That Which You Share Will Multiply - Part 2


I joined an international company whose corporate philosophy was one of Maintaining a Positive Mental Attitude. Any and all words that ended in "'t" were to be eliminated from our vocabulary: words like "can't, shouldn't, wouldn't and couldn't" were not allowed to be spoken while at work. The only thing you couldn't do was FAIL. Failure was NOT an option.
Shortly after joining the organization, I was informed about what it would take to be promoted into management. Individuals were judged on 4 specific criteria: character, capacity, attitude, and performance.
After only 6 months, I was nominated to attend a very organized and structured Management Development Training Program.
The training was very intense. It consisted of one full week of classroom training each month for six months and to complete two workbooks each month. During the training program, I was promoted to a Level 1 manager and assigned 6 staff members to manage. We were trained and motivated to manage people rather than process. We were to manage our staff's behavior, attitude, work habits, as well as performance.
In the management training program, we were all given the pathway of how to rise up into higher levels of management. We were advised that in order to receive the next promotion, we were to have 2 or more individuals on our team who were trained and developed to be as good or better than we were. The principal embraced by the entire organization was known as M.Y.T.O., or "Multiply Yourself Through Others". As a manager at every level, our primary focus that we were held accountable and responsible to was to develop people. The results we achieved were secondary.
I worked there for several years and rose from salesman to Vice President/National-International Director of Management Development Training. This is where I was able to apply the entire life principal regarding sharing: "what you share will multiply, but, that which you withhold will diminish and die".
Upon moving to another much larger National/International company, I was assigned to the poorest performing division within the nine operating divisions in the organization. My job was to manage over 80 employees in a division that was failing for the past 4 years. I immediately observed that although these employees worked side-by-side, they didn't communicate with each other ever, not even to say "Good Morning" to one another. They did not discuss business or their current work projects with each other, even if they were working on the very same project, so they had no idea what impact their work was having on the entire division.
The challenge was overwhelming, but due to my previous training and management development, I determined that I couldn't fail. The question before me was how do I proceed to be successful? Answer: Share what you know, Teach as you go, and Lead from the front.
I began teaching and training every employee under my supervision the very, very basics of greeting each other every morning. Yes, it sound elementary, but we had to begin to communicate with each other in a friendly, businesslike and professional manner. It took time, but it began to work wonders.
I set very high goals and even higher expectations for the entire division, department by department. We were going to go from last place to first place, where we belonged, starting that first year of my tenure. Most employees scoffed, but we took on one victory at a time regardless of how small a victory it was. After a short time, we were winning bigger and bigger victories and the staff caught on fire. Unfortunately, we were unable to finish in first place. We came in second place, however, we had a record year in growth and profitability.
I shared my knowledge, know-how and expertise with everyone on my staff regardless of their position. I kept everyone informed every week as to where we were in relationship to our goals and what we needed to focus on to achieve our stated end result. Everyone at every level was involved and everyone was expected to make their maximum contribution to the division's goal. When we had meetings, my initial expectation was everyone had to participate. There was no one of us that was smarter than all of us. Everyone was required to give ideas, suggestions, council and advice as to how we would achieve our goals as a team. This was entirely new to all of them.
Never before had anyone ever asked or expected them to think, only act. Now they are expected to think and to contribute at all times. They were also inspired and motivated to share what they knew, because in doing so, it will multiply.
We finished in first place the second year, the third year and the fourth year and enjoyed five record-breaking years of growth and profitability. Our division grew from 80 employees to over 450 employees during our run to the top, among the nine other operating divisions.
I adopted the management style of teacher, trainer and coach for the entire staff. These are management techniques that were imparted to me by many others, applied and taught to me when I was a subordinate staff person and a junior manager. The lessons that had been shared with me, multiplied through me with others. This has been a winning personal and professional principle that has guided my entire career to this day.
In today's workplace, many managers at all levels hold back sharing their knowledge, experiences, and expertise with their subordinates for employment security reasons. These managers want to be and need to be the only authority and only expert within their group. They fear that should any of their subordinates know what they know or perhaps are as good or better at this job than they are, the company may eliminate them in favor of one of their subordinate staff members. This is a bad management idea. The more you develop others, especially those who report directly to you, the faster and higher you will rise in any organization.
As a father, I passed on what I had learned regarding sharing what I know, my experiences and my expertise and have applied to them all their life, to this day. If you were to ask each of their employers, they will tell you of their very strong work ethic, their positive attitude, their personal and professional character, their honesty and their integrity. It just doesn't happen by accident.
I, like all other parents, want my children to have a better life than I had. I sincerely believe that I succeeded in this effort.
The personal and professional life principal is "That which you share... multiplies"
Share your life experiences, your expertise, your knowledge, your know-how with family members, friends, co-workers and others. Share a part of you that is good, positive, and productive. When you do it will multiply. When you do you are multiplying yourself through others (M.Y.T.O.).
Keep in mind the second half of this life principle. "That which you withhold will diminish and die".