“He is a great kid, but he works like a robot!”
“She is great, always on time, but I wish she spoke more about her ideas…”
Sounds and looks familiar? Phrases heard in meeting rooms and board rooms of senior management who wonder why their amazing new, young employees do not seem so confident, engaging, passionate or creative as they thought they would be… are NOT! At least they were very enthusiastic at the beginning… well, that is what usually the HR will come in and say… but then…everyone is wondering… what happened?
Allow me to share a little story with you… It is not mine, but belongs to the great Konstantin Stanislavski. Hmm, what does theatre have to do with the corporate world? You are about to find out!
During his teachings, Stanislavski requested from his students to step out of the classroom and stand in the corridor. He chose two students and asked them to walk towards the end of the corridor and come back. The students followed the instructions happy and enthusiastic about being chosen for the task, and ready to complete whatever mission their great master would assign them to do. As soon as they started walking, the master shouted at them in high voice and in a reprimanding tone
“How are you walking like this? Your feet are not stable, your hands are hanging down dead, your shoulders are hunched… try again!”
The students stayed silent, and got very serious. They started walking again with their hands, feet and shoulders in the right place. The master shouted again “What is wrong with you? You have lifeless eyes… where is it that you are aiming to look when walking? And why is your chin looking towards the floor? Horrible, horrible… try again! ” The students, followed the instructions, and started again only to be stopped during their second step. Then again, then more instructions, then more mistakes… then more shouting… At some point the master told them to try and do whatever they wanted to do and thought that it was right. The result? The students, both of them, stood there, frozen, looking at one another not knowing what to do, since everything they already tried seemed wrong… Conclusion?
This is how initiative and creativity are stolen from anyone… no matter if they are aspiring actors or enthusiastic corporate junior employees. The result will be the same in both cases…
Unfortunately, when there is no pure guidance, how do we expect the younger generation to be able to adapt to what it is that they are expected to do? If we do not guide them, not once, but twice or multiple times, or as many times as needed, how are we going to shape the leaders of the future that we are so much in need? This is what happens plenty of times, from middle managers who instead of giving their best advice to their junior employees they choose to reprimand them, mock them and even demoralize them. How, can then those young minds flourish, take the courage to express, show creativity and initiative if from their first months at work they are instructed to operate like robots and stay silent or else…
This is an example and an exercise that I use very often during my S.T.A.G.E. Leadership Method Workshops and it is really an eye opener. Especially for senior management members who feel that after this case scenario, a heavy cloud is lifted and they are finally able to understand and answer themselves the question on the title of today’s article. Because that is when it truly makes sense to them, why those young enthusiasts seem unmotivated or why X or Y who have been in the organization for 10 years are so quiet, as if they were never really interested… and that is when the good CEOs look deeper and make it their mission to lead better!
I hope you enjoyed it! I would love to know your stories and experiences! Feel free to comment below or email me at: ltdwcreative@gmail.com