Denise Moreland

We all know who is saying this to whom, and what is the only appropriate response—“How high?”  We know this because it is part of the culture of work.   Though intended to be humorous, it reflects some seriously flawed dynamics that make most people disengage at work, and a good number people actually hate their jobs.  The culture in too many organizations reinforces that bosses are the thinkers and employees are merely the doers.

In today’s complex environments, we need more thinkers, and more doers.  We need employees to offer their thoughts and ideas about what needs to be done, when, where and how to do it, and who is best suited for each piece.  We need multiple perspectives from different levels in decision-making to maximize creativity and optimize results.  We need managers and supervisors to be accountable for actual work, and for creating healthy and engaging work environments.  Not surprisingly, when employees engage, productivity increases, and people actually enjoy their work!

Imagine a workplace where everyone’s ideas are welcomed and considered, where you don’t have to pretend the boss is right even when s/he is not, where the lowest level employees are given as much respect as the CEO.  Such a work culture is possible!!  It just takes a change in roles, expectations and culture.

For ideas on how to change your work culture, see my book, Management Culture at mgmtculture.com or on Amazon. 

It’s fun to watch the shifting trends in management thinking. Recently, I have noticed a lot of support for the “just tell them why” approach.  The thinking is that employees will support and enthusiastically engage if bosses share the rationale for their decisions and actions. Until recently, it was often considered a sign of weakness for leaders to share the “why” with their subordinates. They certainly didn’t need to explain themselves to employees. The accepted norm was, “Because I said so!” Given this context, telling people “why” is an improvement.

I have a more radical idea. In addition to explaining “why” this decision was made or that direction chosen, managers could actually ask employees, “Does this make sense to you?”  Ideally, this would be asked, and the responses considered, before a decision is made or a direction set.  Now that would be transformative, and maybe even engaging!

I am looking forward to sharing these ideas at upcoming trainings and workshops in October and December. Please contact me (LifeGuides.Denise@gmail.com) if you are interested in having me speak or facilitate a discussion on how to transform your workplace (Facebook, Twitter).

For more radical ideas on how to engage employees, check out my book, Management Culture: Bold & Innovative Strategies to Engage Employees at mgmtculture.com or on Amazon.

For most of us, Labor Day means the end of summer and the State Fair, and the beginning of another school year.  We may go to the cabin for the long weekend, stay home to avoid the traffic, or hit one of the many sales.  Most of us are just happy to have the day off.

As someone interested in work culture, and improving relationships between managers and employees, I decided to look up the official meaning and little history of Labor Day.

According to the US Dept of Labor, the national holiday “is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers” and a “tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

According to Wikipedia, the national holiday followed “the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike.”  Labor Day in the US does not coincide with International Workers Day because “US President Grover Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the [Haymarket Massacre].”

The country, indeed the world, has a violent history of conflict between laborers and the people who hire them, with government often intervening to settle disputes.  Still, how wonderful today to have a national holiday to honor the workers of America!

What would it look like if we brought the spirit of Labor Day into every day?  What would change if we honored the contributions of workers to make organizations, and our nation, strong and prosperous every day?  I think it could be transformative.

If you are a supervisor or manager, think about changes you could make to recognize the achievements of the workers you lead.  If you do not supervise, think about how you can honor the contribution of your coworkers and yourself.  I work with a woman who ends every email and conversation with, “Thanks for coming to work today.”  In this simple graceful gesture, she honors every worker and brings the spirit of Labor Day into every day.  It makes a difference.

Please send me an email to share your thoughts about Labor Day, or leave a comment below for everyone to read.

For more ideas on how to improve your work environment, see my book, Management Culture or through Amazon.

I am a shameless optimist when it comes to democracy.  The idea that citizens should govern themselves was and is a radical notion.  In balance with self-government, our founders also guaranteed individuals rights to be free and to pursue happiness.

It is amazing to me that we cherish democracy and individual freedom in our political system, but abandon these ideals when we go to work each day.  In too many organizations, dictators, monarchs and masters still rule, because the culture of management keeps them stuck in the past.  Employees are treated, not as equals, but as inferiors, raw materials and hired hands.

Imagine a workplace where employees are treated as citizens and full participants, with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Imagine a workplace where employees are fully engaged because their innate talents are nurtured into strengths that align with organizational goals.  Everyone wins and productivity increases exponentially.

Well, you may say, work is different.  Businesses and bureaucracies are not democracies.   Business owners, shareholders and elected officials govern organizations–not the people who work in them.  While this may be technically true, the management mindset that stems from this thinking reinforces behaviors that alienate employees.  If managers want engaged employees, they would be wise to embrace principles of democracy that emphasize individuality and promote the pursuit of happiness.  Excellent managers find creative ways to integrate democracy into the structure of business and bureaucracy.  

To learn more about how to bring democratic principles into your organization, check out my book, Management Culture:  Innovative & Bold Strategies to Engage Employees at mgmtculture.com or Amazon.

 Happy Independence Day!

There was a time before Interactive Voice Response (IVR) telephone systems, when you talked to a real person, instead of pressing “1 for English, 2 for Spanish,” and navigating through a tree of options to route your call to a recorded answer. Ah, the good old days, when services were not so complex, and options were not so abundant.

Even today, you can usually get to a real, live person, if you are persistent enough, and don’t make any mistakes in your selections that make you hang up and start over, which happens to me often!

I have noticed a new pattern of behavior from the customer service folks I eventually get to talk to that I find troubling. It is, that they don’t really get to talk to me. Our conversations are always recorded and monitored for “quality assurance,” and their words are completed scripted. When I try to engage in a real conversation or offer a new perspective for their consideration, I get the same response over and over again, read to me from a script. Although I am delighted to have a person to talk to, I realize that I really don’t. The person has no authority to talk to me, let alone the authority to resolve my issue or complaint.

Customer service has become a robotic activity, which robs employees of any real human conversation with customers. I understand the business need for correct and consistent answers, but I always leave these conversations feeling unsatisfied, often frustrated and usually sorry for the employee whose job it was to have a “conversation” with me.

It seems like there should be a way to ensure quality customer service, with accurate and consistent information, without robbing employees of all creativity and expression that flows from natural human conversations. Certainly, this would be more engaging for the employees and a better service for customers, which would also benefit the business.

For ideas on how to move from an engineering model of management to one that promotes human creativity, engagement and real conversations, see my book, Management Culture, at mgmtculture.com.

One of my first jobs was hostessing at an expensive restaurant. I had to dress up and entered the restaurant through the front door. I always got an excellent (free) meal, which I ate in the corner of the dining room. I worked directly with the owner, who was quite charming. It was a wonderful job!

After several weeks at the job, I asked if I could increase my hours. My boss said he was in need of a salad-maker, so I agreed to give it a try. For this job, I wore jeans and a T-shirt, entered the restaurant through the rusty back door, and worked in the dingy basement, near the employee break room, badly in need of a paint job. For this work, my boss was the kitchen supervisor, who was not a happy person.

Becoming a salad-maker was my first glimpse into the huge difference between the pretty side of the business—what the customer (and hostess) sees, and the ugly side—seen only by back-room employees.  Many businesses have ugly sides, from dingy break rooms to work cultures that are disrespectful to employees.

Business and organizations that have ugly sides have not yet discovered that how they treat employees significantly impacts customers and clients.  Employees who are respected and appreciated are respectful and appreciative to customers and clients, which is good for employees, good for managers, and good for the business.  It’s all part of the same repeating pattern.

For ideas on how to create a respectful and engaging environment, check out my book, Management Culture, at mgmtculture.com.

The big boss called a meeting to decide whether to go forward with the project. There were risks either way. If we went forward, there would be more disruption to the organization, already in the midst of huge changes. If we did not, we might miss an opportunity to shape the national direction. Everyone at the meeting was a manager except Joe. He was the technical expert in this area and attended the meeting to answer questions, which he did eloquently.

After the meeting, I caught Joe in the hall and asked his opinion on what we should do.  He said, “I think what I think doesn’t matter.” My heart sank. Joe was the expert and would be most affected by the decision, and no one at the meeting even asked for his opinion.

Joe was right. What he thought didn’t matter. He was not invited to the meeting to participate in the decision. He was there to answer management questions. The truth is, even as a manager, what I thought didn’t matter either. The only opinion that mattered belonged to the big boss. As soon as we realized what he thought, every manager articulated reasons why his thinking was correct. We did not have an open and objective discussion, and no one even asked Joe what he thought!

Our boss was not a bad guy. He likely called the meeting with the best intentions, and may well have come out of it believing we’d had and honest discussion. Perhaps he didn’t know we told him what we thought he wanted to hear. This happens all the time. It is part of the culture to support what we think the boss wants, even when it doesn’t make sense. Offering a view contrary to the opinion of the boss is, at best, counter-cultural, and at worst, seen as insubordinate.

“We” decided to move forward with the project, despite the risks. In retrospect, this was probably not the best decision, given everything else that was in motion. The project lacked focus and caused confusion to an area that had been stable and clear. The opportunity to influence the larger direction did not materialize and the organization did not need one more change to manage. I often wondered whether we would have gone forward if we had asked Joe what he thought.

Imagine a workplace where people at all levels are invited—no, required—to share their honest opinions on big decisions, even—no especially—if they are not in line with those of the boss. Perhaps we would have fewer initiatives that don’t make sense, and fewer projects that fail. We need to stop pretending the person with the most authority has the most knowledge and expertise, and can see the future. As managers, we need to start asking Joe what he thinks.

For more ideas on how to transform your work culture, check out Management Culture, at mgmtculture.com or through Amazon.

“My boss is always breathing down my neck. Which is pretty impressive for someone with their head up their butt.”  Maxine

It may seem that I like to pick on bosses. The truth is, I think most people in supervisory and management positions are good people who want to do right for their companies and employees. Often, they fall short of their intentions because of the pressure they feel to treat employees as assets to be managed, and resources to be engineered, rather than as whole human beings, eager to be fully engaged.

Like all human groups, there is a culture within management that puts pressure on leaders to behave in specific ways, many of which are not affirming or respectful toward employees. Bosses are expected to be experts of the work, firm in their decisions, confident in their action, and tough toward employees. Those who lead with an iron fist, making decisions that are good for the company, even if they are bad for employees, are lauded as great leaders.

Leaders who are employee-oriented, who view employees as experts and include them in decision-making are seen as weak, and criticized for favoring popularity over achieving work goals. It is difficult for individuals to go against the prevailing culture of management that pressures them to treat employees as less competent or committed than the leaders.

We need a new culture of management built on the assumption that employees want their companies to succeed as much as management does. We need courageous leaders willing to adopt new models of partnership with employees built on cooperation, co-creation and co-ownership.

What would be different if your boss treated you as a partner rather than an adversary or a resource? Would you be more engaged? If you are a supervisor or manager, could you imagine going against the culture to treat employees as your equals in intellect, creativity and competence? Would you be viewed as a weak leader?

Learn more about new models of leadership from my book, “Management Culture” available at mgmtculture.com and Amazon.

At last, social attention has turned to bullying in schools. Researchers are identifying   the psychological costs, administrators are being sued for not keeping kids safe, and the media is reframing the conversation about acceptable behavior between students. “Boys will be boys,” hazing and tolerance for “mean girls” are losing their dismissive power. This is all good.

On a parallel path, as awareness of workplace bulling increases, organizations are quickly developing policies to protect employees and prevent lawsuits. The problem with these laudable efforts is that most workplace bullying is not among co-workers but between bosses and their employees, which makes the policies nearly impossible to enforce. Giving orders and using force is what bosses do. How do you tell when a supervisor has crossed the line to bullying employees? Simple, ask the employees.

When employees feel discouraged, dispirited, anxious and fearful, there is likely boss bullying going on. These are not natural employee feelings. Managers and supervisors who treat employees as their servants, their inferiors or their children are bullies. The best way to address boss bullying is to redefine the leader’s role, from commander to coach, from dictator to facilitator, from master to servant.

Learn more about how to deal with bully bosses, and how go avoid becoming one, in my book, Management Culture at mgmtculture.com.

eMail, eCommerce, eGov…iPad, iPhone, iTunes…mySpace, mySite, myBank…

35 years ago people began referring to the baby-boomers as the “me generation” because they were so focused on themselves as individuals. As it turns out, these people were right! For the boomers and generations that have followed, the culture has become me/my/i focused in an e-technology world.  e – i – me – my, Oh!

Individuals have become the center of the culture, customizing nearly every aspect of their lives based on principles of unlimited options, access and expression.

Where choice was once limited, it now seems limitless. I remember when there was only one kind of Coke, when water came from the tap, coffee was just coffee. Now there are endless soft-drink, water and coffee options, customizable to your liking. A big gulp here, a vitamin water, here a latte, there a skinny, caffeine-free, dark chocolate, mint cooler, everywhere choices, choices!

What was one service has become self-service. I remember when an attendant pumped the gas, cleaned the windows and collected my money.  Then we started pumping ourselves, then pay-at-the-pump. A swipe here, a scan there, here a nozzle, there a lift, everywhere a squeeze, turn to click and take your receipt.

Media that was once centrally controlled has become democratized. We used to plan activities around favorite TV shows. Today we watch what we want when we want to. Our living rooms have become theaters and film studios.  A cable here, a satellite there, here a download, there an upload, everywhere a stream, stream.

Not long ago, news was centrally controlled. Now everyone with a cell phone is a reporter and a photo journalist. A click, click here, a post, post there, here a blog, there a blog, everywhere a tweet, tweet.

Why is that in so many other aspects of life, the individual is given nearly unlimited autonomy to customize their interactions with the world, except at work?

It is because management culture–the expectations and rules of the organizational game that keep managers firmly in control–is outdated. We need a new culture of leadership that empowers employees, giving them options to customize their contributions, drawing out their strengths and creativity, rather than stifling them. A strength, strength here, a choice, choice there. Here a talent, there a skill, everywhere a creative whole human being!

e – i – me – my, Oh!!