You’ve heard of the book, “Death of a Salesman.” This article is about the death of a family. What does that have to do with running a small business, you ask? I’ll get there in a moment. First, let me ask you a question: Is your business like a family?
I hear this all the time. “You know Mark our business is different, its just like a family.” I know business owners and managers say this to communicate something positive about their company’s culture. I think this is great! But I always smile when I hear this. I often want to ask, “Oh yea, what kind of family is it like?” But I don’t, because I’m practicing my Dale Carnegie principal of “letting the other person save face.” I smile because the relationships within a company CAN be just as screwed-up as the relationships within a family.For example, consider how favoritism can cripple the relationships within a family. It happens, you know. Its happening right now. The results are far reaching and dramatic when one sibling is treated differently from another. The favored sibling feels that they are not as obligated to perform at a specific level in order to gain a specific reward. Since they are favored they know from experience that they will not be held as accountable as the next sibling. The rules can be flexed for them. Everyone in the family knows this. Consequently there is resentment, anger, hostility and conflict. The unfavored sibling is no longer motivated to perform. No matter what they do, they can not live up to the admiration of the parent. This causes frustration and embarrassment. It can even result in vengeance and criminal activity in order to “get even.” The “I’ll show them” attitude.What makes favoritism so insidious is that it can be exercised in a very subtle manner. It may manifest itself in the WAY things are communicated. For example, imagine a circumstance where two siblings alternate weeks taking out the trash. When the unfavored sibling fails to take out the trash, the consequence may be for the parent to say, “I can’t even depend on you to take out the trash.” When the favored sibling fails to take out the trash, the consequence may be for the parent to say, “just make sure you get it done next week.” The favored sibling gets another chance, while the unfavored sibling’s wholesale capabilities have been diminished. This is rarely done in a purposeful way or even through subterfuge. It happens on a subconscious level. Before we know it the words are out and the damage is done.This works precisely the same way for a business organization. As owners and managers our goal is to induce greater teamwork, a more harmonious workplace and improved productivity. One of the most important factors in building teamwork is the leaders ability to implement what I call “equitable response.” Equitable response is the leaders ability to react to every team member in the same manner in any specified circumstance. In other words, their ability to treat people relatively the same under any given set of circumstances. For example, don’t allow one employee to arrive at work late because she lives further away or because she has to pick up the kids at school. Credibility is lost when owners and managers are inconsistent in rewards and punishments.Here’s what I counsel my clients to do:
- Consistently reward positive behavior and punish negative behavior. CONSISTENTLY!
- Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated by employees.
- Don’t allow your personal opinions to influence the way you respond to team members. The fact that you may like or dislike them should NOT play a role in the reward/punishment process.
- Let the time you spend with team members become part of the reward. Conversely you should limit the time spent with those team members that fail to maintain performance. Tell them what is expected in no uncertain terms. No idle chit-chat.
- Model competent behavior. They will do as you do, NOT as you say.
- Provide consistent feedback and predictable consequences.
- Set realistic and clear expectations.
In my consulting practice, I rarely see these things consistently being done in small companies. Often times owners and managers have a whole set of rules which apply to different people in the organization at different times. This causes confusion, stifles communication, hinders teamwork and creates fear. It usually ends up with excessive turnover and even anarchy. Sadly the result is the death of a company family.Does this mean we shouldn’t attempt to replicate the family atmosphere in our companies? Certainly not! We should replicate the model of the healthy family where everyone knows what is expected of them and everyone is rewarded and punished with equanimity.I hope this helps you to learn some new ways to create a healthy corporate culture in your organization. If you are wondering what else you can do to implement a revolutionary change in your business, check out our web site at www.marketingquestions.com.