The Work Revolution: Freedom and Excellence for All

Fears of Leaders

In a command-and-control organization, the one crutch leaders can lean on is certainty. Although business results cannot be certain, since they are based on many factors both within and outside of the control of the organization, the path leading toward the results can be laid out, inch by inch. That is why leaders detail who will do what, how, and by when, to get expected results. They define when people will show up for work, how many hours they are expected to be there, and when they can leave. They calculate how much sick time and vacation time to deduct from expected productivity. Likewise, they factor in every decision that is made, and forecast results. So for me to suggest that leaders relinquish all of this control is, understandably, not the most welcome advice. When I recommend to leaders to stop telling people what to do, I expect their response will be: “If I don’t tell people what to do, then what do I do?” Their fear: irrelevance.

To address this fear, let me first clarify what are not intended outcomes of the Work Revolution:

• That employees act like prima donnas, showing up to work at random times, doing only the work that fits with their chosen passions, having three-martini lunches, and going home at 4:00.
• That they make conflicting decisions about products or services, or do nothing at all; that their sense of urgency becomes as extinct as the dinosaurs.
• That profits start to swirl down the drain as expense reports flow in, full of outrageous ...