Old style management still believes they must rule their employees with an iron fist, instilling fear to gain respect and results.  These bully style, ego driven managers  believe the constant threat of losing their jobs is what  brings out the best in people.  This may have worked in the industrial age, but it is not effective in today's work environment.

It's been stated that 75% of the workforce will be millennials by 2015.   This is a group that is more educated than previous generations, they are more confident, know what they want, will not put up with poor treatment and are not threatened by losing their jobs.  Thankfully, this generation is not a generation of followers, living in a fear based society, sacrificing what they deserve for a paycheck.

If todays employees really want to leave, they will leave. It is much better to develop a great culture and working environment where people feel valued, rather than building a fear based culture based on threats. When employees do leave a great culture and working environment, for whatever reason,  they can become your biggest cheerleaders.  With the power of the internet and social media, this is often the best free advertising a company could get.   How much more powerful is that for future growth than an ex employee that bad mouths your organization?

Old style management still believes they must rule their employees with an iron fist, instilling fear to gain respect and results.  These bully style, ego driven managers  believe the constant threat of losing their jobs is what  brings out the best in people.  This may have worked in the industrial age, but it is not effective in today's work environment.

It's been stated that 75% of the workforce will be millennials by 2015.   This is a group that is more educated than previous generations, they are more confident, know what they want, will not put up with poor treatment and are not threatened by losing their jobs.  Thankfully, this generation is not a generation of followers, living in a fear based society, sacrificing what they deserve for a paycheck.

If todays employees really want to leave, they will leave. It is much better to develop a great culture and working environment where people feel valued, rather than building a fear based culture based on threats. When employees do leave a great culture and working environment, for whatever reason,  they can become your biggest cheerleaders.  With the power of the internet and social media, this is often the best free advertising a company could get.   How much more powerful is that for future growth than an ex employee that bad mouths your organization?

We have all heard this phrase from reading Dr. Seuss books.  How many actually took these words to heart and live them daily in their lives?

I know of a young man living these words.  He works in a bank.  

When he started at the bank, he started part time as a teller, and wanted to move up.  He studied the company training manual on his lunch hour and after work.  He spent the first year working in 5-6 different branch locations, going wherever he was needed.  

He volunteers to fill in for employee's that are sick or on holidays by driving to different cities to fill in for them.  Whenever there is a need to be filled such as this, he is the first to volunteer to go.

He volunteers to represent his company at community charity events, by attending on his days off, getting up and speaking to the crowd about the company he represents.  He does this to practice his public speaking to become more comfortable, as well as a way to give back to the community he lives in.

I saw a picture in our local newspaper of volunteers at one of the events.  He was the only one, out of about 40 in the picture that was dressed up....everyone had t-shirts and casual pants on, he was in a suit because he wanted to professionally represent the company he works for.  He stood out, not because he is 6'4" and towered above everyone in the picture, but because he has this vibrant positive personality, great smile, and was dressed the part of who he is portraying. 

He wears a suit and tie every day to work, even though it is not expected.  On dress down day when everyone is wearing jeans, he wears a pair of dress jeans, shirt, tie and jacket.  

It may seem like he is a more mature worker, however, he is 25 years of age.   He does all of this not because he has to, because he wants to.  He is going the extra mile because he understands this principle...why fit in when you were born to stand out.  It is no surprise he is excelling at his career, and was promoted to assistant branch manager after the first year.

Clues for success in life and in business are all around us in everything we do.  Many times, these clues seem so simple they are overlooked.  Pull out a Dr. Seuss book, and share a quote that may have inspired you that other's may have missed.....

Last week we were receiving weather warnings for 24 hrs in advance of an upcoming storm the next day. 15 cm of snow and winds picking up to 50 km/hr. At 8 am, when people would be leaving for work commutes, the snow was already coming down hard and winds were picking up. It was clearly evident by simply looking outside, and checking the forecast, that no one should have been driving.

I spoke to an employee of a business out of town, and by 9:40 am, the employees in this business were all leaving to go back home, after being given "permission". How unfortunate that these people were not given the space to make a judgement call about the weather, and felt they had to risk the roads to go into work. How unfortunate that they were not confident enough in their own decisions. How unfortunate they chose to go in because they felt obligated and felt like they didn't have choice. There were several fatal accidents that morning. How unfortunate that those that lost their lives may have felt this way and were driving into a similar job.



These are precisely the type of things that lead to disengagement and dissatisfaction within an organization.

Why is it important to give employees the space to make good judgement calls?

-Builds trust - they will feel like doing more for a company that puts them first. They won't mind staying late for other projects down the road because they know the company appreciates them, and stands behind them.

-Builds confidence - they will perform better. When people are not given the space to make simple judgement calls, they lose confidence and this affects other areas of their performance. Build their confidence and they step into their own greatness and prove what they are capable of.

What did the snow day example demonstrate to employees?

-The decision makers couldn't make a simple judgement call before everyone risked their lives. This causes distrust.

-The company didn't truly care about their people. This causes resentment.

-Employees lives are not valued over profits. This causes disengagement and destroys company culture.

This is the reality of the message the employees feel in situations like this. They don't feel valued, they become disillusioned and distrust and resent the company.

Giving people the space to make responsible decisions helps them take ownership of those decisions, which builds their leadership, self esteem, confidence and personal responsibility. Respect and trust for the company goes up, it increases their level of happiness and job satisfaction, which leads to higher engagement and more productivity. A true win/win for both the company and the employee, which is how long term successful businesses are built.

Isn't in interesting how often people want to give us advice that are not qualified to give us that specific advice, yet before we understand this concept, we often have the experience where we give in to their beliefs instead of our own.
Here's an example:  A young woman wants to start her own business and leave her nursing career, but  a "well meaning" co-worker is attempting to discourage her stating that most businesses fail.  This is an employee giving advice on what it takes to be successful in business.  This person has never been a business owner, yet is attempting to advise on this subject.   She is not qualified to give advice, and has no experience or credibility in the subject area.  She is giving advice based on what she has "heard", not on what she has experience in.  Yet, this happens to people every day....they take "well meaning" advice from people in their lives that have no business giving them advice because they have not had success in that area.  

So many people are talked out of their dreams every day because of this type of "well meaning" individual.  It is such a simple concept - only take advice from those that have had success in the area you want to improve upon.  If you want to build a stronger more loving marriage, ask the couple who has the best relationship you know.  If you want to advance in your career, ask the person that has done what you want to do.  Learning not to take advice from these stoppers in our lives is one of the best ways to build trust in your own decisions.  

Without identifying specifics, share what category your biggest stopper was - 

-a family member
-a friend
-a co-worker
-an educator or coach (sports or other)

This will assist others in recognizing how we are surrounded by stoppers in our closest circles, but despite that, we can choose to step outside of the advice they give and create success anyway.

Do employees that are well paid stay longer?  Do they perform better?  Do they give great customer service?  It is thought that money is a key motivator for employee longevity and better performance. Giving an employee a raise is not enough to keep them committed to an organization.

Well paid employees leave an organization because of several reasons.

–Bully management
Bully management is an outdated management style.  If you think back to the playground, bullies are those that have their own internal conflicts, one of which being the only way for them to feel important is to bully others. There is no place for a bully, not in the schoolyard, the park or the boardroom.  Eliminate the bully and employees feel a sense of leadership.

–No room for growth
When an employee does not feel there is any room to learn and grow they do not see a future for themselves.  We are meant to continue to learn and grow...when people do not experience this the job becomes uninteresting and they become disengaged.   Encouraging and promoting ongoing training and development makes the employee feel there is more for them to grow into in the organization.

–No advancement potential
Think about younger employees and the goals and dreams they have for their futures.  If they do not see any advancement potential, many will leave and take a lower pay for the opportunity to move up in a different organization.

–Don't feel valued
If an employee doesn't feel valued, they disengage and are not performing at their maximum.  Some of the same rules apply to business as in our personal lives.  People want to feel valued in what they do.  The person that feels valued to an organization tends to give more of themselves, and do more than asked.

–Poor company culture
Company culture can very often outweigh the wage an employee is receiving.  When there is collaboration, learning, growing, innovation, advancement, flexibility, autonomy, and employees are aligned in the mission of the company, it develops a positive culture that people want to continue to be a part of.

It isn't necessarily the money that is the motivator, but the feeling of being valued by the employer.  When employees feel valued, they are learning and growing, are engaged in a great company culture and see a future for themselves, they are happier, less stressed, more engaged and perform better.