When supported and developed your people can be amazing – so why do some managers misinterpret those who challenge the status quo as evidence of poor attitude? Here we use a recent project with a customer to show how a change in perspective changes the game.
A case of the non-disruptor
We were approached to help a business struggling with what they felt was a disruptive member of staff (who we will call Kevin). They said he was often questioning ways of working and trying to get people to work another way. This was leading to issues with wider teams and how they worked. They felt Kevin had checked out and were keen to let him leave. Before they did we asked to speak to him and found a completely different situation. In Kevin, we found a highly focused change champion who was able to see better ways of working and had access to customer feedback that endorsed this.
So what was the issue?
Kevin’s bosses saw his questioning of their processes as disruptive and therefore his general approach was seen as unwelcome. Many others also supported this view, but what was always missing was context to the conduct. We enabled them to see that Kevin’s motivation was not to disrupt but to help everyone work smarter. He could see that if they could make changes they would gain more customers.
Why was challenging good?
When they understood Kevin’s perspective and listened to him our client quickly moved him from a staff member at risk to a highly valued rising star. With our help, they were then able to seize on these ideas and run an internal ideas exercise that continues to drive new improvements. The key here is his motivation was to help the business and he stood out because he wanted things to be better.
Learning from others
Whilst we changed our client’s perspective on people speaking out many large brands now freely encourage staff to do this to change ways of working to stay competitive. These include Microsoft, Google & Salesforce, who all actively promote this to investors, suppliers & customers. A recent study has found that when implemented well this new approach can drive innovation by 3.5 times. The CIPD has even developed a factsheet on it and regularly promotes it as a sign of a modern progressive company.
So how are we living best practices here? We believe everyone contributing is key to any successful partnership – as it’s important to practice what you preach as mirrored by our values. But we will let others be the judge. Here is one example of our culture inspiring fellow FSB members:
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