Winning: The Answers: Confronting 74 of the Toughest Questions in Business Today by Jack Welch, Suzy Welch Read Free Book Online

didn’t do it sooner.

THE COURAGE TO BECOME A CHANGE AGENT
     
 
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    I am new to management, and eight months ago was made the head of a learning and development department, which has seven people, all of them older than I am and with more years of service to the company, a global natural resources business. I am overwhelmed by the poor work ethic among my staff. They frequently ask for time off for personal matters and have low productivity in general. How do I say no to repeated personal requests for time off if the company itself allows for flextime?
     
    — CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
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    W e have a question for you. How much courage have you got, because you are going to need it in the difficult change campaign that awaits you. Difficult, because you need to turn your department upside down to get things right, and even when that’s done, some people may still have to go.
    You don’t say so, but we would guess that your department is lacking three critical organizational components: an inspirational mission, a clear set of values, and a rigorous appraisal system. A mission will illuminate your department’s overarching purpose and give your people a sense of excitement and urgency. A set of values will describe how people need to act in order to achieve the mission. (Another word for values , incidentally, is simply behaviors .) For instance, in a learning and development department like yours, the values might include “Connect all coursework to changing market conditions,” or “Spread best practices to every corner of the company.” Whatever—these are just examples of the kind of concreteness that makes values come alive. Finally, a candid, rigorous appraisal system (conducted at least twice a year to start) will let your people know how well they are delivering results and demonstrating the values. The appraisal system must differentiate, by the way, or it will be meaningless. In other words, it must result in praises, raises, and promotions for the people who buy into the new mission and values, and just the opposite for those who don’t.
    The change campaign we’ve just described is major and disruptive, and it will take time and steel nerves, even in a small department like yours. But once a mission, a set of values, and an appraisal system are in place and relentlessly communicated by you, people will know what it takes to succeed. That, in and of itself, should decrease the frequent requests for personal time. How? By making it clear that time off is fine—as long it has been earned with good performance and the right values. Eventually, you should see an overall improved work ethic and higher productivity. That said, there are sure to be some people who can’t change their ways, even with your encouragement and guidance. Don’t wait too long; let them know they need to move on to an organization where their values are a better fit. They don’t belong in yours.
    Now, we realize you are part of a larger company with its own culture and practices. Indeed, that’s often what we hear from people in your predicament—“I can’t change things because that’s not the way it’s done here,” they say, or, “The bosses won’t support me.”
    We sympathize—but not totally. Yes, you may be an outlier, but in our experience, it is rare for an organization, especially its bosses, to reject a change initiative that improves performance and productivity. Very few people want to shoot a team member who is delivering results. They may be jealous, but they’re not stupid.
    But even if you are working within a company where your plan is “outside the box,” don’t give up. Just move more judiciously. Make sure the reasons for your change initiative are transparent to everyone. Keep your bosses informed of where you are going, and your team even more so. And finally, don’t lose faith along the way. Some people will resist change. They always do. But as soon as results start rolling in, your