensus. This will share the responsibility with those who produce results and make success a mutual ambition.
Does achieving consensus slow the process? Yes. Does it make your job more difficult? Yes and no. It slows the process down, at least at first. It takes time to listen. It requires some patience. It means your own creative control is constrained. But here’s the thing. You can’t control other people’s behavior anyway. You can, however control a process that will empower others to control their own behavior. Slowly, gradually, your respect for those who work for you, your quiet way of listening, will build mutual respect. In time, the organization will become more of a team. More of a unit. The decisions the unit makes will work out sometimes and other times it won’t. You will get better feedback from people who feel they are responsible for the decisions. Subsequent decisions will get better results. Workers will begin to take ownership of the decision. It was their decision. Refinements will become second nature. Nobody’s waiting for management to recognize problems that they, the front line workers, see immediately. They will want to meet and make changes to make things work smoother. They know they’ll be heard. That benefits line workers. Ultimately it improves the organization. Success is shared, as it should be. It may have taken longer to implement the process but in the long run, everyone will benefit. That includes management, of course. Doing the right thing often pays off.
If you would manage, listen. If you would make changes, seek consensus. If you achieve success, recognize the strength of your team and reward them. It was achieved mutually.
Editor's note: Your team will include negative people who won't want your organization to succeed. You will succeed in spite of these people IF they are in the minority. No organization will ever succeed if a majority of it's workers want it to fail.
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