Blog – Page 9 – Tom Talks

Workplace Freedom Yields Engaged Employees

Freedom is a big deal in America. People fight, and even die, for the right to be free.

But what about at work?

Isn’t work the antithesis of freedom? We’re supposed to show up and do what we’re told. If that sounds like an antiquated idea, you might be surprised to learn that it’s still the modus operandi in a majority of U.S. companies according to Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati in a recent HBR article, “Structure That’s Not Stifling” (May/June 2018).

Gulati’s thesis: “Most leaders view employee freedom and operational control as antagonists in a tug-of-war that can have only one winner. So they tend to pour their resources into regulating workers’ behavior – often unknowingly putting a damper on commitment, innovation and performance. . . By giving people a clear sense of the organization’s purpose, priorities and principles—that is, a galvanizing framework—leaders can equip them to make autonomous decisions that are in the company’s best interests. Employees should be involved in identifying and articulating those guidelines.”

Rarely do I hit upon a single article that so neatly lines up with my own perspective, but if you’ve read my book “The 100: Building Blocks of Business Leadership” you know how much I value employee freedom. We also have evolved systems – annual employee town hall meetings, open door policies, and regular communication that reinforces our values — to ensure that freedom is governed by a flexible framework in which our people have a large say.

From giving our people freedom to decide when, where and how they get their work done, to ensuring all team members have access to resources to keep growing their skills and moving their careers in the direction they choose, Intertech is all about employee empowerment. As a leader, this empowerment results in freedom.

But freedom at work also means freedom to think. Professor Gulati defines freedom at work as “trusting employees to think and act independently on behalf of the organization. It may also include allowing them to find fulfillment and express themselves.”

As social media empowers people to express themselves, an expectation for more autonomy at work naturally results. And as a business owner, I would argue that’s a good thing! Employees who know it’s OK – and even encouraged – to make decisions on their own tend to be more engaged, energized and productive. Sadly, I appear to be in the minority according to Gulati’s research.

He references earlier Harvard researchers that advised, “Companies need to shift to a model built on engaging corporate purpose, effective management processes that encourage individual initiative, and a people policy focused on developing employees’ capabilities rather than on monitoring their behavior.” (“Changing the Role of Top Management: Beyond Systems to People,” HBR, May-June 1995). Gulati shares that 23 years since that original article was published in HBR, a majority of U.S. companies still embrace the old control and command model

Maybe my ability to give more control to employees stems from how I was raised.

Growing up on a farm, my folks believed we should be encouraged to make decisions and to act upon them, even if that meant sometimes making a mistake.

I’ll never forget the day I sheared the axel on our family truck because I was revving the truck while parking brake was engaged. Rather than giving me the devil, my dad just smiled and said, “If you never do anything, you’ll never make a mistake.”

In that moment I learned to stop fearing mistakes and to trust myself to make decisions and to act. I urge you to give your employees a flexible structure that emphasizes what matters in the big picture, then stepping out of their way and letting them reach organizational goals in the ways that make most sense to them.

It’s the only way they – and your organization – will ever get anything done!

Intertech Named a Top Workplace by Star Tribune

For the sixth year in a row, Intertech was named a StarTribune Top Workplace. Intertech landed the #11 slot in category. My thanks to our outstanding employees and loyal customers for making us possible.

9-to-5 in 2018: Surprising research about women in the workplace

Dabney Coleman, as the dastardly boss, in the old movie “9-to-5” exhibited all the worse behavior that men can use to make women miserable at work. Way before the #MeToo movement, which focuses exclusively on sexual misconduct, Coleman’s character also brazenly stole the good ideas of the women around him and made sure to “keep them in their place” to ensure his own dominance.

As an entrepreneur running a business in the 21^st century – and the father of a whip smart young daughter with infinite potential – I’m committed to running a work place and helping to build a world where “gender equality” is more than just an HR catch phrase.

Achieving something approaching gender balance has become an important goal at Intertech. It’s challenging, in part because women in computer science has been on a decline since the 1980’s. According to the National Center for Education Statistics and other institutions or studies, as a percentage, the computer science degrees granted to women is in the upper teens. We’re not willing to use that excuse, though, and have begun looking for ways to actively encourage women IT professionals to apply. I’m also proud that the Intertech Foundation STEM scholarship has been awarded to prom ising young women three out of the four times since we founded the scholarship in 2015.

These are good things, but it’s more than just ethics or political correctness inspiring us to push for gender equity. Common sense tells us that women bring new ideas and approaches to problem solving – or do they? An intriguing and, frankly, surprising article (“What Most People Get Wrong about Men and Women” in Harvard Business Review (May/June 2018) shares the well-researched thesis that “Research shows the sexes aren’t so different.”

Huh?

Besides our obvious biological differences, Georgetown University professor Catherine H. Tinsly and Harvard Business School professor Robin J. Ely write that so-called “gender differences” at work are really the amalgam of popular myths. “Women lack the desire or ability to negotiate.” “Women lack confidence.” “Women lack an appetite for risk.” These and other popular myths are neatly demystified in this excellent article, which also exposes the real reasons women do not advance at the same rate as men in many industries.

As the old comic character Pogo once commented, “We have found the enemy and it is us.” This is not to say that all men are the equivalent of the sexist doofus in 9-to-5, but the research is indisputably clear that myths about women often turn into self-fulfilling prophesies that leave women behind as their male colleagues.

“The problem with the sex-difference narrative is that it leads companies into ‘fixing’ women, which means that women miss out on what they need — and what every employee deserves: a context that enables them to reach their potential and maximizes their chances to succeed,” the HBR authors.

They recommend four steps for actively advancing gender equity and the advancement of women in the workplace:

Question the narrative: Reject simplistic statements, such as “women lack fire in their belly” to explain why fewer women are in senior leadership positions within your firm.
Generate a plausible alternative explanation: Instead of blaming women, look for alternative reasons such as different access to the conditions that enhance self-confidence and success (such as mentors).
Change the context and assess the results: Treat women the same way you treat “star players” and watch how they perform. The results might (happily) surprise you.
Promote continual learning: As leaders, we need to keep learning to recognize our own unconscious stereotypes. It helps to continually questions assumptions and proactively change conditions to give more women the opportunity to develop and shine.

As the authors conclude, “The solution to women’s lagged advancement is not to fix women or their managers but to fix the conditions that undermine women and reinforce gender stereotypes. Furthermore, by taking an inquisitive, evidence-based approach to understanding behavior, companies can not only address gender disparities but also cultivate a learning orientation and a culture that gives all employees the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

This approach might not make a great movie plot, but it might just win applause from your employees, customers and community.

Meet the Dev Center

If you follow Intertech on any social media channel or newsletter, you’re starting to see discussion around our Dev Center. With our Dev Center, you get the expertise of senior software developers paired with fully trained US-based resources that make any outsourced project work affordable. Check out the Dev Center post on Intertech’s blog.

Father’s Day

There’s been a lot of talk in Minnesota and the country about “inappropriate behavior” by high-profile men that many of us previously admired for their leadership, creativity and contributions to our culture or government. But when the “icky” news began to break, we suddenly thought about those men differently. Their legacies will not make their children proud.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad recently. Maybe it’s because of the recent Father’s Day or the fact that dad’s been gone for seven years. He never met my children, the eldest of whom is named for him. Sometimes it’s frustrating because I can’t ask dad for advice or share my proud papa stories with him. Although my mom is always there — and I appreciate that immensely – there’s just something about the father/son relationship that mothers and sons cannot replicate.

My dad, Theodore Salonek, was not a high-profile guy. And he certainly was not the sort of man who ever would have made headlines for inappropriate behavior. But the older I get, the more I realize how much I learned from watching him – and what a first class man he was.

Theodore was a hardworking farmer with five kids. Like many small family farmers, we had some tough times during the ‘80s. That didn’t stop dad from helping others in small and big ways. For example, I remember him “rounding up” when paying hired hands that he knew were down on their luck, giving food to people in need (including a divorced man, which was considered shocking at the time) and continually taking the time to visit an alcoholic who was struggling in rehab. Even when this man let dad down, dad continued to help him and give him opportunities to make good.

I learned a lot about being a person and a father from observing how dad treated others. On holidays, our home was always a place for “stragglers” who lacked a place to go. He and mom would set extra plates on the table at Christmas and Easter for people without family. As a kid, I didn’t really appreciate these people being with us on holidays. But now, looking back, I can see what a powerful lesson we received about kindness and generosity.

My dad didn’t believe in making a fuss about his acts of kindness. He just did things because he felt they were the right things to do. While the “Bachelor Farmer” is the name of a restaurant today, dad regularly drove two local bachelor farmers who were older and couldn’t drive to countless doctor appointments. And when my grandpa (dad’s father-in-law) had colon cancer and was bed ridden, dad somehow found the money to purchase a washer and dryer so grandma could wash grandpa’s garments. Little things I suppose by today’s standards, but their impact was substantial for the people who benefitted from his generosity. They made a huge impact on me.

One of the best things I ever did was invite my dad to join me for annual weeklong fishing trips before he died in a farming accident in late 2010. I learned more about him on those trips than I did in 18 years of growing up on the farm. His unfailing ability to see the best in others and in difficult situations was remarkable. He looked for the positives in life and he loved people. When we would travel, dad liked to chat it up with people we’d meet along the way. It was rare to see him talk to someone for any period of time and not see them smiling or laughing and patting him on the back.

Now we live in a time when so many men, in public life anyway, seem to be the polar opposite of men like my dad. Humility is out and grandiosity is in. Kindness is naive and personal greed is king. Caring for family, neighbors and friends is a quaint relic of previous generations. Men who are known for their callous treatment of women and disregard for business associates and constituents have been elevated to the highest levels of society.

I hope my son and daughter are too young to notice these men. I hope my efforts to follow my dad’s example (and the parenting by their wonderful mother!) will be enough to offset the corrosive effect of growing up in a world so different from the one my parents created for me.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. You may be gone, but your proud legacy never will be forgotten.