Liz Ryan wrote an article in Business Week entitled, “5 Ways to Ensure Mediocrity in Your Organization”.  This topic really hit home for me, as I see the trend to “dumb down” employees in my own company.

Here’s her list of the 5 ways, with some personal insights from yours truly:

1. If you desire a mediocre workforce, make sure your employees know you don’t trust them.

This may be petty, but it sticks in my craw.  Each month, we update an Excel form that contains some of our key financial information.  This is a standardized form, straight from the home office.  The settings on the form prohibit copying and pasting any formulas; the only things that you can paste are values.  This becomes a pain in the ass, especially when you’re in a rush.  Several attempts to get access to the settings have been denied.  I guess they think that I’ll mess up their pretty formatting.

2. If you want to drive talented people away, don’t tell them when they shine.

I just posted about performance reviews, and the need to abolish them.  If these relics become the only way to provide feedback to your employees, you’re doomed.  Watch when the economy improves, and the brightest workers flee to more appreciative employers.

3. If you prefer a team of C-list players, keep employees in the dark.

I’ve see an alarming trend, and it all comes down to “knowledge is power”.  New plans are developed behind closed doors, and then WHAM!  Procedures are rolled out without any input from the people who do the work.  You wind up with armchair admirals making decisions that they aren’t qualified to make, due to their detachment from the day-to-day operations.  I guess if you don’t ask for a dissenting opinion, you don’t have to listen to it.

4. If you value docility over ingenuity, shout it from the rooftops.

This reminds me of an old saying: “He’s a great guy.  Wouldn’t say “shit” even if he had a mouthful.”  Change is the engine that drives ingenuity.  Putting people on a leash runs counter to this.  Too many restrictive procedures smother the flame of creativity.  You wind up with everyone doing everything the same exact way.  We are not a bunch of assembly-line robots.

5. If you fear an empowered workforce more than you fear the competition, squash any sign of individualism.

I frequently do things “outside the box”, in order to facilitate progress.  My philosophy is that it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission.  I guess that my contributions still outweigh my minor rule-bending, and that my efforts show that my heart is in the right place.  But many years ago, at my first job, there was a rule that you couldn’t be in the cafeteria 15 minutes after starting time, which was 7:00 am.  The thought was that it was OK to waste the first 15 minutes of the day, but that was it.  One day, after coming in an hour early to help my boss witha deadline, I was caught by a shop foreman in the cafeteria after 7:15.  As he started taking my name down, I was reminded that no good deed goes unpunished.  There I was, trying to help out by coming in at an ungodly hour, and I get written up by some weasel for getting a cup of joe.  My boss straightened things out with the weasel, but that crap really irks me.  I left that job soon after.

There you have it - a recipe for disaster, no doubt.  So, what will be left after all of the best performers have jumped ship?  A company teeming with the bitter dregs of mediocrity.  You reap what you sow.

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