The Manifesto

The Future of Leading Human Beings at Work

The relationship between leaders in Corporate America and employees today has me concerned. It’s as if a number of leaders in top positions have lost track of the very distinctive value their human resources bring, to make their businesses prosper. If we are to capitalize on the unique value of human beings at work, the fundamental relationship between people who are employees and those who endeavor to lead them must change. Those relationships must be stable and respectful, supported by leaders making decisions based on sound principles versus shortsighted reactivity.

To be clear, when I use the term “leader” here I’m talking about executives at the top who are making decisions in the name of the company. Their decisions not only impact stockholders, but also the livelihoods of potentially thousands of people who are employed by them, most of whom they will never look in the eye.

The American work culture has gone through plenty of change since the industrial revolution. In the last 25 years particularly, financial pressures compelled corporate leaders to make decisions like outsourcing, off-shoring and downsizing. Add in benefits reductions, budget cuts, pay freezes and mandatory unpaid time-off, and no wonder that over 70% of the U.S. workers are reported as “disengaged” (Gallup, “State of the Global Workforce, 2011”).

Though the intent of these actions was to create financial stability, inside some company cultures, it felt like employers were moving away from taking care of employees to now expecting employees to manage their own careers and create their own job security. This is not without merit, but the shift from one perspective to the other does not seem to have been facilitated. Employees and their managers need to help to actively transition to such changes in a constructive way, in order to resume engagement.

Granted, the financial environment over the last few decades is unprecedented, as we have grown to become a global economy. Who would know what to do in the face of continual financial challenges? But, isn’t that a leader’s responsibility?

In exploring the case of downsizing as an example, we find it is shown to be as much a response to what others are doing, i.e. imitation, as it is to financial need, according to Arthur Budros, associate professor of sociology at McMaster University in California. Jeffery Pfeffer, Professor in Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, in a Newsweek article, February 2010, goes so far as to assert that some companies now cut jobs to minimize hits to profits, not to ensure their survival.

What I would like to see today is more corporate leaders really thinking through the impact of their decisions on their workforce, and not simply making these high-impact decisions out of imitation or habit. They undoubtedly have access to the same research we do about employee disengagement and the ineffectiveness of downsizing. But some leaders continue to take action that damages the talent they already have available at their fingertips. Companies like Southwest Airlines somehow achieve financial stability and even increase profitability without creating a disinterested workforce.

Southwest’s type of leadership demonstrates how to make decisions that preserve the ability of their human resources to thrive and deliver results beyond expectation. The more human beings at work are engaged by all of what makes us human, the more our organizations will benefit by the results only committed and motivated human beings can create.

Being human means having very human needs —such as the need to contribute, to be appreciated, to make a difference, and to belong. Human needs can be viewed as a weakness. Or you can view them as simply underutilized traits that can be taken advantage of, allowing both employees and the company to profit. These needs must be addressed in every decision and every interaction. Leaders can adapt to this approach by learning to take everyone’s needs seriously, even if they don’t understand or relate to them.

Ultimately an engaged workforce is best for all stakeholders, which includes customers, society, employees and stockholders. With an engaged workforce you will see employees creating ideas seemingly out of nowhere or accomplishing the impossible by trading on the power of relationships. When all involved see the express benefit of their relationships and of individuals’ roles and contributions, our organizations will experience the true competitive advantage of its human resources.

If corporate leaders are to capitalize on their greatest asset, they must rediscover the importance of fundamental relationships between human beings. I can’t tell you exactly what this will mean for your decisions and actions as leaders. I’m asking you to truly look at your employees with an eye to what human beings can bring to the table, and gain from it.

This commitment to taking responsibility to honor each other’s worth, and the way life itself is expressed through the productivity of people’s heads, hands, or hearts, it is not only a decision but also a journey. I hope that through your struggles to see this vision in action, you realize its power.

All images from iStockphoto.