Everybody Matters
Have you ever been surprised when a talented employee decided to leave?
Have you ever told someone they mattered?
What if people rarely leave because they don’t matter to the company and often leave because they don’t feel they matter to the people they work for?
Influence is a bit of an ethereal concept.
Most people in positions of authority can successfully influence others when everything is positive and moving in the right direction. When things turn south, however, many leaders become more concerned with protecting themselves than serving their people. When that happens, their ability to influence begins to erode unless it was built on a foundation of trust.
Many leaders view people as a resource. In fact, they are often quick to say that people are their greatest resource.
Yet when economic conditions deteriorate, people are frequently the first thing they cut to make the numbers work.
Not so for Bob Chapman, the CEO of Barry-Wehmiller.
During the financial crisis of 2008, customers stopped investing in the equipment his company manufactured, and the financial outlook quickly deteriorated. Barry-Wehmiller faced a shortfall of approximately $10 million, and conventional wisdom suggested layoffs were inevitable.
Chapman chose a different path.
Instead of laying off employees, he implemented a shared-sacrifice program requiring everyone, including himself, to take four weeks of unpaid leave.
His reasoning was simple:
“It is better that everyone suffer a little than a few people suffer a lot.”
The response was remarkable.
Many employees who could afford it voluntarily took additional unpaid time so that coworkers facing greater financial hardship would not have to.
The company closed the financial gap without layoffs.
More importantly, Chapman demonstrated something that every employee could feel:
They mattered.
The trust that decision created strengthened the organization and helped fuel tremendous growth in the years that followed.
You see, Chapman understood something many leaders still miss.
People are not resources.
People are people.
And people want to know that they matter.
If you want to have influence when it matters most, you must first help your people understand that they matter.
That is what Bob Chapman did.
That is what great leaders do.
Who have you told they matter lately?
More importantly, how have you shown them?
If your people were asked whether they truly matter to you, what would they say?
CHALLENGE
Today, find one person and intentionally let them know they matter.
It isn’t too late to start.
