I came across a blog with an ebook attached entitled The Happy Manifesto written by Henry Stewart (manifesto@happy.co.uk.) It is about workplaces, people, processes, innovation and creativity. One section is entitled Encouraging disobedience, which got me thinking about a lot of the workplaces I have been and am involved in. Which ones were ‘open’ and which ones ‘closed.’
In the west (as opposed to the east and eastern philosophy) we have been pre-occupied with HAPPINESS possibly because it is often a fleeting emotion and not at all about possessing ‘stuff,’ or prestige and power. HAPPINESS comes from within. Well that’s what I tell my son when he’s looking at the latest gaming device.
Encouraging disobedience is a powerful concept in workplaces if it’s embraced and understood. Translated into leadership, it’s about encouraging input and innovation, thoughts suggestions ideas. Workers at the coalface know their jobs and know how things can be done better. If they are in a micro-managed environment where things have always been done like this; where it’s silently frowned upon to re-invent the wheel, then it’s disobedience not to blindly obey.
Trusting your people and encouraging thought about new ways of doing business motivates people more than money.
Everyone wants to be loved, appreciated and recognised. That’s at least part of what makes people happy.
Advice to micro-managers: Let go of the wheel sometimes and hop in the backseat.
Then watch your people grow.