A wise man once said, "you pay talented people for their results, not their time." How true! Sadly, many organizations feel it a divine right to keep their people locked into constrictive schedules. Mediocre managers foolishly believe that they get their money’s worth when an employee works a certain number of hours. If you think about it, this approach implies that the organization doesn’t really believe in the talented people they have. Consequently, they buy into the science of results = time worked.
If a talented art director delivers results in three hours instead of eight, is that an issue? You may think, "hey, he or she could get even more results if they worked five more hours." I’d say they’d get more results if they picked their daughter up from school to get some ice cream. Corporate America needs to realize the following:
- The "command control" approach to leading and managing does not work. So stop it (if you’ve been applying this method)!
- Generation X and Y won’t work for companies that don’t offer flexibility.
- Talented people will always produce results…they’re DNA demands it.
Check out Pat Katepoo’s site it has some good resources to draw on as you navigate through work and life.