"Let Your People Go"

Let your people go, so they can be free to contribute to the success of your organization. All of us need to accommodate change and the question becomes “do you want to be proactive or reactive?” Proactive is a preferable way to live and work as there are enough unforeseen contingencies to distract us.

If you’re involved in leading a growth change from a smaller organization to a larger one or taking a large organization through a transitional change, you will be more successful by getting input from your associates. Successful entrepreneurs have the tendency to be controlling while starting and operating a business. In starting a small business, someone needs to be sure appropriate decisions are made, plans are executed and clients are satisfied. But as the entrepreneurial company grows and becomes more complex, personnel are added and systems and procedures must be installed and processes formalized. Since the entrepreneur can no longer perform all tasks, how does the leader maintain control? What exactly needs to be controlled may be the better question.

The organization’s culture is accountable for the quality of energy or intelligence driving behaviors. What are the norms, values and philosophies that guide the decision-making processes in your organization? How has your corporate history affected current behavior? How are clients, vendors and associates treated? Have you and your associates been able to learn from your mistakes and make progress? When your associates make decisions do you agree with the logic of their thinking? Did they act with integrity and did their actions support your corporate mission and vision?

Affecting your organization’s culture may initially appear as an overwhelming top-down initiative. But let’s examine the effect you can have from the bottom up. Start with individual contacts and conversations. You have the opportunity to communicate your values in many micro decisions or in seemingly casual conversations. Here’s a way to analyze the quality of your communications called the “Two Column Exercise”:

• Think about a difficult conversation you had recently.
• On a piece of paper make a left and right column.
• In the right column, write down verbatim what you said and what they said.
• Then, in the left hand column, across from each statement on the right, note what you really thought or felt but did not say.

To get the most value, be objective -- don’t edit the right column. After writing and reading the left column information, start to think about what transpired during the dialogue. Did you communicate honestly? Were you clear and direct with your statements? Did you really listen to their responses? How did you feel during the conversation? Why did you feel that way? What could you have said that may have improved the results or effectiveness of the conversation?

Be aware that there is rarely perfect satisfaction for both sides in a negotiation. The most successful form of agreement may well be one where both parties remain a little bit dissatisfied.

In recent meetings or conference calls at Greco Apparel, I’ve found it productive to change my role from a controlling boss to facilitator. I thought as a small entrepreneur that my primary responsibility was to contribute the major ideas for problem solutions. Then I’d be further responsible for follow up and implementation.

Recently, we had an issue with the quality and delivery of our advanced shipping notices (which are also packing lists). There were five different client comments or requests for improvements. I scheduled a conference call between our staffs in Pennsylvania and the Dominican Republic to address the problems, but I also tried a new approach. Trusting that we have capable, intelligent and experienced associates, I started the call by clearly stating the issues as reported. I then assigned myself the role of facilitator instead of controlling the discussion and directing the solutions. I told my staff that I had confidence in their capability to discern and implement solutions or changes that would satisfy our clients’ needs. Then I shut up and listened.

Amazingly to me, ideas flowed freely and solutions emerged. Changes to the forms were actually implemented during the conference call. This process proved a much more efficient response than my old method of summarizing the meeting in a written memo and then following up. Not only was the reaction of my associates quicker than my methodology, but there was also less stress on me. What a deal!

I had guided an organizational culture change to drive improvements in client satisfaction and it was fun to watch. Paying closer attention to small interactions and the values communicated can have a large and significant affect on your business success.

Joseph Greco is president of Greco Apparel. For further information, visit www.grecoapparel.com