A week passed and it was time for our leadership team meeting.  I was hopeful the directors had some productive discussions with their teams.

 

The meeting was scheduled to start at 9AM and everyone was there on time except for Linda.  We waited about 5 minutes and then decided to get started anyway.

 

?Thanks for your efforts this week guys.  I?m sure it wasn?t easy preparing for this meeting and still getting your jobs done.? I stood up and walked over to the flip chart.

 

?Kim, let?s get started with you, what?d you find??

 

?I had one-on-one meetings with each of my team members and a full team meeting yesterday.  The meetings were productive but, I?ve got to be honest, the information I gathered was pretty depressing.  Once I got the team to open up, they had a lot to say. 

 

?First, and not unexpected, they all feel like they?re kept in the dark as to what?s going on around here.  They figure if we?re keeping secrets, things must be pretty bad?which makes them feel like their jobs are in jeopardy.?

 

I wrote ?Fear/Lack of job security? on our flip chart.

 

?Second, they don?t seem to know what?s expected of them.  They understand we have monthly sales and profit goals but have no idea what their role is in helping us meet those goals.

 

I added ?Unclear expectations/goals? to the chart.

 

?And third, and most disturbing, they don?t seem to be motivated by what we do.  I tried to push them to tell me what ?pumped them up? about the work and I got blank stares?.

 

When she was done, I summarized her points on the flip chart as

1.      Fear/Lack of job security

2.      Unclear expectations/goals

3.      No passion

 

?I think this list probably sums it up Kim.  Did they have anything positive to say? I asked.

 

?They liked the sandwiches I brought into the meeting?.

 

Looks like I?d be listening to Quadraphenia on the way home again.

 

As I was about to move on, Linda walked in and sat down.  I was unhappy she was late to the meeting by I decided to ignore it for now and move on.  ?Joe, why don?t you go next??

 

Joe gave his report and Rich after him.  They had both spent a significant amount of time meeting with their teams? as well.  Although the information was depressing, I was very impressed by their efforts.

 

By the time we got to Linda, the flipchart was getting full.

1.      Fear/Lack of job security

2.      Unclear expectations/goals

3.      No passion

4.      Lack of freedom to get the work done

5.      Work is too serious ? no fun

6.      Lack of interesting learning opportunities

7.      Not enough performance feedback

 

?Linda, how?d you do with your team this week??

 

?I?m sorry guys; we had a bunch of fires to put out and didn?t have the time to get together.  Looks like you all put together a great list though?I?m sure my team would share the same thoughts.?

 

?Linda, you do realize how important this is, right?? I said, frustrated.

 

?Come on Andy, are you serious? How is all of this going to help? We have a job to get done and, if my team wants to keep their jobs, they better do it.  Talking about their feelings? (she said ?feelings? like it was a dirty word) ?is a waste of time.  If they want to feel something, they should feel lucky to have a job.?

 

?You?re living in the past Linda? Rich said angrily, ?people don?t just feel lucky to have a job anymore; they want some fulfillment in their work.  This is a different world than it was 30 years ago when people expected to work for one company their whole lives.  And it works both ways; company loyalty and employee loyalty are things of the past.  If we don?t focus on ways to motivate our staff and keep them happy, someone else will.?
 

?Excellent point, Rich? Joe chimed in.  ?We obviously have a pretty serious problem here.  We can?t make it go away by wishing people had a stronger work ethic.?

 

I was about to interject, but I decided to sit back and listen.  While I was very disappointed in Linda?s attitude, I was happy to finally see some passion coming from the team again.  I was also proud of Rich and Joe for sticking up for what they thought was right.  I needed the team to own the problem and, eventually, the solution (maybe I wouldn?t need Quadraphenia later).  So I decided to let the conversation get a bit more heated before stepping in.

 

Not unexpectedly, Kim joined the fray. 

 

?Linda, it seems to me you?re the only one of us who didn?t spend a significant amount of time speaking with your team about our situation this week.  If you did speak with them, what do you think they would have said??

 

?I?m sure they?re not too happy.  Look how our numbers are trending, who would be happy??

 

?Don?t you think it would be helpful to speak with them about it? To better understand their concerns?? Kim pushed. 

 

?I think the best way to deal with their concerns? Linda said, now getting a bit red in the face, ?is to make sure they know they?ve got to start working harder or they may not have a job to be concerned about.  You?ll see, it?ll be amazing how morale improves once our numbers improve.?

 

I now decided to interject.  ?The question is; will our numbers improve without first fixing our morale problem?  I, for one, am not willing to make that bet.  For now, we will meet every week at this time to brainstorm some solutions.  Don?t be afraid to use your team as a sounding board.  I want you all to understand this is our highest priority project so I?ll expect your commitment and your best efforts.

 

?Thanks everyone.  Linda I?d like you to stick around for a few minutes so we can talk.?

 

Kim, Rich and Joe filed out and Linda stayed behind.  She was visibly frustrated.

 

?Linda, why were you late to the meeting??

 

?I told you, we had some fires to put out.  Your choice Andy, what?s more important; making sure there are no mistakes in our monthly numbers or getting to a meeting on time??

 

?You don?t seem to understand that unless we solve our people problems, there will be no monthly numbers.  Linda, I need to know you?re with me on this.?

 

She took a deep breath.  ?I?m with you Andy.  I?ll be on time next week.?

 

I waited for something more.  Something to give me some confidence we were on the same page.

 

?Can I go now?? was all she added.

 

?Sure, thanks Linda.?

 

Linda was a problem I was going to have to deal with sooner or later.