Page 125 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

little to lose by trying to foster friendship among her employ-
ees (who were all men, almost all over 40, and described as
hard-nosed manufacturing line workers). She began talking
about the importance of caring for each other, set up a social
fund to give employees money for outings with coworkers
and their families, kept communication open, and openly
encouraged friendship among her employees. The attitude
and feeling at work changed, people started having more
fun at work, and the plant became simply a more pleasant
place to be. These “soft” changes also translated into hard
improvement in productivity and customer perceptions.
A year later the employee engagement scores were up dra-
matically, as were productivity and plant safety. Customer
complaints decreased 50 percent, and absenteeism dropped.
These trends continued the following year. 3
Just as good parents let their kids work out their friend-
ship squabbles on their own if they can, effective leaders get
out of the way of other people’s relationships. But effective
leaders also provide opportunities for people to get together,
and they model good listening and sincere apologies, dem-
onstrate caring, and when necessary help mediate problems.
Relationships are too important to our sense of abundance
and meaningful life to ignore. When people come together
to make ideas grow, ideas improve and the people find more
meaning. What’s more, research like that just cited suggests
that good work relationships mean good business.

A Relationship Playbook

What makes for good relationships at work? It is one thing to
get along while we veg out in front of the TV with someone.

106