BOOK SUMMARY 233
Everybody Matters
·
Summary written by: Jane Bushby
"When we say our people matter but we don’t actually
care for them, it can shatter trust and create a culture of paranoia, cynicism,
and self-interest."
- Everybody Matters, page ix
The
concept in Everybody Matters is that treating our colleagues
and staff like family will create an organisational climate that is conducive
to employee and community well-being and delivers returns for the organisation.
Having
learnt from early experiences, Bob Chapman has made it his life’s ambition to
create workplaces where all people feel valued. He and Raj Sisodia recognise
that this impacts positively on an organisation’s outputs, and they emphasise
it is important to focus on individuals and their well-being as this creates
ripples across the organisation and the community. This focus is necessary to
ensure that caring for and having the right approach towards others is
authentic and sustained. Bob and Raj argue that achieving this creates positive
flow on effects for the organisation’s productivity and outputs, as all
employees inherently want their organisation to succeed. Bob has an impressive
track record of taking over struggling (often dying) companies and transforming
them into market leaders. This book outlines how he achieves this, quite simply
by treating individuals with respect and trusting them to have the answers.
The Golden Egg
It’s all about the leaders
"Leaders
are responsible for overseeing the environment in which people are asked to
work… and people will act in accordance with that culture."- Everybody
Matters, page ix
Bob
and Raj make it very clear that it’s about the leaders and how they behave that
creates the workplace climate. Their leadership philosophy is firmly grounded
in the responsibility that leaders, much as parents, have for role modelling
and authentically demonstrating desired behaviours. Indeed, many of the actions
identified for improving the workplace are seen as starting with the leader.
Establishing the expectations of leadership and what it is to be an employee of
Barry-Wehmiller (Bob’s organization) is the first step towards creating a
strong and desirable workplace climate. Consistent with this approach, they
developed a Leadership Checklist (see below) which outlines what is required of
an individual assuming this responsibility.
Leadership
Checklist
I
accept the awesome responsibility of leadership. The following statements
describe my essential actions as a leader.
·
I practice stewardship of the Guiding
Principles of Leadership through my time, conversations, and personal
development.
·
I advocate safety and wellness through my
actions and words.
·
I reflect to lead my team in Achieving
Principled Results on Purpose.
·
I inspire passion, optimism and purpose.
·
My personal communication cultivates
fulfilling relationships.
·
I foster a team community in which we are
committed to each other and to the pursuit of common goals.
·
I exercise responsible freedom, empowering
each of us to achieve our potential.
·
I proactively engage in the personal growth
of individuals on my team.
·
I facilitate meaningful group interactions.
·
I set, coach to, and measure goals that
define winning.
·
I commit to daily continuous improvement.
To
support embedding their culture, they have developed their own internal
leadership development program which involves individuals considering
“leadership as a conscious commitment rather than a title or a role
description”. As a consequence, individuals decide when they are ready to
attend the program and to be open to learning what this conscious commitment
involves.
Gem #1
Believe in other people’s strengths and celebrate their
skills
"Encourage
and insist that each team member – every member of the family – play to his
strengths so that each one has the opportunity to become great at what they’re
good at."- Everybody Matters, page 73
There
are some great examples of leadership that are not hierarchically based which
links to this first GEM. Throughout the book, Bob and Raj emphasize the
importance of giving others the space to grow. The book outlines the importance
for leaders to have patience and provide their teams with the space to learn
and grow based on their own experiences. A critical element for leaders is
acknowledging staff when they do the right thing and helping them learn from
experiences. This creates a positive environment and encourages people to think
about the strengths of their colleagues which decreases the likelihood of
gossiping about their foibles. A key aspect of this is seeking to recognize and
acknowledge individual and team achievements which in turn demonstrates caring,
and creates inspiration and joy through celebrations.
Gem #2
Achieve through ‘Responsible Freedom’
"Responsible
Freedom encapsulates two ideas: freedom, the opportunity to exercise personal
choice, to have ownership of the work that you do and the directions you make;
and responsibility, ensuring that personal choice is exercised with care and
concern for other people and the requirements of the organization, and it
requires two-way trust."- Everybody Matters, page 175
As
with many other aspects, Bob and Raj share their sources for some of their
ideas with the concept of Responsible Freedom coming from the philosopher Peter
Koestenbaum. For Bob and Raj, this involves three key behaviours:
·
Share your gifts and talents (do not hide
aspects of yourself at work),
·
Be proactive and help create the
organization’s vision, and
·
Collaborate with others to create a better
organization.
This
requires having clear goals and ensuring that all individuals know and
understand these goals so that they can use their strengths and work
proactively and collaboratively to help make them happen. This empowers people
and gives them the freedom to strive for success on behalf of, and with, their
teams.
Throughout
the book, the authors include anecdotes and quotes from other thought leaders,
including Simon Sinek who lauds this approach, seeing it as something he wishes
more companies would focus on. I loved many of the concepts in the book and
will endeavor to create a desirable climate based on my takeaways. The book
provides a lot of food for thought and did get me thinking and wondering what
work would be like if we accepted each other’s foibles. I was left wondering
what would happen in an organization where we genuinely view our staff, peers
and leaders with the same sense of ‘blood is thicker than water’ as when we
turn a blind eye to actions of family members that hit our buttons.
As a
convert to the concept, I felt the authors spent a lot of time ‘convincing’ me
of the benefits of their approach. Bob and his team undoubtedly encountered
resistance and cynicism and as the ultimate leader I can see how he could
influence this process. I would have valued more detailed steps for lower level
leaders on how to encourage their leaders to enact some of these concepts,
particularly those who may not be as ‘sold’ on the concepts. Having said that,
Bob suggests that if nothing else, if you as a leader who consciously accepts
the ‘awesome responsibility’, you can role model and exemplify the benefits.
How could you do this from within your organization? What challenges would you
face and are they outweighed by the benefits and opportunities that Bob and his
team identify?
