in various forms in all the world’s main religions, holds true: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Or to put it in another of its popular forms: Treat others as you want to be treated.
Most of us instinctively have an innate sense of fairness. We can spot a leader who has double standards and who grabs everything they can get. When a leader complains that the workforce is only interested in what they can take out of the organization, the first thing they need to do is to look at themselves. Do the employees or volunteers see a leader who believes so much in what the organization is doing that they are prepared to make sacrifices? Is the leader recognized as someone who is giving all their energies and passions to it? Perhaps all they see is a leader only interested in the perks. Many of us are willing to work sacrificially, often way beyond the hours that are expected, when we believe in the worth of what we are doing.
Or take another feature of many successful organizations: loyalty. How do we hold onto good employees or volunteers in a competitive market? Beyond a certain level of remuneration we cannot buy loyalty. If employees or volunteers are treated as if they are dispensable (‘I’m the boss and if you don’t want to do it my way then leave’), then they are not going to be loyal when we are going through difficult times. What builds loyalty is a leader who is loyal.
The most important resource in any organization is the staff or volunteers. When people discuss how they want to be treated, high on the list is that we want to matter for who we are, not just for what we do. We want our views to be respected, our contribution to be valued and to be treated fairly. These are deep human aspirations that transcend time, class, religion and gender. Where mutual respect is taken seriously in an organization, most people will be set free to give of their best. Conversely when an organization treats people as dispensable, where suggestions are rubbished and favouritism is rife, many employees do the minimum required.
The leader sets the standards of the organization. There are several areas in which this is important. For example, it does not take staff or volunteers long to discover if the leader is untruthful. When the leader asks someone to tell a lie, even if it is about something unimportant, it may resolve a difficult situation in the short term. But from then on it is known that it is all right to be economical with the truth. If it is acceptable to be untruthful to someone outside the organization, then why not to each other?
Another area is gossip. Some leaders are renowned for talking about their colleagues behind their backs in unflattering terms. Not only are their abilities mocked but even their motivations are called into question. Often done with humour this may be superficially amusing and can be flattering to those in the leader’s ‘in group’.
However, if we know that the boss is someone who talks about others behind their backs, would we go to them when we are worried about something? Probably not, because we know that the leader is the sort of person who cannot keep confidences and who does not respect colleagues. Instead of creating a culture where everyone is open about their gifts and weaknesses and where there is a willingness to learn, gossip divides and demotivates.
How do we respond when someone is critical about a colleague behind their back? Do we ignore it, thereby creating a culture which is fundamentally dishonest or do we discuss the problems with them? Not only is there a possibility that this might improve the situation, but it sends out a message that the mature way to deal with frustrations is to talk them through. The complainer also picks up the subliminal message that if we are unhappy with their work we will discuss it with them, not say disparaging things behind their back.
In terms of honesty, is the leader known to treat employees fairly or do they routinely presume upon their employees to work beyond what is expected? Do they use their position of power to get what they want, knowing that some employees respond out of fear of being passed over? This sort of honesty is just as important as the leader being seen to be scrupulous when it comes to expenses and perks. When the leader acts with honesty and integrity, it encourages a culture where honesty and integrity is valued throughout the organization.
For reflection
How would your colleagues describe your values and attitudes? To what extent do you exemplify the values that you want others in the organization to hold?
List the ways in which you want to be treated by others in the organization. Are these the values with which you treat others?
How can we encourage a culture of openness where we talk to each other face-to-face rather than behind others’ backs?
How have you demonstrated loyalty to colleagues in the past month?
3. Know what motivates you
We all see our work in different ways. There is the well-known story about a visitor to a building site watching three people at work, carving stone. Outwardly they all appeared to be doing exactly the same thing. The visitor paused and asked what they were doing.
‘Me?’ said one, ‘I’m chipping away at these stones with a chisel.’
‘Me?’ said another, ‘I’m earning my living. I get fifteen pounds an hour.’
‘Me?’ said the third, ‘I’m building a cathedral.’
Most inspirational leaders are motivated by a great idea or ideal, which others instinctively recognize and want to be part of. Leaders need to ask themselves, ‘What really motivates me? What makes me jump out of bed in the morning and inspires me to face the day with energy and passion?’ For some people work will not feature high on their list. They might answer by saying that they want to earn enough money to go on holiday. Others might want to get a degree or run the marathon. These are all perfectly good ambitions but they are probably not the things that we would want to be remembered for in posterity.
Knowing our deepest motivations is important if we are going to lead with integrity and inspire others to follow. Many great leaders are individuals who have seen beyond the superficial and are motivated by ideals that others instinctively know are things that truly matter in life.
In his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius Loyola helped people discern the deepest motivations in their lives. It might seem a morbid thing to do, but he asked them to imagine that they had died and to write their epitaph. If we had to compose a phrase, in no more than eight words, to sum up who we were and what we had done in our lives, what would it say? I imagine it would not be about where we went on holiday or our qualifications. It is more likely to be about the sort of person we were (‘honest and caring . . .’) or how others related to us (‘greatly loved . . .’) or the impact we had on others (‘admired for . . .’ or ‘inspired many people to . . .’). These are some of the core qualities that make us into the person we are or would like to be. They can also have a profound influence on how we work and how we treat others now.
A second example comes from St Benedict. He says that at each of the three stages when a monk is joining the community he is asked the question, ‘What is it you seek?’ It may seem a ridiculous thing to ask. Surely, the answer is obvious: he wants to join the community. But Benedict is asking about the seeker’s most fundamental motivations. He knows that ultimately the only thing that will sustain someone in a religious community is the longing for God. Does the person only want to belong to a community so that they would be clothed and fed? Benedict knew that he had to dig into the deepest levels of a person’s desire if they were going to thrive in the community.
So what really motivates me? It is possible for us to go through life without answering that most basic of questions or to do so superficially. Some individuals do not get beyond the surface level, so they think that the most important goal in life is getting richer, finding the perfect partner or being
