How to demand less and get more

Oct 05th

I recently read an article about how Sony Pictures gets more out of people by demanding less. I was intrigued to find out that burnout and employee disengagement were the major contributors, and that helping them manage their energy not their time turned this around. A shift in the way leaders manage employees, viewing them as human beings not computers, and investing time in meeting their core needs helped people feel more energised and inspired to be able to cope with personal and corporate demands. Interestingly the single biggest derailer is not having full sponsorship and engagement from the leadership team.

We agree that by addressing what people feel within the organisation you can identify and manage your organisation’s energy and most importantly not waste energy. To manage energy it is necessary for us to discover where it comes from, what influences it, understand how to focus it, and find ways to release it.

Organisational energy has two measurable dimensions: level and direction. A headless chicken has energy without direction. A chain gang has direction without energy. The high energy organisation not only energises its people but also channels that energy purposefully towards results.

We have found that organisational energy comes from four sources, each with an emotional and rational element. Why the distinction between rational and emotional? Because we know organisations are often good at managing the first and struggle with the second. These sources of energy are known as ‘the 4C’s’: Connection, Content, Context and Climate. You can identify your organisation’s energy and, crucially, re-direct if for better performance, by working on these ‘Cs’.

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This article is filed under: employee motivation, organisational culture, organisational energy