tango

As expected, it came up right away: a call for strict separation of what is regarded as life (private) and what is regarded as work (vocational). As a reaction to my request to the audience – to reflect their level of customer-centricity between ‚zero‘ and ‚full‘ on a graph – somebody wanted to know if she had to reflect her opinion or that of her employer: because that would be quite a difference!

Don’t we all make sure to maintain a strict separation between our personal views and those of the company we work for? Doing this can be quite handy, especially if you run the risk of losing your job because of a ‚non-aligned‘ opinion. Since most of us simply need a job to make a living, it is easier to overcome the frustration to leave one’s opinion behind and adopt one of the bosses. Exceptions are quite rare in this dependency: only a few can disregard their employer’s doctrine and freely defend a different standpoint. And if somebody dares to do so, you can find the story afterward in the tabloids, following the motto: „how an employee, at their own will and against the boss’s order, single-handedly decided to assist the customer…!“

Because of this strong belief that work and life cannot be combined in harmony, most employees demand a work-life balance in which the two are factually kept separate. And since those who have to work for a living do not always have a free choice, nobody should be forced to work on something or for somebody against their will – that’s just fair and otherwise would be called slavery.

On the contrary, it’s also fair that no employer should be forced against their will to employ people who are not willing to work for them. But also, this happens more than needed. Even employers are caught in a cycle of dependency because without employees and suppliers, few businesses can survive. Often they have to give in and take what they can get: most businesses would love to improve their ‚human capital‘, in order to have a better stance in the tough marketplace! That’s why HR executives are very nervous and continuously switch between a trust-based and a control-based approach to select and lead employees. Microsoft just canceled its scoring system, so Yahoo is introducing it…

What is best for a good relationship between employer and employee is obviously not equally acknowledged and applied across many corporations. The fact is, both sides know they can’t live without the other. That’s why it’s called „it takes two to tango“!
Seemingly most ‚dance couples‘ obviously had bad luck when they teamed up: they step on each other’s toes, can’t stand the other, and can’t, despite all efforts, get into the rhythm!
Maybe due to a lack of alternative, many surrender to the situation and just keep ‚dancing’ till it’s closing time, and then rush home. There, in their lifetime, they are finally surrounded by people who are (hopefully) the chosen partners to enjoy life.

Actually, it doesn’t take much to have employer and employee ‚dance’ in harmony: first, it takes good music that can lead the couple to dance well. But great dancing only happens when the music goes deep into the skin and enthralls the couple to jive!
Though a quick glance into most companies will reveal people who are wobbling around in total solitude, hopping on lame disco beats stemming from their own iPods – no sign of dancing in harmony! Why is this?

What good music is for good dancing, is like a good purpose for a thriving organization – purpose also has to go under your skin! A business undertaking must be able to convey the purpose of the undertaking – why it does, what it does – in such a clear way that it animates the employees to co-undertake. If an organization conveys only what it does, it might have the same effect as marching music on dancers…
If employees share the why of their organization, they become intrinsically motivated and crave to dance, long after the disc jockey packed up his gear. Then a rhythm unfolds that both employer and employee can harmonize: no stepping on toes anymore; on the contrary, the rhythm is highly contagious and will infect others to dance along! If customers and stakeholders notice that their ‚host‘ is having a great party, and they discover that the music is also crawling under their skin, they want to be dancing along!

So if your ‚dance partner‘ has bad breath or is stepping on your toes – do not immediately rush off to the next party: maybe your partner feels the same! Consider taking out your ear buds, or change the music: find one that is going under both your skins – „it takes two to tango“!