“Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!”
No, it’s not the seagulls from Finding Nemo, but the latest in self-centered leadership from executive compensation committees and their beneficiaries. Their actions have threatened to steal our hope.
We have long known that the variance within one workplace is greater than the variance among workplaces. The real quality of the work environment is determined by the local work team and their manager. In spite of what happens at the corporate level, the local manager either builds (or fails to build) an environment where people know they count.
In spite of these extraordinary times, the individual manager can still make a huge difference. Trust your best managers to make sure that every person knows the outcomes for which they are accountable and has a true, two-way relationship with their manager.
Only with that clarity and security, can we reach out to other people and teams to improvise, innovate, and improve the very way we work.
People need to utilize their unique strengths and see their contributions are valued. It is the manager who creates these opportunities for individual growth and action and the best managers create them around the customer.
Reflect back on the gallantry and unity of both crew and customers in the “unexpected water landing” of US air flight 1549. At a moment in time when all were threatened, the people amazed us by coming together with courage and concern for one another.
Our organizations and our customers are inextricably tied, out on the wing together. Lets reinvent the way we work together.
What do your customers need most from your business, right now?
Our latest research makes this so clear.
Our customers need us to:
- deliver exactly what they expect;
- make it easy for them; and
- help them get better in their own business.
Great managers know that when they match up engaged employees with their customers, both sides win! So lets depend on our best Managers and our best Customers to help us find the “North Star” for the course ahead.
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Ethan Bondelid
