We heard from a number of incredible thinkers at our recent 2012
Self-Management Symposium (the best so far, by the way). One of our
speakers, John Allison, the former CEO of BB&T (check
out the video here—you need to register to view it, but
registration’s free and there are a lot of cool benefits) gave a deeply
profound talk that really forced me to think deeply about our shared values
here at Morning Star and the Self-Management
Institute.
He spoke on BB&T’s 10 core
values, and how those core values have enabled continued success at
BB&T.
One that struck me as a
“non-mainstream” value (like integrity—everybody SAYS that integrity is a
value) was Self-Esteem. Allison made the point that Self-Esteem is
a good thing—that you (as an individual) must believe that you are capable of
being good, and that you have the moral right to be happy.
But then he went on to discuss the
source of self-esteem.
Self-esteem can’t be “granted” or “bestowed” by someone else;
"you look good in that dress" isn't really a source of true
self-esteem. In fact, many of the things that we look to as a source of
self-esteem (like conspicuous consumption or cosmetic surgery) amount to no
more than a very, very poor substitute for true self-esteem. Real
self-esteem comes from doing productive work. It comes from
creating value for others. It’s the accumulation of personal Pride
(another of BB&T’s core values), which we derive by doing work that
has a purpose, using reason, and exercising independent thinking (another
value), in integrity with our principles (yet another value).
Think about that for a second: in
order to have self-esteem, you have to have a sense of personal pride in what
you do.
In order to have pride in what you do, you have to feel that the
work you do is productive—that it has a purpose, that you are doing
good.
Further, in order to have personal pride, and by extension,
self-esteem, you have to be working in an environment that allows you to
think independently, to exercise reason and to use your individual mind to
make optimal and rational decisions.
So maybe you don’t think self-esteem
matters all that much; I’d disagree. Answer this question: do you think, in
general, people prefer to feel good or bad about themselves? Of course, I
think we all agree that people prefer the former. What’s the cost
to our organizations, though, when people don’t feel good about
themselves?
Think about the last time you felt like you were doing
completely valueless work—work that was completely irrelevant or
unproductive.
Was it an invigorating experience? Did it inspire
you to lofty, new heights of innovation, productivity and
performance?
Of course not; that feeling is incredibly demotivating. And, in fact, I
suspect millions of people, in countless organizations, are desperate to
leave their current job—a job that they hate; why? I believe it’s
because their current role is lacking at least one of the key ingredients
necessary for individuals to build self-esteem.
Which brings us to what is, I believe,
the irony here:
if this idea—that self-esteem is the result of doing productive
work that has a purpose, and that allows you to exercise reason and
independent thinking—has any merit, it means that we humans come pre-loaded
with an internal motivational system. We are all internally motivated to do
things that will give us a sense of personal pride, and build our
self-esteem.
And if we do, in fact, have that internal drive for self-esteem,
it means that good, productive work is a part of our nature.
So why, then, do so many organizations
spend so much time talking about “motivating their employees”? I’ve thought a
lot about this, because the idea that employees need motivating seems to be
at odds with the idea that employees have a internal drive for self-esteem
that can only be fulfilled by doing productive work well. The only
conclusion I can come to is that far too many organizations have put in place
systems that actually REMOVE
those ingredients that are so vital to people cultivating healthy
self-esteem.
They’ve eliminated a sense of purpose from jobs in the
enterprise; people don’t have a sense that what they are doing has any large
purpose whatsoever.
Or people in the organization see their jobs as unproductive—as
not doing good things for people (think: mind-numbing, civil
servant/bureaucrat).
Or perhaps it’s that people in the organization aren’t allowed
to exercise reason—to think always, and to question authority. Or perhaps it’s
that people aren’t allowed to think independently—they aren’t allowed to
exercise their individual judgment to make rational and optimal decisions
that they are more than capable of making.
I don’t think I’m too far off the mark when I surmise that
many jobs in many modern corporations don’t have most of those
ingredients. So it’s no surprise, then, that people in those organizations
aren’t motivated—self-esteem (that internal motivator) isn’t a real
possibility given the absence of those key ingredients, so people simply
disengage and “put in their time”. And so management in those
organizations turn to experts seeking answers to, “how do we motivate our
employees and achieve higher engagement levels?” when their organizational
systems were the culprit that killed the naturally present motivation in the
first place!
Irony.
So, here’s my question to you:
Does your organization systematically ensure that people who are a part
of that organization can find personal pride in their work, and accumulate
healthy self-esteem, through:
Thought provoking, I hope. I’d enjoy hearing
your thoughts!
