From Tyranny to Team

By Jay Forte Humanetrics, LLC Published in Executive Excellence, August 2002

Technology has opened many doors; its speed has introduced us to products, opinions and perspectives. The greatest significance of technology has been the creation of a new period of enlightenment. Now, virtually every employee has constant access to information – and this challenges the old definition of the manager.

In the past, all information was directed through the central manager. The manager would determine what information was important to which employee and disseminate information as necessary; it was handled on a need to know basis only because it was limited and controlled. This allowed employees to see only what the manager wanted them to see – limiting access to other parts of the business or to things that were not part of the employee’s current responsibilities. There were several results:

In fact, the situation created a tyrant out of the manager – allowing him and encouraging him to control everything. Information moved from the top down but rarely from the bottom up which did not insure the quality or creativity of the manager’s response.

As the movement of information became easier and it became more available, all employees began to have access to information that, previously, was limited to the manager. Information about products, customers, supplies, freight, employee benefits and rights, etc. became part of the daily information exchange for most employees. At this time, managers needed to make a change – to allow employees more into the management process. Managers that tried to continue to control the entire process were now performing less successfully – they were unable to process the new vast amounts of information with ease and efficiency; they were limiting the organization’s growth and response. The basic structure of the organization needed to change to simply accommodate the change in information flow.

In order to respond, employees became encouraged to understand the direction of the company. They contributed to goals, strategies and programs – because they had access to the critical information for the company and were encouraged to get it, interpret it, use what was meaningful and pass on meaningful information to others. If employees in the organization were excluded from the overall direction (vision) and goals of the organization, they would be unable to know what information, as they became aware of, would add value to the organization. It was critical to keep all employees actively informed and involved in all aspects of the company – they constantly have access to information that affects the direction and response of the business.

The shift from the tyrant to the team is a matter of survival. Organizations survive based on their ability to use and share information - to create knowledge. Shared vision, shared leadership, shared information becomes the mantra of the successful company. Employees’ perspectives encourage great business opportunities – because the employee has access to events and information that affect the business. In this age of the knowledge worker, we need to let employees be knowledgeable workers – to involve them to a greater degree in the direction and management of the organization. We know that no matter how talented, no one manager can control and use the amount of information necessary to be truly successful and competitive in this marketplace.

The salary or wages paid to an employee are not just for the work that the employee performs. The pay is for the ideas, creativity, innovation, suggestions and effort – and these become far more developed in organizations that share information. This is what is meant by a knowledge worker. Employees want to feel included and needed. Employees who are asked to contribute in the direction and focus of the business with their ideas and suggestions feel a greater sense of ownership and involvement. These are two critical areas that help employee remain or encourage them to depart from an organization. So not only is the quality of work better, the workforce is more committed and more involved and creative and innovative solutions are developed, but employees stay longer and commit at greater levels. All of this dramatically affects the success of the company.

Check your operation for a top down information flow. If so, start to change it with regular team or organization meetings. Require your employees to share with others the things they hear about your business, customers, products, pricing, the economy, trends and anything else that allows them to contribute to the information movement in the organization. Encourage their responses to any issue and require their contribution of ideas for improvement and responses to competitive threats. Use them as the eyes and ears of the business – and value their input. Make it easy for them to contribute and acknowledge the contributions with requisite praise and recognition.

As with anything, change requires other things to change. Change in the methods of information movement has lead to a need to change the way an organization is managed. To take advantage of pervasively available information requires a focus on group discussion and information sharing, idea exchange and open and honest communication. These are far more likely to happen in a team than with the tyrant. Shifting from tyrant to team is not easy; it involves a major change in mindset and in the attitude of the manager. Strong results are the incentive.

Humanetrics LLC. All rights reserved 2007.