Is this happening in your
area? There's been lots of change, morale is low, and everyone is stressed out.
You are the manager and you know you need to do something...anything...but don't
know exactly what. You come up with an idea...bring in a motivational speaker
to rouse your folks. Or, better yet, send them to a motivational rally where
they can get pumped up.
Well, I was recently contacted
by such a manager and asked if I do motivational speaking. I answered that I
am a business speaker on current workplace issues. I do presentations which
inform, inspire and involve the audience in developing positive ways to improve
their situation. Do they feel better? Perhaps. But what I'm striving for is
not people feeling better but people thinking and doing things differently.
I then asked this manager
what is the purpose of bringing in someone to speak to his folks or of sending
them to a rally? Is it to acknowledge and recognize outstanding performance
and then to encourage his people to move on to the next level? Or is the purpose
to help his people cope with the inevitable uncertainty and loss that comes
with any kind of change?
The manager was not really
sure. So I suggested that:
- First look at what is
really going on in his department
- Next determine what specific
things he would like to be different.
- Then, and only then,
decide what kind of program would work best.
So what is the best way to
deal with many of the major issues in today's business environment: employee
commitment, effective leadership, continuous change, high quality teams, etc.?
"Celebrate!" says Terry Deal and M.K. Key in their new book Corporate Celebration,
Play, Purpose, and Profit at Work
The book asks: "How can you
improve employee morale, increase productivity, and boost your bottom line all
at the same time?" The answer is: Thoughtfully planned and meaningful celebrations
which can pump life back into the workplace.
It can restore company spirit,
reinvigorate employee morale, create community, and ultimately improve quality
and financial improvement. However the real question is not whether to celebrate
but what is the best form of celebration that will achieve specific desired
results?
If the above manager wanted
to recognize outstanding performance and to encourage his people to move on
to the next level, then a motivating presentation could be a viable program.
In addition, Corporate Celebration provides many other examples of how to give
individuals and teams incentive to do their best...to go the extra mile.
However, if this manager wanted
to help his people cope with the inevitable uncertainty and loss that comes
with any kind of change, then the most appropriate form of celebration should
focus on the rituals of comfort and letting go....not on motivation. The authors
state that, in a world of rapid change, we need "to pay attention to loss as
to gain, to demise as to growth, to disaster as to triumph." Otherwise, people
are deprived of the ceremonial support of letting go, maintaining hope, connecting
with a new reality, and moving on. Bitching and moaning can become the daily
ritual if there is a not more positive, upbeat substitute. Cited are examples
of how Southwest Airlines, AT&T, and a health care organization dealt positively
with such change situations as a failed project, a divestiture, and a business
merger.
My reading of the workplace
is that there is little to indicate that downsizing, mergers, or reorganizations
will decrease in the years ahead. Rapid change is an inevitable part of life
in the 21st century. Transferring employees, renaming business units, merging
functions, changing reporting structures---common place events in corporate
America---all require, according to the authors, "ceremonial recognition bringing
closure to the past and generating hope and optimism for the future." Corporate
celebration is not only good employee relations but also good business.
So the next time your department
or team or division is experiencing lots of change, low morale and stress what,
as a manager, can you do? Or how might you recognize outstanding performance
and encourage your people to perform at a higher level? Think celebrations and
bring play, purpose and profit at work!