In Praise of Praise by Leslie W. Flott

"Whether an environment motivates or demotivates employees is greatly dependent on the characteristics of the managers and supervisors."

Richard J. Pierce, "Involvement Engineering"

F ew CEOs expect things to always run smoothly 100% of the time, but they do expect them to run more or less efficiently most of the time.

They also expect subordinates to carry out their assigned duties with verve and dedication and in a timely manner. These same senior executives fairly routinely send notes or memos to subordinates ask- ing tha t those subordinates carry out some, very often, nonroutine actions or tasks. Most subordi- nates expect this sort of behavior from the boss and, barring a serious conflict of time or policy, perform the added duty without complaint. Thus has been the relationship between supervisor and subordi- nate since time immemorial.

About the only other time tha t most underlings are likely to hear from a great many bosses is when the boss is unhappy. Assistants and aides of every type are much more often the receivers of vented frustration and genuine anger than of a simple word of praise. Many bosses feel tha t there is little point in telling people that they are doing their jobs well. After all, isn't tha t what they are paid to do?

Those of us who have been in the military can appreciate the difference between a ROTC "butter- bar" (a college graduate Second Lieutenant) and a "mustang," an officer who has come up through the ranks. Second Lieutants (ROTC or OCS) are often arrogant and will suffer no affront to their self- importance. Mustangs have been there, they under- stand what enlisted personnel and NCOs are going through. (Especially the part about putt ing up with and actually training Second Lieutenants. In com- bat this often means doing what you can to keep t h e s e young officers alive while they learn some- thing useful.) Mustangs are much more tolerant of their subordinates.

The same scenario is played out in industry. Young executives, fresh out of college or whatever, frequently seem to concentrate more on maintaining

Les Flott is with Summit Process Consultants in Wabash, Ind. You can reach him via E-mail: lesflott@compuserve.com.

their authori ty or power than they do on getting on with the job they're suppoed to be doing. They s e e

their futures as "working managers/executives" and focus their individual efforts on the latest problem(s) and on their own pet projects. They simply don't pay attention to the people who work for them. As the pace of business increases the bright young tigers' self-centered focus fixates on crises and fixing what's wrong. People become a little-recognized inconve- nience or a means to their ends.

Few of these young executives, and few older more experienced ones as well, give much thought to what motivates the workforce. The "human factors" are simply left out of their personal equations. It doesn't occur to many of these executives tha t the simple exercise of telling an employee tha t they have done a good job may be every bit as necessary as doing the job itself. After all, aren't we paying them to do their jobs? Isn't the paycheck enough? No, it often isn't enough.

At least one survey of what makes workers happy and unhappy published startl ing results. Money was number 1 or 2 on the list of what made people unhappy. But on the list of what made the same people happy money was down around 10. The point seems to be tha t when people aren't happy with their job they gripe about money, but getting more money doesn't automatically make them any hap- pier. This may be why people change jobs for pen- nies.

There have been drastic changes in the work ethic on both sides of the boss's desk. The days when an individual might take a job and stay with a company for 30 or 40 years or more are gone. Today's work- force is incredibly mobile, literally and figuratively. Hardly anyone walks to work today, even people who live fairly close to the job. In addition today's workers are not as loyal as their fathers and moth- ers were. Senior management is often baffled by th i s - -what they see as lack of loyalty. A great many workers will, as mentioned above, leave a position for pennies an hour or trivial extra benefits.

Today's executives are not themselves without blame. In the current marketplace there are a great many issues tha t grab and hold the boss's attention. Money, sales, taxes, governmental policies and reg-

June 1999 127

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ulations, and cost controls (especially medical insur- ance costs) all seem to demand the full-time concen- trat ion of the people at the top.

There is, however, an unfortunate side effect to this narrow focus. The people on the floor become increasingly distant and virtually unseen digits in the business equation. Constraints on the execu- tives' t ime mean that there is less and less time for face-to-face experiences with individual workers. One result, from the workers point of view, is that senior managers become distant players who manip- ulate the lives of the workforce. Neither side under- stands the other. From the executives' viewpoint this also makes opportunities for positive reinforce- ment increasingly rarer events. If the bosses don't see the people, the workers become faceless without real identity. It becomes increasingly difficult to say something nice about persons tha t are never en- countered, except in an exit interview.

Of course, the boss sees his or her immediate aides on a regular basis but the great mass of the workforce will become increasingly distant and ir- relevant. When this happens decisions may be made on the basis of factors tha t are incomprehensible to the worker. The workers come to believe that man- agement doesn't care about them and they are often right. It is easy for managers, pressured by the many demands of their jobs, to forget tha t their every decision affects people's lives, for good or bad. The entire corporate culture becomes one of indiffer- ence to individuals. Is it then surprising that the workers feel no loyalty to the company? From the worker viewpoint the company feels no loyalty to them. As Richard J. Pierce says in "Involvement Engineering": "Whether an environment motivates or demotivates employees is greatly depending on the characteristics of the managers and supervi- sors."

Motivational consultants, like Steve Wittert of Paragan, Bob Nelson, formerly of B]anchard Train- ing and Development, and Dale Zand of New York University, have all in one speech or another ex- tolled the virtues of taking a brief second or two to praise employees. A simple moment of genuine ap- preciation can give emotional energy to employees and can build dedication. The key is that it must be sincere. Even the lowliest worker on the most un- pleasant job knows the difference between weaning, fawning flattery, and sincere praise for a job well done.

We all need to know that our efforts are appreci- ated. It doesn't mat te r if we are the janitor or the CEO. We are all human with human needs. Each time we praise an individual for a job well done, it

128 Metal Finishing

becomes easier. As simple sincere praise becomes rou- tine, it becomes part of the corporate culture and it pays big dividends. As praise is used and the culture changes for the better not only are the company's own employees treated better but customers are treated better as well. When workers feel appreciated other feelings creep in. They begin to trust management more and management begins to trust them more. This is simply the result of both groups responding to the intrinsic humanity of the other group.

Dale Zand goes so far as to say that every organi- zation is either bound by cycles of trust or fragmented by cycles of mistrust. Perhaps that is part of what W. Edwards Deming meant when he said tear down the barriers (real or imagined) between departments. Lack of two-way communication, whether real or imagined, breeds a lack of teamwork. When people at every level detect barriers, whether caused by ineffec- tual communications, absence of mutual respect, or perceived indifference, the big loser is the company. These issues can become major barriers to progress and profits.

The dilemma is that the mood--the culture---of the organization is largely set by senior managers. If those

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managers have a Second Lieutenant's mind-set the entire organization may soon develop a what's-in-it- for-me attitude. Their immediate subordinates pick up on the message they perceive coming from their se- niors and perpetuate the practice at their own level. The result can be that no one is working for "the company," or its success.

Ju ran and Gryna, in their famous book "Quality Planning and Analysis," say; "Technology touches the head; culture touches the heart. ''1 Most of us are to some degree into modern technology. In some cases this means being computer literate, in other cases it may mean operating a totally automated production system. We have come a long way since the days when "old Joe" looked or listened to the machinery and decided what changes to the process were needed. Good riddance to the "black art."

Today most companies have available to them some sort of data-gathering scheme. People are gen- erating information, analyzing it, and making deci- sions. Technology has extended beyond manufactur- ing and the office into maintenance, environmental control, and quality. In addition to programs for Statistical Quality Control, Quality Control Manu- als, Gauge Calibration, Gauge R & R, or QS/ISO

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9000 many companies have added programs to help control other important aspects of the business.

Consider, for example, EDI, Electronic Data Inter- face, also sometimes called EDT (Electronic Data Transfer), basically a system whereby information (data) is transferred from one location to another with- out the need to generate paperwork. MRP, Material Resource Planning, is a strategy that combines man- ufacturing functions, such as forecasting, sales orders, work orders, quotations, bar coding, capacity require- ments, planning, and more, into a single integrated system. Progress seems to be only a keyboard away. All hail the "information revolution."

LETTING LEADERS LEAD One corollary of the "information revolution" is

that more time is spent in front of a computer that in face-to-face meetings. Managers at every level are in danger of becoming even more distant. Consider for a moment what Joseph Ju ran says. He claims that 85% of all production problems are caused by man- agement (W. Edwards Deming places the figure at 90-95%). If this is even close to being true then the practice of management must change.

No one seriously argues that companies must main-

tain a focus on quality, productivity, and profits, but programs promoting improvement cannot be a substi- tute for action. Clever posters, slogans, and newslet- ters must not be allowed to become an end in them- selves. The "media blitz" may show that management is committed to the problem, but commitment without involvement is never enough. Leadership demands active involvement, not just lip service.

Nor does this require a formal program. The im- portant thing is for management at every level to begin--today. The process begins when managers begin to look for excuses to show that they appreci- ate their employees. It doesn't have to be lengthy, complicated, or overdone. Praise does, however, have to be timely. It does little good to wait 6 months to tell George that he did a good job last summer. If you tell someone a month or even a week after they've done something well you've missed an im- portant opportunity.

Every bit of evidence gathered by the motivational experts suggests that motivating employees with gen- uine, timely praise works. It is unconditionally worth- while. People who are appreciated work harder and the company's competitive position improves. Isn't that, after all, what managers are paid to do?

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