What is truly puzzling in this age of enlightenment is the increasing number of people who are still not able to make any connection between the results of their efforts and their company’s future. When their employer gets smacked in the face with a sudden market shift and the profit picture starts to dim, these folks do not view themselves as responsible contributors with an active role to play in turning the company’s fortunes around. Instead, they perceived themselves to be victims, or disinterested bystanders expecting someone else to take care of the problems.

These same people not only disconnect from the problems facing their employer; they also fail to act in collaboration with management to improve the situation. To see what can happen if this condition is allowed to continue without intervention, let’s listen in on a conversation I had with a group of managers whose company had recently lost a significant share of the market and was struggling to stay afloat. 

Pointing fingers in all directions

Early that same day I’d met with groups of workers who had complained bitterly about their managers. The managers sat quietly as the list of subordinate-generated issues unfurled before them.  They just couldn’t believe all the accusations of incompetence, miscommunication and lackluster leadership.  It was their impression that the main problems with the company centered around the employees’ resistance to change.

The discussion that followed exposed a lengthy list of their complaints. Not surprisingly, their attitude towards the employees had the same vitriolic flavor as that of their subordinates. Unfortunately, management seemed predisposed to view everything the workers did as an effort to undermine their authority.  

To back up their accusations, they pointed out the levels of sick leave abuse, tardiness, absenteeism, bad attitudes, work stoppages and even sabotage that were occurring in every department. They needed no prompting to voice their opinions; the criticisms came out in a steady stream. One by one, the managers recited tales of stupid, shiftless employees, who couldn’t care less about the company.  “All they want is a paycheck.” 

“What bothers me,” one manager said, “is that we keep paying the slackers no matter how many times they screw up. No wonder they think they can do anything they want and their jobs will still be secure.  It takes an act of Congress to get anybody fired around here.”

This statement contradicted what the workers had told me earlier about people being fired just for speaking up. The term “my way or the highway” was referenced repeatedly. None of the managers readily admitted to using those exact words. However, a few people finally did concede that they had used similar language when faced with an argumentative subordinate.  Several others said they had warned people who were difficult to manage that they would be fired if they didn’t stay in line. On the spot, I suggested that as a measure of good faith they stop using fear tactics of that sort as a managing tool.  

At the end of the session, we began to boil things down to the group’s central concern: how to motivate the workforce. As one manager put it, “We’ve got to figure out a way to light a fire under the hourlies.” Since there was little indication that the “hourlies” wanted their fire lit, this suggested solution did not offer much promise.

Lack of collaboration

The one thing both sides in this company had in common was that each worried about the other side instead of their own. Their lack of collaborative spirit was poking holes in a rowboat that was already sinking.  At the root of the lingering animosity that tainted the whole relationship was the fact that they did not see themselves as corporate partners with common goals.  Quite simply, there was no teamwork or cooperation whatsoever.  All of their interactions centered around personality clashes instead of dealing with the task at hand: how to improve the product and how to get it into their customer’s hands more quickly.

In other words, defaming the enemy was more important than defining the problem. In an environment like this, while people are busy pointing their fingers at one another, nothing is being done to address the productivity problems that are staring everyone in the face.  The inattention to outcome by both sides negatively impacts sales, customer satisfaction, quality, materials inventory and even plant safety.