JUNE 2005

Greetings,

Welcome to the first of the summer Joy at Work Journals. This month's Journal focuses on Management vs Leadership. Changing managers into leaders is a key element of creating a fun and effective workplace. Managers control the work of those who report to them through their own hard work, management systems and the boss' own decision making skills. Leaders restrain their use of controlling mechanisms. Instead, they serve the people they lead. They do whatever is needed to create an environment where people can use their own reasoning and decision making abilities and their physical skills to contribute to the success of the organization. The transformation from manager to leader requires a great deal of humility and love on the part of the future leader.

I hope you enjoy the Joy at Work Journal,

Dennis

"The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager is a copy; the leader is an original. The manager maintains; the leader develops. The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. Managers have their eyes on the bottom line; leaders have their eyes on the horizon. The manager imitates; the leader originates. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it. The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing."
— Warren Bennis

STAY TUNED>
The Joy at Work Bible Study Companion will release in early July. Stay tuned for more information about the study, or visit www.DennisBakke.com

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JOY AT WORK SIGHTINGS>
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1. When given the opportunity to use our ability to reason, make decisions, and take responsibility for our actions, we experience joy at work.

2. The purpose of business is not to maximize profits for shareholders but to steward our resources to serve the world in an economically sustainable way.

3. Attempt to create the most fun workplace in the history of the world.

4. Eliminate management, organization charts, job descriptions, and hourly wages.

5. Fairness means treating everybody differently.

6. Principles and values must guide all decisions.

7. Put other stakeholders (shareholders, customers, suppliers, etc.) equal to or above yourself.

8. Everyone must get advice before making a decision. If you don’t seek advice, “you’re fired.”

9. A “good” decision should make all the stakeholders unhappy because no individual or group got all they wanted.

10. Lead with passion, humility, and love.

The key to joy at work is the personal freedom to take actions and make decisions using individual skills and talents. This is a simple concept but almost impossible to carry out because of the roadblocks thrown up by large organizations. Can you move around such obstacles? Dennis' response to such questions is "The Advice Process." It is a process that requires leaders to give up control and, like Warren Bennis' quote above, it demands that leaders, not managers, "inspire trust."

The advice process is a very simple, although often controversial, concept. It takes the “suggestion box” management approach of the 1970s and ’80s and turns it upside down. Instead of the boss getting advice and suggestions from people below, the decision maker—who is almost always not an official leader—seeks advice from leaders and from peers.

The advice process is my answer to the age-old organizational dilemma of how to embrace the rights and needs of the individual, while simultaneously ensuring the successful functioning of the team, community, or company. I observed that Japanese companies tended to emphasize the group and consensus, while American culture pushed rugged individualism. I believe the advice process strikes a better balance. It leaves the final decisions to individuals, but it forces them to weigh the needs and wishes of the community. Parenthetically, the Internet was made to order for our advice process. The kind of wide consultations that I advocate would not be possible in large, dispersed organizations were it not for e-mail.

Five important things happen when the advice process is used by an individual before making a decision or taking action:

First, it draws the people whose advice is sought into the question at hand. They learn about the issues and become knowledgeable critics or cheerleaders. The sharing of information reinforces the feeling of community. Each person whose advice is sought feels honored and needed.

Second, asking for advice is an act of humility, which is one of the most important characteristics of a fun workplace. The act alone says, “I need you.” The decision maker and the adviser are pushed into a closer relationship. In my experience, this makes it nearly impossible for the decision maker to simply ignore advice.

Third, making decisions is on-the-job education. Advice comes from people who have an understanding of the situation and care about the outcome. No other form of education or training can match this real-time experience.

Fourth, chances of reaching the best decision are greater than under conventional top-down approaches. The decision maker has the advantage of being closer to the issue and will probably be more conversant with the pros and cons than people in more senior positions. What’s more, the decision maker usually has to live with consequences of the decision. Even if the decision maker comes to an issue without fully understanding its implications for the organization, that weakness can be overcome by obtaining advice from senior people. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote: “Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.”

Fifth, the process is just plain fun for the decision maker because it mirrors the joy found in playing team sports. The amount of fun in an organization is largely a function of the number of individuals allowed to make decisions. The advice process stimulates initiative and creativity, which are enhanced by wisdom from knowledgeable people elsewhere in the organization. The process (of making decisions) is just plain fun for the decision maker.



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FREE DOWNLOAD - Water Cooler Wisdom - Rule #8 printable 8.5 x 11 pdf document
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Want to start a dialogue in your office about Bakke's Top 10? You can download a printable version of Rule #9 and stick it up somewhere it will be seen. (Suggestions - the boss's chair, underneath windshield wipers, inside the box of donuts, or next to the inspirational posters in the cafeteria)