The other night I
did a 20 minute talk at Bournemouth
University for the RSA
Fellows in the area (of which I am one). This had been initiated by my friend,
Tim Bullock, who has the foresight to realise that with the imminent shut-down
of quango-business services there may be an opportunity for organisations like
the RSA to fill an important gap. Part of the RSA’s remit is about
‘manufactures and commerce’ as well as society and art.
I started my talk
by saying that I had been in business for 15 years, had trained thousands of
people, worked with hundreds of businesses, and mentored literally dozens and
dozens of directors and managers. Thus, what had I learnt from all this
experience?
My talk, then, was
about the three things I had learnt. First, I had learnt that people are not
the most important asset in organisations. That’s right, they’re not. There is
a mantra, of course, that says they are – one sees directors beaming with moral
self-satisfaction as they repeat – with that rabbit in a headlight look on
their faces – ‘People are our …’.
There are
organisations where they are, but they are few and far between. The game is
given away by the phrase Human Resource management and Human Resource Managers.
People don’t want to be a Human Resource (or ‘Asset’) – they want to be people.
And they want to be treated as people should be treated. One of the core
principles underscoring the development of healthy self-esteem is respect.
Whether we are children or adults we need to be treated with respect.
The core skill that
delivers ‘respect’ is listening. As we look round the waste of top-down
management styles – the ‘Fred Goodwin Effect’ as its latest incarnation might
be called – where do we see the listening? The tragedy is that after a while
people become inured to being treated badly – even get to expect and like it.
An addiction to punishment sets in: the public sector is especially aware of
this.
The second thing I
have learnt is that leaders don’t lead. Yes, there is a lot of management going
on, but although management is necessary it is not leadership. At the top level
it is not management we need, but leadership. Part of the reason for this is
that most people are secretly crying out to be led – and for a good reason:
leadership removes uncertainty and creates stability and security, a primary
human need.
Management – all
operational stuff. We need a leadership that is genuinely visionary – that
creates those images that inspire people to give of their best. Leaders – to be
a leader – must engage people, and engagement is what people want.
Finally, the third
thing I have learnt is that managers know little or nothing about the nature of
the universe, and so ‘go astray’. Why wouldn’t they? Imagine being transported
to the most fertile farm land in the world and told to till the ground, but you
know nothing of farming. Of course you could expect disastrous results despite
the fact that you create ten thousand amazing Excel spreadsheets.
Perhaps part of the
problem is the specialism of the education system: the process by which we come
out ‘qualified’ but not educated.
The Mapping Motivation Series 