Why Do So Many Senior Leaders Treat Their Biggest Asset with Total Contempt?

One of my favourite films is Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”.

Famously, it depicts a computer which takes over the spaceship in which it is installed, with disastrous consequences for the astronauts on board.

As AI pervades more aspects of modern life, there are fears that such incidents could soon become a reality.

Certainly, AI has a lot to offer, particularly in the world of work.

It is a great assistant and can pick up things that humans miss.

But I am not concerned that we are about to be wiped out by AI robots.

Nor do I think that we will all be rendered unemployed by computers any time soon.

Of course, AI will continue to play a significant role in many businesses and organisations.

But it cannot replace people.

It has been said so many times for so long that it has begun to lose meaning, but in most businesses, the people are the business.

However, judging by how many leaders and managers treat employees, this has been completely forgotten.

There is likely to be a great deal more fuss and stress in senior circles about a computer system problem than about staff being deeply unhappy for months or years.

But if you had to pick one or the other, you would have no business just with the computers.

If left with only the people, they would find a way to keep things going.

That is where humans excel.

We are inventive and creative, and we solve problems in ways that machines are still a million miles from imitating.

So why do those in charge so undervalue this most vital asset?

Why do so many of us take our fellow people for granted?

Everyone has what I like to call a “nonsense tolerance level”.

There is only so much that people will put up with before it is simply not worth their while continuing to turn up to that particular job.

There are plenty of pictures on social media showing signs in shop windows saying the business is closed because they cannot retain staff.

Many have pointed out that this is likely due to the treatment of those staff members when they work there.

The vast majority of us need to work every day to survive and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives.

There are plenty of workers about.

If they continually choose not to work for you, surely some self-reflection is called for?

Even if you do have staff, keeping them should be a priority and should be an active, not a passive, process.

What can be done better to attract and retain the great employees who are essential to the success of a business?

Pay Them Properly

Let’s start with the obvious.

Even people who love their jobs would struggle to keep turning up if they were not paid enough to live on.

We work to pay our bills and hopefully have enough to live a little.

It does not matter how great the work environment is if you go home to a cold house and an empty fridge or are at risk of losing your home altogether.

Yet if the computer needed an expensive upgrade to keep working, the same managers who think that paying on or just above minimum wage would probably sign it off in a heartbeat.

Pay is undoubtedly significant to most of those at the top, who generally enjoy large compensation packages.

Why do they think that those who, let’s be honest, really do the work are worth so very little?

Anyone can tell people that they are valued.

When not backed up with a decent living wage, the words ring hollow.

People are your most significant and most indispensable asset, and they are worth every penny you pay to retain them and maintain their goodwill.

This is not rocket science, but it may as well be for the understanding many senior managers seem to have of it.

Listen to Them and Empower Them

One reason your people are so important to your business is that they likely understand the details of day-to-day operations more than their managers ever will.

Part of this is reacting when things go wrong and solving problems as they arise.

They are also great at identifying and implementing improvements if allowed to do so.

It is remarkable how a business will happily pay vast amounts of money to consultants with no knowledge or experience of the business to identify improvements, listen to every expensive word they say, and disregard the suggestions and feedback from their staff daily.

This must be much more than a suggestions box in the staff room.

Empower your people to act without fear and to make continuous improvement a normal way of doing their job.

Focus on the results rather than specifying the methods.

Let your people bring their personality and their unique strengths to the job.

That does not mean making it a free-for-all.

It is perfectly proper to have controls in place to safeguard assets.

But prescribing every detail of every aspect of what staff do designs out the biggest strength of using people instead of machines.

Innovations have to come from somewhere.

Part of that process is making mistakes to learn what does not work.

Success is usually birthed in multiple failures.

It takes a courageous leader to work this way, but the rewards can be significant in terms of staff loyalty and direct benefits to the business.

Properly Engage with Your People

So many leaders seem to think proper conversations with their staff are beneath them.

I read this week that one senior manager visited every office he led and insisted on speaking to staff without their local managers present.

That is how it is done.

That is how you find out what is really going on at the front line, and what manager would not want to know that?

We live in a string culture of filtering anything negative before it reaches the top.

But how can leaders solve problems if nobody even tells them that they exist in the first place?

However you do it, you have to make it possible and risk-free for staff to tell you what is really going on.

It may not be what you want to hear, but it is what you need to know.

You can get several opinions on any situation, but you should not automatically choose the points of view that suit you.

Some doubtless assured the captain of the Titanic that the iceberg was not a big deal!

Acknowledge the issues that are brought to you and where you cannot make the changes suggested by your people, and be honest about why.

Deflection and distraction help nobody and are not nearly as clever and effective as some senior people seem to think that they are.

They generally make it look like you do not care.

Looking after those you lead is not that hard.

Treat them with kindness and respect, as you would want to be treated yourself.

Make sure that they know that they are the biggest asset in your organisation by what you do, not what you say.

Because without them, you really do not have a business at all.

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