The old model of business hierarchy is disintegrating—and the result will allow an explosion of valuable creativity and innovation across all levels of management. Want your company to be more successful? Listen to everyone equally.
Have you ever welcomed an enthusiastic and passionate employee into your organization, only to receive their resignation six months later? The problem may be employee disengagement. Disengaged employees emotionally detach themselves from the organization, and, as a result, often resign. Ensuring that employees are fully engaged—and thus loyal and committed—brings obvious benefits, but disengagement is an ongoing problem in many organizations across the globe, and a growing issue here in the Middle East. Lack of corporate transparency may be the problem.
Social media is shaping a global culture that promotes expression, and a new generation of employees expects the same level of disclosure from their managers and leaders. This is a good thing! When transparency is lacking, organizational silence prevails. Employees keep quiet not only about bad conduct, but also about good ideas that could add value to the organization.
DISENGAGED EMPLOYEES EMOTIONALLY DETACH THEMSELVES FROM THE ORGANIZATION, AND, AS A RESULT, OFTEN RESIGN.
I hate to generalize, but this is where we get to the part about why Bahraini employees, in particular, give up. In Bahrain, as in most Arab countries, there exists a large emotional distance between employees and leaders. Employees sometimes feel that they are unable to confront leadership or “speak truth to power,” and are often left feeling powerless. They may even give up trying to make any valuable contribution based upon assumptions that their input won’t make a difference anyway.
This learned helplessness was illustrated to me years ago when I was working for an organization in Bahrain. A number of managers and I were brainstorming concepts for a new television commercial, and came to an agreement about a way forward. The general manager then walked into the room with a completely different concept. He communicated his idea, and received unanimous agreement from all of the Bahraini staff present. Only I questioned the practicality of his suggestions, and attempted to further the brainstorming session while he was in the room. The colleague on my right leaned over to me and quietly said, “Forget it; it’s pointless.”
AFTER ALL, LISTENING TO YOUR ORGANIZATION’S GREATEST ASSET IS THE LEAST A LEADER CAN DO—RIGHT?
Once the general manager left, however, the room erupted! The managers disagreed with what the GM wanted, and proposed reasons why it would not work, but after a few minutes of heated discussion, it was made clear by the senior manager that “we would just have to make the GM’s suggestion work.” Nothing was said directly to the GM, and no further debate took place.
Now, imagine the impact this would have on a passionate employee, an expert in the field who must now manage a project they know is doomed to fail! Words like deflated and demotivated come to mind.
Creating a culture of candor and openness is not that difficult to do. Leaders can start by creating opportunities for honest dialogue. These initiatives, which should suspend hierarchy for a time, allow employees who do not ordinarily have contact with their organization’s leadership to interact and have their voices heard. After all, listening to your organization’s greatest asset is the least a leader can do—right?