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Just this week, I commenced work with a new client whose twenty staff are spread over two floors of an eight-storey office block in the CBD. In preliminary discussions with individual members of staff prior to facilitating a team vision day, one of the issues raised by several people was that they very rarely ever see senior management. They acknowledged that being on different floors of the building didn’t help, however their concern about the problem was sufficient enough to raise it with me.

Often the roots of a modern day problem lie somewhere back in the past. Many current day managers completed their schooling back in the seventies when most management theories were closely aligned with military models. Those models were generally triangular in shape with senior management positioned at the top and the ‘troops’ forming the base of the triangle. The message of the triangle stipulated that communication flowed from the top down and the term insubordination was used when any one of the troops dared question the authority from above. In other words, people should be seen and not heard.

Maintaining this structure was further enhanced by senior management being ‘removed’ from the troops. Officer’s quarters were off limits to anyone other than an ‘officer’. This helped cement the ‘them’ and ‘us’ situation, a situation similar to many existing in modern day companies.

No business today can afford a culture of ‘them’ and ‘us’. If you know, or even suspect, that divisions exist between people in your business, then take all possible steps to eradicate whatever is creating those divisions NOW!

The ultimate success of your business will be determined by the quality of your relationships with your customers and your staff. As with any relationship, there is no substitute for simply ‘being there’.

One of the most effective management strategies you can adopt is to ‘mingle’ with your team. It is often referred to as ‘management by walking around’. One of my business colleagues has a daily goal of personally speaking to all his twenty-five staff before morning tea. As he says, how can you get to know people if you don’t spend time with them and allowing them to share what’s going on in their lives. It is no accident that his staff hold him in the highest of esteem. It also no accident that their business is very successful.

There is a famous story of Andrew Carnegie, the founder of US Steel, who upon sighting several workers having a cigarette directly under a ‘no smoking’ sign, approached the men and offered them all a cigar. After joining them for a smoke and a chat, Carnegie expressed his desire for them to in future obey company policy and wished them all a good day. As history shows, it was also no accident that Andrew Carnegie was one of the most successful business entrepreneurs of all time.

Another highly successful entrepreneur is the late Sam Walton of Wal-Mart fame. One of his favourite activities was to be dropped off at a truck stop and then spend time travelling with one of his drivers as they made their deliveries to various Wal-Mart stores. He not only got to know another member of his staff, but he also got the opportunity to hear from someone who knows more about the company than most, a person at the company ‘coalface’, a person on the streets where it’s really happening. As Sam Walton and Andrew Carnegie both knew, you can’t do that by sitting ‘removed’ in an ivory tower.

Walking around and talking to your staff is one of the highest returning activities you can engage in.

Until next week, many happy customer returns!

Graham Harvey APS

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