Harsh Realities About Being A Controlling Manager

As I was reading a book written by Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management, I came across these words; “The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee.”

During Taylor’s time, control has been a highlight to corporate organization: Control of costs, of prices, of investment and—not least—of people.

If we define control, it is the power to influence or direct people's behaviour or the course of events. Just like what managers are doing: Setting the mission and vision of the company, monitoring adherence to goals, objectives and procedures, directing and shaping the future of the business. Control feels essential—especially if you are the boss.

When you have control on everything, does it really assure ones great success?

Control has always been a key to success, especially in the corporate world. In fact, it has been practiced to various companies around the world for decades. And in France in particular, it is starting to initiate a movement. Companies as large as Michelin and Carrefour are questioning their control structures and seeing real results from replacing them.

This alternative never been recognized before, because it is a big leap no one ever dared to take before. But more recently it has started to come into the open. We call it corporate liberation.

The idea can be stated simply enough: A liberated company allows their workforce complete freedom and responsibility to take actions that they—not their managers—decide are best for their company’s vision. That doesn’t mean that these firms are unmanaged. On the contrary, the specific actions that we observed in close to one hundred liberated companies prove the opposite.

For example, every meeting, a liberated company’s manager would ask whether there is anything preventing her team from doing their best. That may not sound unusual, but here’s the catch: The manager isn’t asking her team to share for her to solve the problem/issue. Instead, she asks them on how they can solve it—after ensuring that there isn’t something she’s doing that would get in the way.

Another example is when a new project comes in; the manager does not devise a plan to complete it. Instead, she asks the team to do so. In making these decisions, she accomplishes two vital things: She places herself as a facilitator in the team, rather than above them as a supervisor, and this in turn has a positive impact on the behavior of her team; it starts to encourage them to act on their own initiative, rather than passively awaiting direction from above.

According to a 2017 Gallup Employee Engagement survey, 33% of U.S. workforce are engaged, 51% are disengaged, and 16% are actively disengaged. Freedom-based companies, by contrast, can typically boast that more than 70% of their workforce are “engaged,” according to Gallup’s data. Indeed, human beings have certain universal psychological needs: The need to be treated as intrinsically equal, the need for personal growth, and to exercise self-direction.

Michelin, the global tire manufacturing giant—with 114,000 workforce —has also embarked on a corporate liberation campaign. In one of its German plants, teams self-direct most activities and managers have transitioned into the role of coaches without formal authority. Operators set their work schedules and their vacations, design and monitor their own performance indicators, do their own maintenance, and are consulted on the choice of new machinery. Michelin is a huge company in a relatively mature industry, but it has still managed to nearly double its free cash flow since 2015, to €1.509 billion ($1.75 billion) in 2017 compared to €833 million in 2015. In 2018, Michelin was ranked the #1 America’s Best Large Employer.

Thus, one of the most remarkable findings about liberated companies is the extremely high level of engagement and intrinsic motivation among workforce.

How do you motivate your workforce?

As the co-founder of Greymouse, a BPO Company with offices in Fiji and the Philippines, I have listed down several ways to help you motivate your workforce just like how I motivate my virtual team.

Create an atmosphere of trust. People flourish when they are given enough space to show their skills. When VAs know that you trust them and you’re giving them the room to become accountable for their work, they feel motivated and they take ownership of their role.

On the contrary, micro-management is found to be one of the worst demotivators in the workplace. Micromanagement tells your team member that you don’t trust his work or his judgement and it becomes a trigger for him to disengage with the role and the business.

Make them part of the progress. When people feel that they are a part of the business’ progress, they see the importance of their work and they value their contribution to the team and the business. This sense of contribution greatly motivates them to excel at work and do their best every day.

On the other hand, when they don’t feel that they are progressing at work or that they are a part of the progress that’s happening in the business, VAs will easily lose their motivation and passion. Every day they will feel stuck and it will eventually lead to unhappiness at work.

Appreciate their strengths and contribution. Aside from our Employee of the Month recognition, I also take time to thank team members who are doing really well through weekly emails that I send to the whole team. I found out that recognising VAs in a space where their peers can see the recognition is a great motivator for them to continue their good work or do even better next time. When we acknowledge their contribution, no matter how big or small it is, VAs feel that we really care about their work and in return they work had and excel in what they do.

Contrastingly, when VAs don’t feel appreciated, they easily become demotivated at work and it heavily triggers disengagement. When left unchecked, disengagement causes other problems like absenteeism or task mistakes which could cost the business lots of money.

Add fun to your workplace culture. When VAs have fun at work, they become happier and they are able to accomplish even the most daunting tasks without any issue. Adding fun in the workplace creates a positive atmosphere and it binds the team together. Having fun might mean sharing food and eating together or celebrating events like birthdays in the office.

On the other hand, if people are not having fun at work, they tend to focus more on the challenges and this results to increased stress levels and demotivation in the workplace.