There is a prevailing assumption in our culture that human beings are basically bad: lazy, self-serving and greedy. In fact the whole of our economy rests on this assumption: what has long been known as homo economicus, the rational, self-interested human. Classical capitalist theory from Adam Smith onwards assumes that this is what will drive progress and market competition from which we all benefit according to the trickle-down economics. It’s the ‘Greed is good’ philosophy of Wall Street’s Gordon Gecko. Only what if it’s not true! What if actually, far from increasing your profits, this view of human beings is actually hindering your growth?
Veneer Theory, as it is known, is the idea that if you leave humans alone, remove the civilising effect of government, law and society then underneath it all we are all fairly nasty. The problem with this idea is it leads directly to a certain kind of leadership that all the evidence suggests undermines productivity and innovation.
You see, if we assume that people are basically lazy then leadership automatically assumes the role of hierarchical control: we need to monitor people and their performance otherwise they’ll slack off; we need to threaten disciplinary or capability procedures otherwise they’ll under-perform; we need to provide financial incentives to drive progress because people will only pull their finger out of there’s something in it for them. Only, all of the evidence suggests a very different picture. In fact, the evidence has long demonstrated that:
1. Performance goals/ targets produce performance anxiety and inhibit free thinking and productivity. People perform much better when they feel safe.
2. Extrinisic motivators, whether carrots or sticks inhibit creativity and lead to a bare-minimum, corner-cutting culture that often has costly consequences (think the VW emissions scandal!).
3. Controlling leadership fosters a culture of distrust, one-upmanship and high levels of staff turnover (75% of people leave their jobs because of their direct line manager!).
So, what if instead we assume that people are basically good. This isn’t just cloud-cuckoo wishful thinking. Humankind
by Rutger Bregman offers a robust defence of this theory and puts to bed many of the faulty thinking and experiments that have traditionally been used to support a negative view of human nature, from Milgram’s Obedience to Authority experiment and Zimbado’s Stanford Prison experiment to Golding’s fictional Lord of the Flies. The hard evidence points to quite the opposite of what we have often assumed.
I don’t think anyone goes to work to do a rubbish job. In fact, the power of intrinsic motivation is well known… we all do lots of things that are hard or involve suffering and struggle simply because we want to! From running marathons to climbing mountains to raising children! Intrinsic motivation is powerful. Far from requiring someone to monitor and manage us in these tasks we initiate them, participate in them for zero financial reward and even gladly pay professionals to coach and inspire us! Because we want to succeed, we want to do well. But note, that’s coach and inspire not monitor and manage.
There are two very distinct and contrasting leadership approaches then: one beginning from a position of distrust seeks to control, manage and monitor; the other from a position of trust seeks to coach, enable and inspire. The first leads to a toxic and mentally unhealthy working environment, the latter leads to productivity, innovation and growth. Have a look at the table below and reflect on which approach you tend to take.
But does it work??? Read up on Jos de Blok’s Dutch home healthcare organization called Buurtzorg. It has been pronounced the Best Employer five times despite having no HR team and no managers! It is one of the fastest growing companies in the Netherlands now with 800 teams active nationwide. Employee engagement is phenomenally high compared to the average European company having just 13% of their employees engaged. “Managing is bullshit,” says Jos de Blok, “Just let people do their job.”
The fact is that, if you would just let them, your staff will take your business to the next level and beyond. But maintain control and you’re likely to just keep chugging along (at best!)
https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/why-are-your-employees-quitting-a-study-says-it-comes-down-to-any-of-these-6-reasons.html
De Blok, J, Humankind, London: Bloomsbury 2019, p266-280
Used with permission: P. Sloane, The Innovative Leader vs. the Command-and-Control Leader, Innovation Management (30 September 2009). Available at: https://innovationmanagement.se/imtool-articles/the-innovative-leader-vs-the-command-and-control-leader.
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