Stuff We Learned At Work

Bring together a group of people who have been working for a number of years and ask them what they have learned on the job. Once you get past the standard on-the-job skills training many receive, you're bound to hear some frightening things. We certainly did. Here's a sampling of verbatim quotes:

"Where I work it's been made clear that we're to keep our heads down, do our job, and not bother even thinking about new ways to do things."

"Take no risks! Where I work, failure is a fire-able offense."

"No one says it directly, but we know that thinking outside the box is for people above our pay grade. If them."

"The only answer that's acceptable where I work is 'Yes'."

"New ideas are seen as criticism. You definitely don't want to be critical where I work."

"No one knows what 'outstanding performance' looks like. We think they [management] want it that way because they can control who gets the highest ratings."

"See a problem? Where I work, it's better to ignore it."

"Working long hours is much more important then getting the job done quickly."

"Trust no one. There's no value in it."

And, no, these aren't disgruntled workers. These people were randomly selected to describe their experiences at work as part of a larger research effort. All have worked for their present employer for at least 5 years and claim no immediate desire to leave. Even so, it is clear that these people -- like the vast majority of management and non-management workers throughout this country -- have been taught behaviors that inhibit or even prohibit top performance at work.

So, what are these performance-inhibiting behaviors that many companies teach their people, whether overtly or otherwise? Our data, supported by other applied research, indicate that a majority of workers learn over time that:

• Creative, elegant solutions are really not desired

• Failure is bad and to be avoided at all cost
  

• It's far better to agree than to disagree, especially with a superior

• Effort (long hours) is valued far more than efficiency (getting the job done quickly)
  

• Speaking your mind can be quite risky and potentially fatal, and
  

• Receiving the highest performance rating is almost impossible. So why try?
  

It's no wonder, then, that when companies decide to attack long-standing business issues they often have to create completely separate teams and isolate them -- shield them, actually -- from the rest of the organization. Apart and far from the maddening crowd, so to speak. Where the old rules don't apply. A skunkworks project, as one good example, is one in which a small, loosely- or non-structured group of people come together to seek sometimes radical innovation. Not surprisingly, the first thing that's required when such a team is formed is to convince the players that:

1. Open communication is acceptable. Really.

2. Leadership does seek creative solutions. That's why we're here.

3. There is a strong possibility that leadership will, indeed, act on the ideas that emerge from the group.

Said another way, members of skunkworks projects -- we call them Design Teams -- have to unlearn what they've been taught at work and accept that there's a different way of doing business. Especially if innovation and performance improvement are the goals. This unlearning process often takes weeks. Reorienting people's thinking to include the possibility that leadership just might be interested in new ways of doing things can be quite difficult. That's a tribute, in a truly perverse way, to how effective the company's teachings have been.

It's sad, but true. If you need validation, ask your people. Maybe they'll tell you.

The behaviors companies teach their people typically prove costly. Greater efficiencies go undiscovered, chronic problems remain unsolved, worthy ideas are jettisoned without consideration, performance plateaus, initiative is squelched. Along the way, souls are damaged if not fully crushed, especially among those who are passionate about helping their employers succeed.

We can't imagine that this is part of a company's business model. You think any company anywhere makes the conscious decision to pay millions of dollars in payroll, benefits, and fringe benefits with hopes of reaping only a portion of that investment? We doubt it. Even so, our data estimate that, on average, upwards of 15 - 20% of potential, tangible, real-deal bottom-line performance gains are never realized. Our guess -- like those of their employees -- is that companies simply aren't interested in excelling. Their performance and the economic times being so good, of course.

Ah, but it does not have to be this way. Behaviors can be unlearned. Companies can teach new, more enlightened ways to lead, inspire and involve their people. Innovation can become the norm, not the exception. Continuous, profitable growth can be achieved and sustained.

And what's exciting about this is that your people hold the answers. They are eager to show you a new path forward. We can show you how to unleash those ideas. You, your customers, your share- and stakeholders -- and your people -- will be thrilled you did.