By Christopher Aesoph, MA
You used to believe your company could make a difference in the lives of your employees, that together you could create something special and change the world. But no more. Circumstances conspired against you, and now too often you find yourself thinking, “I don’t want to be a parent or a counselor to these people anymore.”
If you find some truth in the above statement, consider this: you wouldn’t mind playing the role of parent or counselor if you were good at it. It’s simply that you haven’t had enough experiences to be good at it yet. Like any skill, leadership roles can be learned. You can be much better at playing these roles if you practice and pay attention. And so, if your staff requires that you play a certain role occasionally, you might as well become skilled at it. You need to do whatever it takes to bring out the best in your people.
And Courage, Too
We all want people to get the big picture. However, your people will not get the big picture in one amazing meeting. Just because management gurus say you should open your books and talk about numbers with your team, don’t expect light bulbs to appear over employee’s heads when you do. Understanding the big picture takes more than numbers—it takes courage. Reality is an acquired taste. Even with hard numbers staring directly in our faces, with funny accounting and a touch of fantasy we can all of us delude ourselves into continuing down the wrong road.
As an employee, the first few times I look at the big picture from the standpoint of my department, I will see nothing other than how that picture impacts me. How it impacts others will not be my first concern. Only over time, as I watch my counterparts writhe on the floor in pain after I have suggested we make a few strategic cuts in their department, will I realize that I may be part of something bigger than myself.
This is a frightening moment. Your staff now wonders, “Whom will I be loyal to? Shifting my loyalty from focusing on myself to my department was difficult enough, and now you want me to shift my loyalty yet again. Now you want my loyalty to extend toward the entire organization. My department will feel slighted. I may lose friends. I will have to think harder than I did before, in order to access all perspectives. I used to be able to shoot from the hip, and I took pride in being not only light on my feet, but quick with my wit. Now I run the risk of being seen as slow and indecisive.”
Asking people to see the big picture is asking a lot, so be patient. It’s a lot more fun to shoot from the hip, but a lot more effective to consider other people, other departments, and other ramifications. You may see staff who struggle between loyalties. Look at it this way: This struggle means they are on the path to maturity, and for you, the business owner, this is a good sign.