If you want them, set them free

There is ample research supporting claims that employee-centered approaches to work and culture are good for business. Yet many of us in leadership positions have been slow to loosen the reigns and unbutton the collars that have probably held all of us too tightly for too long.
It is hard to even know where to start when all you know is the top down, die-at-your-desk style of work your career was formed under.
Time and a lot of coaching have taught me that the best management programs always have a little more heart than head in the mix. There is an authentic, collaborative pathway that is both safe for us as leaders and accepted by staff. The most important thing we can do in life is let the people around us know that they matter. This is not a business principle. It is a universal truth. When you project good energy to people, good energy comes back to you. When you are honest about your intentions and open to new ways of being, the people you are in community with, working with, living with and leading will believe in you. These principles are an ideal, solid foundation for your employment practices.
One interaction at a time
Build your culture and your people one interaction at a time. Ask them what they most want from their careers and what you can do to make that happen, in your shop or out of it. Make sure your people know you are in it for them. This will make them in it for you. Acting out of fear, holding on to practices because “back in my day we (insert nostalgic martyrdom story …),” and always insisting on coming out with an advantage in every negotiation will keep you constantly surrounded with new people you don’t trust and old problems you can’t solve.
We ask a lot from our people. Business has to move with the way our societies and minds are forming around new ways of being in community. It’s the right thing to do and this new millennial generation of workers won’t stick around and wait for you to clue in to the shifting mentality.

The old saying “If you love someone, set them free” rings true in the work place today. When you have done your heart work and found a leadership pathway you can tread in the fullness of who you are; when you have rigorously built a team with the right chemistry and talents, when you have built a culture of collaboration that maximizes the collective intelligence around you, it’s time to set your people free. Let your great people do what they want to do as much as you possibly can. Love them. Cheer for them. Change for them. If they stay with you, awesome. If they leave, make sure they know you’ll always be in their cheering section.

Dan Flowers, president & CEO, of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, is a member and former vice-chairman of Feeding America’s National Affiliate Council and is currently chairman of the Ohio Association of Foodbank’s board of directors. Under his leadership, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank received Feeding America’s 2012 Food Bank of the Year award, the highest recognition achievable by food banks.