Do you maximise profits through conflict & disengagement ... OR ... teamwork & collaboration?

It's a strange question to ask ... because the answer is obvious ... but,

If it's so damned obvious ... why is the global disengagement score in Gallup's 2022 report a whopping 79%?

(If you're a leader, don't just read that and move on ... slow down, think ...Why? Say ...

... "What are we getting so wrong in business, if 80% of my people don't want to be here? ... If their inner voice [like the one i'm using now, in my head] is saying to them "I don't want to be here", every day! ... how much can they care about my objectives, my change program, my KPI's ... and if they don't care, how will they behave?" ...

now read that a second time, take a few seconds and really think about it).

If this 'soft and fluffy' stuff is root cause of performance and profit ...

(Hard fact! How people think & feel determines how they act / react / behave, which 'just is' root-cause of organisational performance, period!)

... Why Oh!WHY is it often 'just' a project for the HR team to lead, in the minds of the C suit?

How have leaders come to think of 'The People Piece' as something for 'others' to address with tools, policies and surveys?

The answer to that question is, "brain function"!

Let me explain.

Over millions of years, our wonderfully complex brain evolved to defend itself and survive its environment.

As a result, it's easier to ignore that which is uncomfortable, than acknowledge it.

Now, contrary to popular belief, leaders are human too / also have a brain (delete to suit your preferred joke).

They are prone to operating on 'autopilot' (neurologically speaking), jumping to conclusions, talking themselves into opinions, updating inaccurate memories, winding themselves up & defending themselves, just the same as every other human being [brain].

So, by design, we all (leaders too) systematically ignore stats like;

• 79% global disengagement
• 50% of the global workforce experience chronic stress in their jobs
• 'Burnout' is on the rise
• Rising attrition rates and associated re-training, costs the UK Economy ￡billions in lost revenue (UK Gov) and
• National productivity has been stagnant for decades.

We just read past them and never connect to the deeper meaning embedded within them... that is, performance is a people issue!

Why? because we don't know very much about people (Brain function) in a mechanistic world biased toward the logic found in process and systems.

Why?

Well, if we acknowledge disengagement as root cause of poor performance and profit, (i.e. stop avoiding the subject), we have to do something about it, right?

... But, we also know ...

"People don't leave jobs, they leave managers"

That means we have to do something about ourselves ... & that, my friends, in a world where blame and projection is built into the fabric of society through language (e.g. "They Should ..."), is;

A VERY uncomfortable message indeed! (Scary!)

This is the psychological landscape being navigated every day by Senior leaders - C suite / SVPs / global heads of change (OpEx, Lean, CI, Six Sigma), who all have a job to do ... which, because of the way brains work, is no easy task!

Simply put, the job at hand is;

Create the conditions in which 'People [brains], Process & Systems' come together to ...

• Deliver over and above customer expectations (Quality, Cost, Delivery)
• Problem solve as curve balls are created by changing PESTLE* conditions
• Improve constantly, to maximise profits, (also against the PESTLE backdrop)

*PESTLE = Political, Economic, Social, Technical, Legal & Environmental

To do this, teams must collaborate, where processes and systems support them.

However, the de facto approach (currently being forcibly updated by a shift in post-pandemic, new Gen beliefs), finds people in conflict & frustrated, where processes, systems and leadership styles impose control ... which is (let's make no bones about it) psychologically and sociologically damaging!

And yet, we still (mechanically) ignore the burnout, stress and disengagement statistics, while perpetually introducing ever-more advanced technology as 'solutions', - blindly maintaining a degree of comfortable ignorance, about the fundamental needs of the human brain... which our universally accepted approach fails to recognise (despite many knowing all about Maslow's hierarchy of needs).

In absence of sufficient conscious awareness surrounding this subject, much of what we do and accept, actually works to undermine the effective and efficient function of the human brain ... people suffer ... change doesn't tick, or stick, money is lost, profit reduces, stress increases, ultimately damaging mental health throughout society.

We might settle for 'ironic' if it wasn't so damaging, but it is.

Understanding the fundamental workings and needs of the human brain, allows us to understand, very clearly, that we've created an emotional / psychological / technological landscape in our places of work we're not evolved to cope with (without problems).

In this world, a leaders 'brain' will demand 'PROOF' of benefit, before action, yet ignore the evidence provided (a base, defensive behaviour commonly known as denial), if that evidence isn't aligned to their existing beliefs, expectations and assumptions (i.e. established brain wiring-firing patterns).

Such 'denial' is a result of time pressures demanding leaders operate with a closed rather than open mind... they have to stick with what they know and avoid the risk of what they don't.

This is the natural response (in the current conditions) to anything 'new' ... anything 'other' than the imprinted neurological wiring-firing patterns already established about (tech-based) process & systems being 'the solution' to operational / efficiency challenges, effective strategy deployment or forming a high performance culture.

Back to irony - this 'denial / rejection' based brain-response, is common among leaders who are simultaneously expecting other brains to change and adopt the new ways of working they introduce ... and rarely if ever, do they recognise the hypocrisy... because they don't understand the workings and processing limitations of their own brain.

One of the 'keys to success' which leaders find it especially easy to ignore (with their existing brain wiring-firing patterns in full flow), is this;

Knowing more about neurological function can transform a leadership teams understanding of change (in people - themselves and others) and thus, lead to much better outcomes, when introducing change, complete with new processes and systems those people [brains] have to map into their existing neural network (adapt to).

To help clarify that point, let me turn to our valued customers and share what they say, after they've experienced BTFA ...

"BTFA has transformed our thinking about the human factors behind every aspect of organisational performance and culture. We have come together as a team in ways we simply hadn't before"?- SVP Manufacturing

"Ground breaking - I'm pleased we're now using BTFA on a global basis at GKNA"?- SVP Global Transformation

"A Masterpiece! - it's now a key part of the Lean Operating Model Deployment at GKN Aerospace"?- VP Lean Academy

"Mind Blowing - BTFA enables me to look back at all my previous training [at Toyota] and understand it 10X better than I did before"?- Head of business excellence

In summary, we're trapped ... trapped in a way of thinking that inhibits progress ... and the best way to break the cycle, is to learn more about thinking, which means, learn about brain function.

Where we help our customers do that, we see relationships improve ... where we find better relationships, we find teams and team members emotionally engaging & collaborating (e.g. 12% in-year 'Great Place to Work' engagement score increase at Toyota Boshuku following the introduction of #BTFA ), where we find 'in it together' type collaboration, problems get solved efficiently and effectively ... and where problems can be addressed openly, with a degree of psychological maturity (awareness and acceptance of brain function), leaders are open to a broader array of ideas from those on the front line, so root cause issues are resolved faster and sustainably, customer service and experience improves, change sticks and high performance becomes a cultural trait.

It all starts with leaders knowing how brains work and having a simple way to include that into their everyday thoughts and beliefs .. that is, their brain wiring.

If you want 3 legs on your stool, so you contribute to next years Gallup poll in a positive way and help to improve 'quality of life' for your people and society at large, (which has the added benefit of leading to sustainably improved profits), talk to us ... it's all about the game played on that 5" pitch between your ears.

www.duxinaroe.com