Yesterday was the bi-annual staff conference, a heady mix of corporate message, guest speakers, fun activities and the obligatory p*ss up afterwards. Usually I leave before the drinks are served, preferring to leave the socialising to my colleagues. As it was the day before my last day, I decided to stay and get suitably ‘refreshed’ with my colleagues.
Whilst sitting at the table with my third pint of lager, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself feeling sad to leave the organisation. I have worked in many places, and more often than not, I have been glad to get the hell out of there. Yesterday was different, as I looked at my team, I had a sense of enormous achievement and a feeling of pride at what they have achieved over the last few years, and the immense personal growth that each one of them has undergone.
We have delivered some huge projects, developed a reputation within the business as a team that delivers results and taken some risks. All of this is great, but for me the real achievement is how that team has gelled itself into a tight unit that naturally supports itself.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all been sweetness and light and I’ve had to have some uncomfortable discussions with them, but fundamentally, they have taken each challenge, learnt from it; recognised opportunities and capitalised on them. This is what I believe makes them strong. I really hope that my successor is able to maintain and build on this.
So what did we do? I guess from day one, we’ve had a very strong sense of purpose, I set out a clear view of what we were going to deliver short, medium and longer term, set some standards for performance and agreed individual areas of accountability for each team member in setting up the team and its service. This made sure that everyone had a stake in the development of the service, gave them the opportunity to create their own processes and most importantly started to create the culture of self sufficiency that has stayed with them over the last few years. This, I believe, is what has set them apart from their peers. The simple act of empowerment. They came to me if they needed to, rather than they had to because ‘I’m the boss’.
I have colleagues who spend more time on the operational stuff and hardly any time on their staff, they then have to rush the staff stuff and so the staff don’t grow; and they wonder why the don’t have time to do the strategic stuff. Guys, involve your staff, give them responsibilities for your processes not just for their day-job, nuture them and let them get on with it. If they need you, they will tell you.
I also observed one of the directors was very ‘refreshed’ and he was working hard to integrate with the Generation Y’s on the dance floor. Obviously the diversity training hadn’t worked as he only focussed on the female, aryan population. Perhaps it’s back to the drawing board for that programme.
Anyway It’s good to know that good old fashioned ‘back to the shop floor’ tactics are still as important as they ever where. I just hope his wife sees it that way when the photos are published.
Me? Well I’ve cleared my desk, will now return my corporate trappings and shall return in a new guise next week.
