An integrative partnership.

Envision this Scenario:

You are a small office operation. Because you’re so small, every relationship is personal. You know everyone’s name, the names of their kids, and at least a handful of personal anecdotes about each person’s personal life- blessing and struggles.

You’ve always recognized that the quality of your outcomes is directly related to the work your team does- and appreciate and value them for this reason. Over time you’ve been generous with flexibility in schedules, time off, benefit contributions, and even job structures. This has allowed things that need to get done to get done, while affording your dedicated staff freedoms and means to live good lives in and outside of work.

But you’ve noticed a gradual change. All of the sudden, many members of staff are arriving 5, 10, and now even 45 minutes after their scheduled start time, and sometimes even closing the office early if the there are no more customers scheduled.  This means not as much is getting done- admin work on the backend is piling up despite staffing levels remaining the same. So a few other people are picking up OT to get work done, and you hire another part-time person to help out, thinking that’s what’s needed.

Margins have begun to slip and profits are taking a slide. As a result, this year you have to make the difficult decision to forego pay increases and the usual Christmas bonus because you simply don’t have the funds. Eventually you also realize some more “luxury” benefits have to be taken off the menu as another cost-savings opportunity to preserve your financial viability.

You’re transparent in your communication with staff about why you’re making these unfortunate decisions. These changes aren’t easy or even permanent, but the sacrifice in some luxuries now is what the business needs now to become healthy again later. You explain that everyone needs to refocus and buckle-down- making sure they are working efficiently and productively in their individual jobs- which means you begin more closely managing attendance and performance, because you need to.

But all of the sudden you realize the dedicated, loyal, and friendly faces are angry and insistent. This is not fair. They’ve earned these benefits. They deserve these freedoms and luxuries. Who are you to take them away? And the problems almost unbelievably get worse as the needed change is resisted. Now things seem darker than ever.

What now?

Freedom uninhibited results in anarchy. And reason uninhibited results in authoritarianism. Neither are healthy states of being for any “body”- whether individual business cultures, or scaled up to society as a whole.

In the case of the client above, empathy and sympathy were applied too broadly and without the balance of accountability and responsibility- resulting in complete anarchy. Without any structure or boundaries, natural tendencies of human nature took over- even if unconsciously, and the business suffered as a result.

Over several months of hard, emotional, and exhausting work together, the story is being rewritten for this client. Through a level of effort, commitment, and resilience not a hair short of heroic, accompanied by many moments of triumph, tears, and frustration, this leadership team worked with us to change an entire culture. One policy, system, person, and situation at a time. And the work is not done, nor will it ever end. That is simply how leadership works. But it’s the only option if survival and sustainability are what you’re hoping for. And we’ve now equipped this leadership and ownership team to sustain the habits and behaviors in the long run to persevere.

This is the work we do with our clients. Each day, week, month, and year. We make change happen. Change which benefits everyone. Even those who do not understand or appreciate this fact. The relentless focus and pursuit of what is best for the greater good is what we are about. It’s not about the employee or employer. It’s about the business- and that is a word and entity that is only anything AND everything because of both of these parts, and nothing without either.

If you are experiencing anything like the above, or even a different kind of imbalance, we are here to not only diagnose, treat, and heal what is afflicting your organization, but make it healthier than it’s ever been.

Emily Martin MBA, SPHR, Founder