The heart of every employer goes out to the person who does his work when the “boss” is away and the person who, when given any task to perform, no matter how difficult or mundane, quietly takes the opportunity, without asking any idiotic questions, and with no lurking intention of finding the easiest way out, or of doing anything else but to accomplish the given task to the best of their ability. This person never gets “laid off” nor goes on strike for higher wages.
All our business lives we are continuously scanning in an anxious search to find these types of individuals. Almost anything such a person asks would be granted. They are wanted in every country, city, and town – in every office, shop, and factory. They are in such short supply that we sometimes give up looking for them. They are needed and needed badly!
Sound familiar? Of course, it is because this is the eternal lament of every leader in business! We spend an absolute fortune looking for this person…specifying the precise formal qualifications we are looking for, what psychological profile is needed, what the main competencies should be…and so on. We then contact a ‘head-hunter’ or employment agency to find this person. After an enormous amount of energy, we finally find what we think we are looking for…only to find that this ‘wunderkind’ is like a dead fish. No amount of scientific analysis can identify whether Mr/s Right will demonstrate that vitally important quality in our environment – INITIATIVE.
We tear our hair out trying to figure out how we can motivate our staff to go that extra mile and elect to ‘invest’ in motivational courses, team building exercises, incentive schemes which nobody understands or even cares about after the third month in operation – the list goes on and on and costs get higher and higher. Eventually we are tired of all this nonsense, become cynical and resign ourselves to the fact that if we want something done properly, we must do it ourselves. We stagnate and the business goes into decline simply because we cannot find the ‘right’ people!
Have we not all been sucked into looking for the wrong things? Are we not wasting our time trying to breath dynamic personalities into academics? Do we really want an Albert Einstein to manage the various aspects of our operations?
Maybe we are looking for the wrong type of people to fit a profile that only about 5% of the population possess. Are we not looking for that mystical key which will unlock the magic genie who will transform the business into a mega billion enterprise in…okay let’s be realistic and allow him/her 3 months? Not going to happen!!!
There are, quite simply, four categories of people when it comes to employees:
- Those who do things without being told to do them
- Those who do things after they have been told to do them just once
- Those who do the right things only when necessity kicks them from behind
- Those who will not do the right thing even when someone goes along to show them and then stays to see that they do it
Unfortunately, most employees fall into categories 3 & 4, and we include in these categories many people who hold middle and senior management positions in companies. Do we continue to throw money at people who can hopefully make these employees ‘see the light’? Absolutely not! They must want to change, and once they demonstrate that desire, we can help them on their way by spending money on providing that additional impetus.
Category 2 employees have the ability, are generally loyal, but just seem to lack a bit of imagination. These are what we would call solid citizens, they always try hard, and we can rely on them. We need and appreciate them. They are worth the money we pay them, and we often end up paying them a premium over market rates. We are not prepared to lose them and will generally give them all the encouragement we can.
Category 1 employees are few and far between – they have that rare quality called INITIATIVE. If you have them give them all the encouragement you possibly can because they are the mythical keys in business. Allow them space and give them the opportunity to take decisions and to act upon those decisions. They will make mistakes, but don’t chastise them because they will learn from the mistakes and will not repeat them. These people are worth the time and effort you will invest in helping them to develop themselves even further. They can take your business well beyond the realms of even your wildest expectations provided you harness their initiative and effort towards a goal which is clearly understood.
Where do you find these categories 1 & 2 people? The answer is in fact quite simple – you do not have to find them because they will find you! Ever heard of the saying that goes something like ‘people follow leaders’? By the laws of attraction, you will attract to yourself people who demonstrate similar traits to the ones you portray. Above all else therefore, you must work on yourself.
There are many factors, which go into the making of a good leader, but primarily a leader must have initiative and imagination. These two go hand in glove! Make it your business to talk initiative, sleep initiative and practice initiative. By doing this you become a person of initiative and leadership and people will automatically wish to be associated with you. Do not expect other people to do the things which you cannot or will not do. Make it your business to interest everyone around you in the development of initiative by exercising it yourself!
Remember that internal misjudgements are six times more likely to cause business failure than external factors. The message is clear … keep objective help close at hand at all times, and if you don’t have it, get it without delay.
Success in business is all about getting the business fundamentals right … and the actions you take!
QUOTATION:
No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person’s enemies say about him. (Unknown)