I think that we can all agree that we go to work to perform the best one can do. We do not go to work to perform poorly. Therefore, when we start a new job, we are eager to make a difference. We strive to create a positive change to the organization to increase performance; not only for ourselves but for the entire organization. However, as much as we dutifully try our best, we may end up causing more harm than good. This is not only true for new employees but managers and leaders.
Therefore, the meaning of Primum non nocere can be lost to the enthusiastic manager, who wants to “help” their employees. Does the quest to take evasive action before the employee learns “the why” deliver sustainable performance? Do procedures and IS9000 need to explain the why? Do we need to live in “perpetual sandbox”? It can be a challenge to know when how much hand-holding is best for your employees; when to allow employees to make mistakes; how to set expectations; how to accept deliverables; what is a meaningful completed result. How do we create an environment in which sustaining results is more important than achieving the result?
As parents, we want our best for our children. We want them to have positive experiences. However, we understand that we learn from our positive experiences; but mostly by our mistakes. If our children live in a “bubble”, the likelihood that they will be effective in making decisions is diminished. Therefore, making mistakes in a safe Trusting positive enabling environment is the best way to improve performance. The Toyota Production System (TPS) emphasizes the importance of providing this type of environment and the development to create innovative Mistake-Proof Solutions. The underlying challenge is how to manage make mistakes in the most productive way… “without doing harm.”
Are processes that allow mistakes to occur the fault of the employee or the process environment? I suggest that mistakes are a product of the environment. Therefore, the more we can create PROCESS environments that limit the likelihood of making mistakes, the more we are assured of sustainable solutions. However, managing employees through micro-management, demerits, employee meetings, making examples of employees will not enable employees to perform at their best. Furthermore, over-managing employees make employees feel afraid to proactively address issues that may arise – developing a status quo environment – stifling employee initiative and innovation.
Great leaders, Henry Ford, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont and Jack Welch understood the importance of enabling the employee’s TRUST in order to gain SUSTAINED performance. Our best ideas comes from the employees “doing-the-do”. If we cannot trust our employees, how can our employees grow to sustain the performance that we all would like to achieve together? Therefore, enabling the “eager beaver” in which they can do no harm intrinsically creates a productive and sustainable environment.
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Notes:
Reference Material:
The eager beaver (Miriam-Webster): is a person who is extremely zealous about performing duties and volunteering for more. The early bird catches the worm. The early bird catches the worm but have no one to share their prize. If there is no one to share with, then when the early bird has other priorities, there is no one to catch the worms for the family (organization).
