Page 54 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

34 Building a High Morale Workplace

Our global society is requiring all managers to rise to a new
level and start leading in brave new ways like never before. The
emerging e-model of doing business is increasingly the norm.

It’s about being in sync with your people and with the overall
goals of the organization second by second, rather than day by
day. It’s time to stop, breathe, and evaluate.

I Brake for Global Change

Maybe you remember a few years back when lots of people had
bumper stickers on their cars that read, “I brake for children” or

“I brake for bicycles” or even “I brake for whales.” The original
point of the popular campaign was that it’s good to stop and
consider what you’re doing before you do something you may
regret. The same principle applies here to the changes we as
managers are encountering daily. Maybe it’s time for all man-

agers to wear bumper stickers that read, “I brake for change,”
so that they can stop and alert employees to what they may be
anticipating on the horizon.

In Fast Times, Employees Don’t Need to Be Managed

We’re living in exciting times and globalization signifies yet

more change coming our way. We’re continually witnessing
exploding technologies and new and improved knowledge on
every level. And these changes are driving the fundamental
ways we do business and, more important, the ways we man-

age our people.
And perhaps herein lies the real lesson for all managers—
that we can’t manage people. As managers and supervisors, all
we can really do for people is to facilitate their success and
hopefully influence their behaviors. We can even help co-create
positive, healthy, and high-performing work environments, yes.

But when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, people must manage
themselves, their ideas, and, yes, even their morale, and then
they must be held responsible and accountable for doing so.
Maybe it’s time for all of us to stop for a moment in this

high-speed world and brace ourselves for—you guessed it—