There are two
common elements found in the most successful public or private
sector organizations. The first is an environment created within the
agency in which every manager and employee is challenged to excel in
behavior and performance. The second is recognition and support for
innovation, learning and fun.
The two
elements go together. An organization may excel at challenging
people to do more, or to do more with less, as often happens;
however, without a learning and innovation environment, challenge
alone will lead to HR trouble.
Likewise, an
organization which is a fun place to work, where regular staff
meetings take place amid an atmosphere of comraderie and We Are
Family sing-alongs, will be unsuccessful unless there is vision and
expectation for success in specific and measurable ways.
The reality is
that the best managers the ones with the most successful careers
and the most fulfilling personal lives are those who have learned
the importance of challenging, educating and enjoying their
employees, and have taken deliberate steps to create an environment
in which these components flourish.
The HR Doctor
had the honor and the fun to attend and graduate from the University
of California in Los Angeles. The period of my attendance at UCLA
was also the time when one of the greatest coaches of all times
perhaps the greatest John Wooden was producing amazing and
unmatched results in collegiate basketball.
Coach Wooden,
who is now in his 90s, is still speaking and inspiring others. He
said recently, on a trip to Florida, that a person should learn as
if you will live forever and live as if you will die tomorrow. That
quote is worth repeating: Learn as if you will live forever and
live as if you will die tomorrow. See! A little redundancy is good!
What do these words from Coach Wooden mean as a lesson for public
administrators?
The HR Doctor
believes that the coachs wisdom tells us that every opportunity to
learn is an opportunity to grow, and to make better decisions based
upon new knowledge and new experiences. It also means that when we
dont seize these opportunities, we are at a personal and
professional disadvantage in a fast-changing world.
How would your
organization stack up if a report card were issued today on how
effectively employees are challenged to keep learning, growing,
accepting new responsibilities, and finding advancement and
recognition within the agency?
Here is an
HR Doctor guarantee
More and more of the best employees will
find that recognition and opportunity elsewhere if they cannot find
it in their own organization. They will leave the organization and
perhaps the community. By allowing their skills to be lost, the
agency will be worse for having failed to inspire them to excellence
within the organization. Most counties lack a sustained
organizational and employee development vision. No county should
ignore this compelling need.
Implementing a
learning organization is easier and more cost effective than ever
because learning and teaching can be empowered through technology
and innovation. Just ask NACo about NACo Internet University.
Counties may
not be able to out-compete some private corporations with salaries,
bonuses or stock options. However, with e-learning, there is no
reason that any county in America should not be able to compete
favorably at bringing quality training and improved skills to
current and future employees.
NACo and the HR
Doctor will be happy to work with your county to create a plan that
makes a great difference for a surprisingly reasonable amount of
money. Dont believe me? Call (202) 942-4267 and ask.
The HR Doctor
wishes you a career full of learning and
teaching.
