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Do You Care? Do You Really Care?
By Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden
Greetings from Toronto, the launchpad ('er keypad) for this month's article. We were fortunate to be able to spend time recently with about 125 members of the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario (York Region), which had invited us to speak on the topic of becoming an 'employer of choice'.
In addition to providing the opportunity to spend time with some very bright professionals, the visit offered a good reminder that those of who live in the US have some really good neighbors on our northern border, people who are quietly but immensely supportive of us, especially right now.
Anyone who has read our book, Contented Cows, or heard one of us speak, knows that after making a fairly compelling business case for sensible employee relations practices, we identify essentially four areas where 'employers of choice' separate themselves from the rest of the herd:
1. They have more positive expectations regarding the nature of the employment relationship, and as a result, don't get all balled up designing policies and systems to protect the masses from a few miscreants or non-performers. 2. They have an incredible knack for getting (and keeping) people focused on a common purpose. 3. They enable people to perform by systematically and relentlessly rooting out those systems and methods that serve to put sand in the gearbox, and prevent them from doing their best work, and 4. They care.
Whether in a speech or casual conversation, we generally get through the first 3 with a degree of head nodding that suggests the listener is on board with the point. But when we get to the fourth one, that simple little 4 letter word, spelled C A R E, the reaction is often somewhat different.
"Oh, boy," they'll say. "Here comes the touchy-feely stuff". Maybe it is has something to do with a certain former president, who talked a lot about "feeling others' pain." At any rate, they're wrong. Caring has nothing to do with being touchy-feely, and everything to do with looking out for the interests of your employees.
If they don't cry "touchy-feely", some take on an almost smug, self-assured expression that suggests "of course I care. How dare you suggest otherwise?" Well, suggest we will, because a lot of folks, it seems, miss the point. On second thought, maybe they get the point perfectly well, and realize, with some discomfort, that when it comes to caring, you can't hide behind someone else (your boss, for instance) and wait for them to set the example. You either care or you don't, and you don't have to wait for the perfect moment or get anyone's permission to do it.
Caring is not something that can be taught or bought, and it certainly can't be faked. It is not a quid pro quo, it's not necessarily politically correct, and it's not a photo op. Perhaps you've noticed, as we have, that people seem to be treating one another with a good deal more consideration and respect in the last few weeks. (While on the road, it's been a while since we've seen any ugly horn-honking incidents, anyone firing off a 4 letter barrage, or waving a middle finger in anger).
That's certainly welcome behavior right now, and who knows, perhaps we can find a way to make it stick. Yet, we have also been witness to a couple of suspicious examples of 'caring' (replete with crocodile tears) invoked for the benefit of CNN and MSNBC, by a couple of grief-stricken business chieftains who, in time of trouble, sought out the nearest TV camera before insuring that their own people were being taken care of. That kind of stuff we don't need.
Caring is not about going soft on people, or blowing smoke up their noses. Rather, it's an attitude reflected by one's priorities - in difficult times, when it is seemingly less profitable, and when no one is looking.
On September 11, Chief Peter Ganci of the New York City Fire Department went to the World Trade Center site to be with the men and women of the department who were doing their jobs in the face of incredible danger - racing UP the stairs of those burning buildings when everybody else was going down. There was no other reason for him to be there. Some would say his decision was foolish because it cost him his life. I would urge another point of view. Maybe, just maybe the chief's leadership is the very reason those men and women were (and still are) willing to go do a very ugly job, for very little money.
Instead of reading what we think caring is all about as it pertains to leadership, we think you’d probably be more interested in some comments from a rather unlikely source, a man with a distinguished military career who commanded one of the United States' fiercest fighting forces, the 101st Airborne Division, at the very height of the Viet Nam War, Major General Melvin Zais.
In a speech to a group of military officers at the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA., Major General Zais made these points:
Leaders who care about their soldiers (employees).
1. Listen to them, REALLY listen. No "stilted baloney".
2. Don't let anybody abuse or humiliate them.
3. Don't expect them to pay for the leader's mistakes.
4. Don't tolerate officers who suffer the syndrome of being a little person with a little job and a big head.
5. Are right there on the scene when their people are having a tough time.
6 Will experience faster career advances, and will like themselves better.
What would your employees say if asked "Does your boss care about you?" I want you to lay awake tonight and worry about that. And then, I want you to do something about it. You don't need anyone's permission, any more budget, and you don't need any more time. You're burning daylight. Get on with it.
Please print the following attribution for this article: Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden, co-authors of Contented Cows Give Better Milk, help clients clobber the competition by having a focused, fired up, and capably led workforce. They deliver powerful conference keynotes and leadership training. They can be reached at 800-940-7006 (+1-904-720-0870 from outside North America) or www.ContentedCows.com.