Are the people upset? Were the basics covered?

Are the people upset? Were the basis covered?

Commentary by Earle G. Airey III, MSPOD

People are emotional beings in ways that some may not be entirely aware of. So many elements can affect the moods of people. This can shift their emotional resources in such a way that unexpected behaviors can result.

When I say “Are the people upset,” these can be your people, their people, people over there and so on. They can be customers, venders, employees, and stakeholders of various degrees. Naturally the closer these people are to the decision makers the more influence these makers have in shifting the peoples’ emotional resources whether they realize it or not. There many times I have seen so much emotional turmoil endured only to learn that if some basic elements were practiced on a regular basis human interactions would be much smoother and productive. Here are a few examples I have witnessed.

Was there transparency?

Now I am not saying that you have to display all your business for the world to see, however is information that would better inform other so they could in turn make better decisions shared openly?

Many people have a tendency to downplay or cover up mistakes. It is a natural part of our built in defense mechanism. The primal part of the human brain responsible for protection reacts automatically. Without discipline this part of the mind can cause big trouble. People make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. This can give the opportunity for others to learn without having to face the same trials (if subject matter is similar). People respect others more when they can admit they made a mistake.

Lack of transparency lends to the suggestion of something being covered up. This could be related to the aforementioned mistake, ethical dilemmas, nefarious causes, and so on. How many bad incidents were discovered and made worse because of a cover up? This begs the perspective, “If what was about to be done (or in process) was going to be on the cover of every news paper and website across the world, should it still be done?”

I believe transparency builds trust. Trust builds closeness necessary for a community to reach common goals and support of individuals striving for personal goals. This fosters teamwork, creative thinking, builds respect, and creates a natural environment to help others.

Was there any appreciation or encouragement?

Just to say good job once in a while (less than once a month in this example) has a tendency to sound hollow and something that is just a good idea for bosses to say once in a while. I have found that people in general like to feel appreciated. Even those who work thankless tasks may not necessarily look for recognition, but would like to know the work they do is appreciated. This can also act as natural encouragement to do more of the same.

Encouragement is especially important to help remove doubt, fear, and confusion. This triple threat is more than enough to strike anyone out (including whole organizations). These elements support a negative downward spiral of frustration that diminishes creative thought and logic, two elements needed to reverse the spirals direction. Discovering the areas that challenge others to the point of frustration creates opportunities for encouraging them and aids in reversing the downward spiral. This goes a long way in creating and maintaining resonant relationships.

Were their physical and safety needs met?

Drawing some from Maslow’s pyramid of needs suggests that most individuals are concerned to have their physical and safety needs met before applying the higher levels of the model. It is not possible, nor feasible for leaders and captains of industry to totally meet these needs for the individual except for areas that are under their control.

Example. I knew of a delivery company that was so cheap they only bought license plates for about two thirds of their fleet. These vehicle made deliveries and then returned for reloading to make more deliveries. It was determined that about one third of vehicles were being reloaded and any given time so the thought was, “why pay to license them?” Well first of all it is illegal not to. Second, drivers would sometimes forget to install a valid plate and drive off without one. And third, it showed that the company was more interested in saving a few bucks over the driver’s wellbeing in performing their job. There were other challenges with this, however I trust the point is clear, the drives felt threatened about paying for a ticket they didn’t deserve. That logic permeated many aspects of the company.

How about the workplace itself? Is it in good repair? Are the restrooms in decent order? How about cleanliness? Just because someone may have a disheveled desk does not mean they are okay with toilets that don’t flush right or electrical wiring hanging out the walls and/or ceilings. The physical environment impacts the psyche in numerous ways. In some facilities careful attention is paid to lighting, color, and environmental comfort. There are obvious difficulties in providing this depending on the nature of the work being done (like a coal mine, but it should be a clean and safe coal mine…as far as coal mines go), however it should be kept in mind what these issues can do in the promotion/demotion of feeling if their physical wellbeing is at risk. Most of us have seen those signs in restrooms of commercial establishments asking to inform an associate if the facility is in need of servicing. Now why do you think that is?

Do the people have the resources they need to meet desired objectives?

Early in my automotive career (in a former life) I worked in a facility where it was better if you had your own tools. Most auto technicians indeed have their own tools, however in this place it was not a deal breaker to work there. There were tools everywhere. It was a chore finding tools and when they were found, they were either broken, part of it MIA, or in use by others. I brought my own meager set of tools, but quickly starting building what I needed to do my job without this added frustration. Do the people have what is needed to adequately accomplish the desired task? Are clients given a clear path to obtain customer service? Is the proposed system including adequate representation from all departments for evaluation to get more holistic input, or just the management staff making all the decisions?

I am aware that there are challenges with the acquisition of adequate resources and wise distribution of them. Beyond this however, if people do not have the needed elements for success they can become defensive. They can become frustrated in their task (which can contribute to the downward spiral mentioned earlier) and fearful they will bear the blame for any failure encountered. If resources are not available or limited this can create another opportunity for encouragement. Letting people know that there are doing a great job with limited resources may relax them and help them feel safe from reprisal. This safe state can add to creative thinking and they just may come up with a solution that meets the resource challenge.

Final thoughts

It is probably obvious that I place a lot of value in people’s emotional states and resources. I have seen people (individually and collectively) affected by the bad negative stimuli (there is a good negative, like the kind that tell one to pull their money out of a bad investment or pull a finger away from a hot surface) to where logical and creative thought was elusive. In worse cases the end can be a mob mentality, at best another day of an undesired status quo.

Consequently from the opposite perspective I have witnessed what positive stimuli can accomplish. Safety promotes positive thinking and can promote improved health through managed stress. In some organizations this is the “secret” weapon of their success.

Those are just a few observations I have witnessed. What are some experiences or ideas do you have? Please share, thank you.

Treat others how you would want to be treated

Treating Others How You Would Want To Be Treated

By: Earle G. Airey III, MSPOD

I have mentioned in various postings dealing with the treatment of others from a standpoint of leadership. Many have shared that others should be treated the way they want to be treated. I suggest treating others like how we would want to be treated. What’s the difference?

Those who suggest treating others the way they want to be treated seem to believe that it is those individuals that know best how they want to be treated. I don’t agree nor disagree with this perspective. However from the prospective of leadership it is challenging finding enough time to know everyone to that level of granularity to treat everyone like how they want to be treated. Of course this depends of several factors such as number of employees, geographical nature of organization, face time, and so on. So if these elements prevent knowing how to specifically treat others how they want to be treated, then how does treating them how we want to be treated benefit them?

Well first off, to do this successfully we have to know how to properly treat others, which start by taking a good look at how we treat ourselves…or rather how we should treat ourselves. I draw my conclusions from who I believe to be the greatest servant leader of all…Jesus Christ. When He was asked what is the greatest commandment, His reply was to love God with all your heart, strength, and mind. Then He shared that the next greatest commandment was like the first, to love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and Prophets hang on these two commandments (Matthew 22:37-40).

Scripture goes on to teach that no one hates himself or herself. People may not like the circumstance in which they find themselves in or the life in which they are living. I would suggest that it is those elements that people dislike, not themselves (illnesses aside for now). So how does one love themselves so they can love their neighbors? The answer lies within the first commandment…love God.

What does it mean to love God? First of all, God has given us all free will so that we can either choose to love Him or not. So loving God is a choice. When the decision has been made to do this, it is out of that love the decision is made to follow the guidelines set forth to live the best life possible. Most people have heard of the Ten Commandments. It is from these elements that much of our legal system, laws and treatment of others are based on. So even from a secular perspective these elements are valued. While they are all worthy of review, there are a few I want to specifically share.

Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8).

This was meant to be a day of rest, specifically to rest in the Lord. People are not meant to work seven days a week continuously. I can personally attest to that. For a period of about seven years I could count on one hand how many days I had off. I will not go into the reasons why, but it damaged me in ways I probably have yet to discover. I didn’t network, I lost opportunity to help others, I was too tired to do mostly anything, and relationships were negatively impacted.

As organizational leaders we can’t expect (and maybe not even allow if possible) our members to become so absorbed into work that it consumes their lives. This does not allow for downtime to rest, explore personal growth, spend quality (emphasis on quality) time with loved ones, or invest time in spiritual pursuit of their faith. People who do not have enough downtime can experience diminished creativity and learning, be at risk for higher stress levels (which has all sorts of health consequences), social isolation challenges, depression, and more.

Many of us make trade offs. Some may work harder to relax later. It is possible to get caught up in the work that time to relax is forgotten. This is typically not premeditated, but it can sneak up and become an undesired norm. Everyone deserves a period of rest…period. To take advantage of this is to care about one’s self. Why? Because it is natural to care about self. Not in an unhealthy, narcissistic way but rather in a matter of that shows self-respect. We want to be treated with respect, and so do others.

You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13).

On the surface this seems fairly obvious. In the workplace on any given ordinary day nobody is trying to murder other (don’t read too far into that). However I suggest that there are more ways to murder than maliciously taking a life. Intentionally murdering the hopes, dreams, aspirations, goals and so on of another in many ways is murdering a piece of them. Death can come over an extended period of time and it is not always quick. As leaders can we support a culture that promotes life? We want to experience the best that life has to offer and that’s okay (as long as it is not at the expense of others). If we want a quality life, then I’m confident that others do too.

You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15).

Similar to murder (in concept), stealing is taking something that belongs to others. Many believe that good honest work is a cornerstone of our society. Many business owners dislike when employees waste excessive amounts of time that they are paying for in the form of salary. Extra time spent at the water cooler, engaging others on social networking sites, shopping, and other non-work associated actions are stealing time from the employer. Many can relate to the feeling of having something valued being taken away simply because someone else who didn’t earn it wanted it. If it were not desired to have certain elements taken from us, then we would not want to see that happen to others. Why? Because the wellbeing of those are potentially put at risk. Many victims of theft feel violated and vulnerable. Similarly in the workplace an employee can feel this way if they are not recognized for the work they do. They may feel robbed of fair compensation or potential opportunities stolen. The point is that if someone does not want to be a victim of theft then it is reasonable to conclude that others feel the same way.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16).

False testimony is lying, plain and simple. People do not like being lied to. When lies are commonplace it is difficult to build trust. Without trust there is no closeness or friendship. Without those elements it might as well be a free for all of back stabbing and throwing each other under the bus. Scripture mentions that the tongue is like a two-edged sword with the ability to cut to the left and to the right. During battles of ancient times, dual bladed daggers and swords were deadlier as the combatant did not have to flip their hand around on a return stroke. Like words out of the mouth they have the ability to cut others down just as effectively. We do not like to be lied to so it is reasonable that other do not like to be lied to either.

Conclusion

I only shared four out of the Ten Commandments from the Book of Exodus. Further investigation will show and addition 613 laws given to humanity (laws humanity could not fully keep, thus showing the need for a savior). To love God would be to try our best to please Him by following the guideline He set forth so that we could experience a good life. This does not mean that we won’t stumble from time to time. The overall desire is to strive for obedience not out of fear of punishment or lost of privilege but out of love for Him because He first loved humanity, similar as how children loves and are loved by their parents.

Even those who may not believe in the existence of a divine creator or higher power will find appeal in these elements. Think about what society would look like without them. Many well-wishers believe in that “Do unto others as they would do unto you” philosophy. Some believe in karma or pre-destination and look from the perspective that people get out of life what they put into it. The conclusion appears to be unified in that individuals desire to be treated with respect, dignity, life, safety, love and truth. So from that perspective would it not be safe to conclude that others desire the same? I have failed to find a single individual that did not want these things. This is why people ask, “Why would you rather treat others how you want to be treated versus than how they want to be treated?” Now you know.

How do you feel? What conclusions have you drawn?