There’s no doubt that the mighty giant that RIM once was is now only a shadow of its former self. Waterloo-Kitchener is now flooded with legions of ex-employees searching for work.
What went wrong? How could a company with loads of resources and talent be brought to its knees?
Ok, I may have exaggerated a bit. However, it is true that leaders are falling back into the shadows of the business world. They are no longer the saviours they once were.
While not disappearing entirely, someone else is stepping forward who will have a bigger, better impact on organizations.
Who is this?
Managers.
I hear you now, “Managers?! Are you kidding? A manager is nothing new and what makes them better than leaders?”
It’s true – managers are nothing new. But hey, everything old is new again right?
I’m talking about the Manager 2.0.
Do you think a co-op student can do your job?
Of course not. How ridiculous – you’ve been educated, trained and have years of experience.
But don’t be so sure that everyone feels the same.
A friend of mine was recently laid off from her job at a large technology firm. A casualty of downsizing – her entire division was let go. She was devastated.
And then she was angry.
Not because of being let go. No – it was when she found out her exact job description was being listed and they were looking for a co-op student to fill it.
Do you clearly know what you’re supposed to be doing?
Whatever you’re working on right now – do you know how it contributes to the success of your organization?
Do you feel that your time and energy is best utilized doing the tasks you’ve been given?
In Towers Watson’s 2012 Global Workforce Study – Engagement at Risk: Driving Strong Performance in a Volatile Global Environment, they found that major causes of stress and anxiety in workplaces were unclear goals, and skills and abilities not being properly matched to required work.
Are you willing to quit your job?
If you answered yes – good for you!
If you answered no – then you’d be doing yourself and your company a favour if you would.
Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, said he wanted all his employees to love coming into work, but be ready and willing to quit.
Why?
Because it meant they had confidence in themselves. And confident employees know what needs to be done and how to go about doing it. These are the type of employees that are going to take a company to the next level.
If your company is like most others right now, you’re running lean. After five years in a recessionary market, you’ve learned how to do more with less, including employees.
For companies to grow and be successful today, employee engagement is more important than ever. You need your employees to be willing to go the extra mile each and every day.
You can’t afford them to give the bare minimum or, even worse, pick up and move somewhere else leaving you with not only a loss of talent, but 50-150% cost in finding and training a replacement.
You might think it’s your unique products, well-developed marketing campaigns or state-of-the-art facilities that make your company what it is. It’s not.
People are your competitive advantage. It is your employees’ ability to work together, to openly share their knowledge, to leverage off each other’s insights and to create something new and wonderful on an ongoing basis that makes the difference in today’s market.
Therefore, your most important job is to build a culture in which people are building and creating together.
Have you ever seen the pictures of the Devil’s Pool at Victoria Falls. Google it. Yes, right now. Go ahead, I'll wait.
My bet is you'll have one of two responses:
“Oh, heck no!”
