In western societies, equality is part of the ethos. People fought for the right of equality for ages and it is so commonplace and understood (even if not completely practiced) we regard it as a given right. The quotation "All men are created equal" is arguably the best-known phrase in any of America’s political documents.
And if all men are created equal, they should be treated as equal in the workplace as well. And they think as themselves as equal. And this creates problems.
Because we are not equal. We are unique. Special. With different talents, skills, perspectives, life experiences, likes and dislikes. And that means that treating us as if we are the same is wrong. Can you honestly tell me that everybody is equally fitted to be a manager? Of course not. And still, the structures for development in most companies are mainly built on the assumption of equality. People who don't get to be managers feel they are not successful. If we have different talents and needs, why do managers devote equal time to the people they work with instead of giving different people what they need? Why are performance reviews standardized? Because everybody is the same! And we fire the worst performer on the standardized criteria because he is not as good as doing the same thing as everybody else.
The equality ethos, while not bad or wrong by itself has its limitations. The problem is, it is so entrenched into our thinking, that we export it to areas of life that it has no place in. Have you ever been part of team that needed to make a presentation and the members insisted that everybody speak during the presentation? Nobody asks whether this makes sense or whether this actually hurts the effectiveness of the presentation. No! We are all equal in this team. We all have to participate! That is just a simple example, but it demonstrates how, in places where we don’t have to, we are willing to sacrifice performance for artificial equality.
It is time we leave equality to the human rights field and start treating people as unique beings and not as cogs in a productivity machine.
All men are not born equal. Whoever tells you that is lying. All man should deserve an equal opportunity to excel, to be happy and to use their comparative advantage. That is the truth. And there is a big difference between the two. Nobody can be good at everything. People who truly excel do it by recognizing their comparative advantage, maximizing it and letting other people do what they are better at than them.
The change I am proposing is more philosophical because it is the approach that is the problem. It has, however, many practical implications to the way management is conducted every day.
- Change the options for development so management is not the only option to develop in a company.
- Focus on making the most out of the uniqueness of each individual instead of trying to make everybody be mediocre at everything.
- Treat each employee different in line with their needs (especially time).
- Stop practices that are based on the pretense of equality (everybody speaks equally for example). In some areas and some situation some people are more important than others.
- Stop apprising each employee on a standard scale and focus on ways in which each employee could make the most of his unique talents and skills.
And this is just the beginning.
Equality hack
http://comparativeadvantage.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/artificial-equality/
http://comparativeadvantage.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/am-i-just-like-you/
http://comparativeadvantage.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/a-few-lessons-you-can-learn-from-john-wooden/
http://comparativeadvantage.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/synergy-in-management/
http://comparativeadvantage.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/obliquity-and-management/
In western societies, equality is part of the ethos. People fought for the right of equality for ages and it is so commonplace and understood (even if not completely practiced) we regard it as a given right. The quotation "All men are created equal" is arguably the best-known phrase in any of America’s political documents.
And if all men are created equal, they should be treated as equal in the workplace as well. And they think as themselves as equal. And this creates problems.
Because we are not equal. We are unique. Special. With different talents, skills, perspectives, life experiences, likes and dislikes. And that means that treating us as if we are the same is wrong. Can you honestly tell me that everybody is equally fitted to be a manager? Of course not. And still, the structures for development in most companies are mainly built on the assumption of equality. People who don't get to be managers feel they are not successful. If we have different talents and needs, why do managers devote equal time to the people they work with instead of giving different people what they need? Why are performance reviews standardized? Because everybody is the same! And we fire the worst performer on the standardized criteria because he is not as good as doing the same thing as everybody else.
The equality ethos, while not bad or wrong by itself has its limitations. The problem is, it is so entrenched into our thinking, that we export it to areas of life that it has no place in. Have you ever been part of team that needed to make a presentation and the members insisted that everybody speak during the presentation? Nobody asks whether this makes sense or whether this actually hurts the effectiveness of the presentation. No! We are all equal in this team. We all have to participate! That is just a simple example, but it demonstrates how, in places where we don’t have to, we are willing to sacrifice performance for artificial equality.
It is time we leave equality to the human rights field and start treating people as unique beings and not as cogs in a productivity machine.
All men are not born equal. Whoever tells you that is lying. All man should deserve an equal opportunity to excel, to be happy and to use their comparative advantage. That is the truth. And there is a big difference between the two. Nobody can be good at everything. People who truly excel do it by recognizing their comparative advantage, maximizing it and letting other people do what they are better at than them.
The change I am proposing is more philosophical because it is the approach that is the problem. It has, however, many practical implications to the way management is conducted every day.
1.
Change the options for development so management is not the only option to develop in a company.
2.
Focus on making the most out of the uniqueness of each individual instead of trying to make everybody be mediocre at everything.
3.
Treat each employee different in line with their needs (especially time).
4.
Stop practices that are based on the pretense of equality (everybody speaks equally for example). In some areas and some situation some people are more important than others.
5.
Stop apprising each employee on a standard scale and focus on ways in which each employee could make the most of his unique talents and skills.
And this is just the beginning.
This change will bring more effectiveness (and not only efficiency) into the world of management as each employee will get a chance to use his comparative advantage where he can contribute much more to the company. It results in happier and better engaged employees. It brings better and more innovative solutions as the true diversity is tapped. It allows employees to leverage their unique skills as they get the specific support they need and not standardized support. And most importantly, it creates a real connection between people as it implies that each of us is special.
This change will bring more effectiveness (and not only efficiency) into the world of management as each employee will get a chance to use his comparative advantage where he can contribute much more to the company. It results in happier and better engaged employees. It brings better and more innovative solutions as the true diversity is tapped. It allows employees to leverage their unique skills as they get the specific support they need and not standardized support. And most importantly, it creates a real connection between people as it implies that each of us is special.
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