Face never lies

“You don’t have to pin your ID card on your shirt’s pocket, if you are good enough people will figure out themselves.”

Many organizations prosper when the economy booms, employees rejoice when they get promotion, wives enjoy when, unexpectedly, husbands surprise them with late night movie tickets, children are ecstatic when the results are good. Happiness is contagious and there must be some reason which further permeates the whole environment. Therefore, for working professionals it is mandatory to maintain the healthy work environment at all levels to create a win-win situation. Hence the bottom line is that you are happy because people who you work with or befriend are as jubilant as you are, may be because of work, promotion, job well done, or due to many other reasons. For, each person reflects the face of another person he is associated with, as they say a true leader is always known by his followers!

For example when Sergey M. Brin and Lawrence E. Page Google founders started way back in 1998, they took utmost care of every person from cook to the senior people because they knew it that it is their people who make the organization prosper, not the organization; which finally led the 2008 ‘Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For list’ rank Google at the brilliant position of #1 amongst all the companies in the world. In their in-depth analysis, Fortune writes, “Why is Google so great?… [Apart from other reasons] Google’s employees like to have a lot of fun during the work day – to relieve stress, build camaraderie and fuel creative thinking.” In fact, the “opportunities to learn, grow, travel and have wildly zany fun during the workday” are what sets the Google culture thoroughly apart. Believe it or not, the same Fortune in its 2008 Best Paying Companies list gives the same Google the unbelievable last rank; clearly proving that being the best company to work for has nothing to do with pay!

Renowned international behavioural scientist Robert Nelson comments, “There’s a big difference between getting people to come to work and getting them to do their best work. Making work fun brings out the best in people.”

Similar stories can be cited if we talk about Richard Branson (Virgin) or Sam Walton (Wal-Mart). Their organizations thrive because of their people who make them conquer the unprecedented markets and follow their passion relentlessly. That is the reason behind their success and the success of their people.

“If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your customers and your customers will take care of your shareholders.” famously said Richard Branson.

“The bottleneck is at the head of the bottle,” goes an old saw. No organization can ever succeed if the top management is not in sync with the people in the organization. Your face is your people working with you, in every department, from sweeper to the director they all reflect the same vision. For instance an unhappy guard will always greet visitors in the same manner he is greeted by his boss. Every employee radiates the face of his organization, which shows how important he is to the organization and how passionate he is for his work.

No business is likely to be better than its top management, have broader vision than its top people, or perform better than they do. No organization can do better unless its vision is instilled in its people and every activity is in sync with the long term goal.

If an organization is great in spirit, its top people are expected to be of the same spirit. If it decays, it does so because the top rots and the moment it happens it plagues the whole organization; as the proverb has it “Trees die from the top.” In appointing people to the top positions no organization can take it for granted since it is not merely about filling the vacant seats it’s more about sowing the right seeds. The same terminology goes to the family businesses, it should adopt an iron-clad rule that no member of the family should ever be given a job which he has not earned. In fact, no one should be appointed unless management is willing to have his character serve as the model for all his subordinates.

Let me quote a good example from my own experience. Little while ago, I went to my school after 9 years for a career counseling workshop. Nothing overwhelmed me than the people in the school from gate keeper to the principal, the fact remains fact; few things never change such as, in my case, from the mannerism of the guard to the leadership of the principal. The guard, on my entry, asked me to grab a seat and wait for few minutes. I got a good chance to view the schools’ environment, so I did, the way guard was helping little kids to hold their bags properly, accompanying them to the school van, teachers encircling kids until they were met with their guardians. Soon I was called by a person of my uncle’s age, later I learned that he’s the same person who was a simple gate keeper during my school days, now a supervisor, with in seconds we recognized one another, “if I’m not wrong you are the same guy who was known for his long hair. How are you Gaurav? You have completely changed, it’s really nice to see you after a long time.” he exclaimed. I replied with same excitement “oh my god bhaiya (brother) you still remember me and my wicked activities. You still have the same charisma as you had years before, it’s my pleasure to meet you. Thank you for remembering me.” Soon he got me a glass of water and escorted me to the principal’s office. On reaching her as soon I bowed low to touch her feet, she bestowed her blessings on me and welcomed me with a great reverence. After a while I was re-acquainted with all the old staff members and we cherished the long lost memories. It is not the case that they treated me well, the point is they all were wearing the same smile, same attitude & same passion for their students as they used to 9 years back. It was awe-inspiring.

Leaders who are genuine maintain their leadership throughout their life; their persona is felt everywhere they go and in every individual of their organization. Many organizations seem to be utterly bereft of human life and leadership qualities, the fact is not that they have low-morale or they are incapable to handle work properly, the fact is simply that their people treat others, in the same manner, as their employers treat them. Bosses indifferent to their employees, consequently, make fickle consumers which further deteriorate the whole system.

The way you walk, you talk all reflect your way of thinking and your thinking is often modulated by the people you work with, or by the people you spend most of your waking hours with. It’s worth saying that, one can not buy loyalty, one can only earn it.

Hence the Motto should be to make more leaders at each level. You shape your own world.!