Its commonly understood how leadership affects performance and research
clearly identifies how corporate wellness also impacts business
performance. But what’s the link between
corporate leadership and corporate wellness?
The reality is that we
are not individuals living in isolation.
Our actions affect others, and other people’s actions can affect us if
we let them. In many ways we are all
leaders or influenced by leadership in some way, shape or form.
Many of us work in large or small
organizations, or do business with them, buy products from them or hear about
them regularly on the 6pm news. It’s
commonly accepted that leadership affects performance within organizations and
research clearly identifies how team members levels of wellness also impacts
business performance. But what’s the
link between leadership and your wellbeing?
A glance at the latest
article on corporate stress in Time magazine or Business Review Weekly shows
the latest statistics on how the majority of people working in professional
jobs in the western world are not fulfilled in their work lives or not
satisfied with their employer or employment situations and we know how this
affects productivity and performance at every level.
When team members are healthy and well, organizations also
perform better. Great companies like
Virgin know this and maybe that's why they started their own gym chain. Many
companies have wellness programs offering free gym memberships or fruit bowls
sitting next to the cakes and chips on the afternoon tea trolley. But how does leadership style impact on the
health and wellbeing of staff? Can a
model of leadership enhance staff health and wellbeing? Are some systems of leadership leading not only
shortening the lived of organizations but also the very people that work for
them?
WELLBEING
Lets first consider the factors that influence wellness and
longevity. Here are a few varied expert
opinions.
In a lecture on mindfulness & happiness in 2010 Dr. Craig Hassed
from Melbourne’s Monash University, department of general practice identifies
his 7 pillars of health as being education, stress management, spirituality,
exercise, nutrition, connectedness and the environment.
The Gallup organization
conducted studies over a number of years in 150 countries with thousands of
participants. Through their research
they identified 5 topics that affect wellness which they coined Financial
wellbeing, Physical Wellbeing, Mental Wellbeing, Community Wellbeing, Social Wellbeing.
Recently, in a 2007
article in the Harvard Business Review, Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy
discuss how professional people can enhance energy at work by also focusing on
four different levels comprising physical, emotional, mental and spiritual
energy.
In his study of the
Blue Zones - which he identifies as five places around the world where
people live longer and more often become centurions than anywhere else - Dan
Beuttner identifies a wide spectrum of factors.
They include food, physical activity, sleep, a realistic optimistic
mindset, a sense of purpose, financial stability, good close relationships,
strong community support and a sense of spirituality.
Some people believe wellness is purely physical and is
dependent solely to exercise, food, rest and sleep. But as the intrepid researches like Dan
Beuttner, Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCathy and the Gallup organization
showed earlier in this chapter, this simplistic model is far too
one-dimensional and fatally flawed. However
you choose to categorize the elements, wellness is multidimensional and
emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of life must be factored in. Yet a quick Google search under ‘corporate
wellness’ reveals carbon copy companies all providing services that focus only
on these elements. Food, exercise,
sleep, food exercise sleep; Important yes, the whole picture? No.
In a world where chronic health and stress related
conditions are on the rise at epidemic rates, wellness programs that target
only the physical components of
wellness are one-dimensional and therefore need to
evolve. Until we appreciate that the
emotional, mental and spiritual elements have just as big an impact in terms of
happiness, productivity and longevity corporate wellness will always be like a
sticking plaster over a broken leg.
"A company has a
greater responsibility than making money for its stockholders," "We have a responsibility to our
employees to recognize their dignity as human beings,” David Packard – Hewlett
Packard
Now that we have clearly identified the whole picture around
what contributes to the wellbeing of people…including leaders, executives and
team members…lets turn it around and ask how can organizational leaders
contribute to wellness.
Of course if you
are a leader of some description or another – and we all are – the question you
might be asking is ‘how can we as business leaders maintain our focus on the
performance of our organization while also improving the wellbeing of ourselves
and others?’
With our new
understanding of the bigger picture of our wellbeing, lets follow the path to
where it intercepts the path of leadership.
Where the natural point of union occurs.
In
his celebrated book Good to Great, Jim Collins explains how a company's
long-term health is directly linked to leadership style. He describes how leaders who can infuse the
company with its own sense of
purpose, instead of his or hers, tend to have the greatest success. In his
article titled And the Walls Came tumbling Down he explains how the best and most
innovative work comes only from true commitments freely made between people in
a spirit of partnership, not from bosses telling people what to do.
To
this end he confirms that the exercise of
true leadership is inversely proportional to the exercise of power. He
explains that instead of dictating their own desires and relying on systems of
coercion and control as one might see in a dictatorship they must build
mechanisms of connection and commitment rooted in freedom of choice.
Jim Collins goes on to outline his
concept of level 5 leadership which has become popular worldwide. He bases his vies on exhaustive research into
a number of businesses that transformed themselves from just getting by to
great performers in a short space of time. His research showed that the Chief
Executives of such businesses did not match the usual macho image we have of
great leaders. They turned out to be humble and modest though very
single-minded.
He explains how Level 4 leaders have
their own visions of what organisations needs to do to succeed. They decide on
direction and then get people to implement their vision. This is what Collins
refers to as "first what, then who." Level 4 leaders are very much in
the conventional mode. They may be effective when it is not too difficult to
decide what to do, but they struggle in more complex, high tech businesses that
compete through rapid innovation.
The reason,
Collins explains, that level 5 leaders are humble is that they see clearly
their own limitations in a complex environment. So, instead of promoting their
own visions, they get their best people together and grill them with
penetrating questions to draw new strategies out of them. Hence the related
Collins slogan: "first who, then what." Because Chief Executives
can't decide what to do alone, they need the input of a team of smart
associates. They get the best "who" into a room and together decide
the best "what." This makes them participative leaders.
This
idea is the very essence of democracy. It
is commonly acknowledged that democratic organisations can produce high quality
and high quantity work for long periods of time. Many employees like the
responsibility and freedom and respond with cooperation, team spirit, and high
morale.
The democratic leadership style is also
called the participative style as it encourages employees to be a part of the
decision making. The democratic manager keeps his or her employees informed
about everything that affects their work and shares decision making and problem
solving responsibilities. This style requires the leader to be a coach who has
the final say, but gathers information from staff members before making a
decision.
Level 5
leadership is really a modern take on the democratic leadership style that has
been around for hundreds if not thousands of years.
DEMOCRACY
While there is no
universally accepted definition of democracy, equality and freedom have both
been identified as important characteristics since ancient times. The term democracy came into existence
following a popular uprising in Athens 508 BC through which a new style of
leadership emerged.
The democratic
principle has been described as "not only a political system but an ideal,
an aspiration, intimately connected to and dependent upon a picture of what it
is to be fully human.
Jim Collins research highlighted
with dramatic effect how people who can translate purpose into action through democratic
mechanisms and practices - not force of personality - establish a culture that
provides for much greater organizational longevity.
But a sense of
purpose, fulfillment, spirit, freedom to choose, and the opportunity to be
involved in decision making are not only linked to organizational
performance. As our earlier discussions
confirm these ‘spiritual and emotional factors also influence wellbeing.
One of my favourite
examples is provided by the Gallup organization whose research showed a link
between engagement at work and cholesterol levels. Imagine going to your doctor and having them
prescribe you a 12-week course of business coaching to treat your high
cholesterol!
But there are also
more practical aspects to it. Ricardo Semlar from Semco explains how in times of uncertainty
delegating tasks & decision-making shares responsibility and doubles
thinking capacity. I have spoken to many
clients who, when given the freedom to choose their own hours, arrange their
timetables so they can better manages their lives, which in turn improve
productivity and reduces stress.
I remember talking to
a Colleague Suisun McKenzie who helped a Melbourne based construction company
Probuild implement an integrated work/life program including a work-life
toolbox initiative. The work-life
toolbox involved a weekly meeting where construction worker teams rearranged shifts
so that the guys could take care of sick family members and children and
dependent parents as needed. This is done in a fair and democratic process –
and it works!! The work-life program has
helped Probuild become an employer or choice and a hugely successful
construction company that employees love working for and don't want to
leave.
This is why your
wellbeing is affected by the culture of your organization and where your
leadership style can affect the wellbeing of others. By being a
system of governance and law that enhances spiritual freedom and empowerment, democracy
and democratic leadership improves spiritual wellbeing!
North and South Korea provide another interesting
example. These are two countries with a
shared history where many families are split on each side of the border because
the split has been so recent. They are
of very similar size with very similar environmental characteristics – but with
vastly different political systems.
South Korea is a democratic nation, where as North Korea is
ruled through a dynastic dictatorship.
In South Korea the average life expectancy is 80 yrs. (World Bank Data)
where as in North Korea the average life expectancy is only 68 yrs.
People have a fundamental need for guiding values and a
sense of purpose that give their lives and work meaning. They have a
fundamental need for connection to other people, sharing with them beliefs and
aspirations to form a common bond.
A RADICAL EXAMPLE OF DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
Semco is best known for
what Wikipedia calls its radical form
of industrial democracy. I.e. it works
as a democracy! Currently Semco is one
of Latin Americas fastest growing companies.
Revenue has grown from US$4 million in 1982 for $212 million by 2003. It is acknowledges to be the number one
company to work for in Brazil with a waiting list of thousands of applicants
waiting to join.
It all started in 1982 when Ricardo Semlar took over from
his father and saw how the vast majority of the workforce were demotivated,
disengaged, working at about 30% productivity, overloaded and stressed. In his book Maverick he explains how he
decided that he was going to focus on making Semco first and foremost a great
place to work. This led to Semlar infusing
real democracy into the workplace to genuinely empower his workers.
Over the last 30 years Semco has developed a policy of
complete internal financial transparency.
They teach factory workers how to read accounts so they can understand
the company's books and provide input into major decisions. Salaries are largely public and employees can
set their own salary.
Semco is an incredibly
efficient organization. All memos in
Semco are limited to 1 page – no exceptions.
Even for marketing reports. Each business unit is small enough so that those involved
understand everything that is going on and can influence the outcomes. Semco
workers set their own production quotas employees voluntarily work overtime to
meet them. As a result Semco doesn't
have receptionists, secretaries or personal assistants, regarding them as
unnecessary.
Semco operated a reverse
hiring policy in that people promoted to leadership have to be interviewed and
approved by their subordinates (how democratic!). Profit
sharing is practiced right down to factory floor level and the entire company
has input into how the profit is shared.
Now days, Mr. Semler, is the leading proponent and a
tireless evangelist of what is often called participative management, corporate
democracy, and “the company as village.”
He has proven on a grand scale that organizations thrive best by
trusting employees to apply their creativity and ingenuity in service of the
whole enterprise, and to make important decisions close to the flow of work.
Interestingly Semco does not have an internal corporate
wellness program. It seems they don't
need to! By creating an environment
where employees can thrive and have the freedom to live healthy fulfilling
lives wellness is part of the very fabric and spirit of the organization.
To find out more about
Ricardo Semlar and Semco read his books Maverick and The 7 day workweek or look
him up on YouTube or Wikipedia. You can
even look up Wikipedia to find out about the democratic schools he has set up.
Democracy seems like second nature to us as westerners yet many
of our workplaces are largely autocratic dictatorships. So how democratic is our society really? Is current best practice really the most
effective way or is there room for improvement?
More than at any time in the past, we are asking for
operating autonomy, where we are allowed freedom and responsibility. Many of us want to be part of organizations that
stand for something because unconsciously we have an inbuilt understanding that
it affects us all.
As leaders who maintain a steely resolve but encourage
active participation, it is possible that we release not only the
entrepreneurial spirit of those around us but also the very will to live. But is might also be true that this also
improves our very own quality of life and life expectancy.
I am not Ricardo Semlar and am both humbled and delighted by
his achievements. But one thing I do know form personal experience is that whether
your goals is personal, professional, altruistic or family orientated, its much
easier to change the world around us if we first change the change the world
within. Its easier to empower others if
we become empowered ourselves first.
It’s easier to push for a more democratic and just society if we are first compassionate towards ourselves, and work towards our own internal
harmony.
CONCLUSION
More than at any
time in the past, people are asking for operating autonomy, where they are
allowed freedom and responsibility.
People want to be part of organizations that stand for something because
unconsciously we have an inbuilt understanding that it affects us all.
Democracy seems
like second nature to us as westerners yet our workplaces are often autocratic
dictatorships. We say we live in a
democracy but how democratic is our society really? Is current best practice really the most
effective way or is there vast room for improvement?
Leaders that empower
workers, foster a democratic participative environment and develop democratic
organizational processes not only enhance the possibility for long-term
business success they also create an environment that facilitates improved
wellbeing and longevity for staff.
As leaders who
maintain a steely resolve but encourage active participation, it is we release
not only the entrepreneurial spirit of those around us but also peoples very will
to live. But is might also be true that this
also improves our very own quality of life and life expectancy.
