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I do acknowledge that the major idea behind most business startups is making profits and having a better life. But once the business commences, so many vital aspects of business growth are unraveled. As a leader, co-founder and formerly social educator, I have come to realize the advantage of having collaborators as teammates rather than having them as your subjects. This is a vital approach that applies to businesses in all sectors of the economy. The creation of an all-integrated system in the business can only be cultivated through good leadership. The goal is to build a place where every person is working towards the common goal of making the company’s vision a success.
Good leadership in this sense is the ability to not direct an organization by using profits as the only motivating factor. Collaborators need to be part of the bigger picture. They need to be involved in making vital decisions and playing major roles in making the goals and aspirations of the organization a reality. This first needs to happen through the creation of connections and good relationships between the managers and the collaborators. A connection built on trust, respect and mutual goals rather than one built on a rigid system focused on the manager as the leader and the collaborators as the subjects.
Related: Increase Revenue and Include Your Teammates With These 4 Strategies
Having a good work environment
There is a psychological factor that affects the productivity of collaborators. The less important collaborators feel in an organization, the less productive they are. The Hawthorne experiment carried out by Elton Mayo proves that most companies invest in the wrong things while trying to make themselves successful.
That research proves that the success of a business is not due to the placement of good and favorable physical working conditions. It is because of the psychological ties that workers have towards their work and their working environment. This means that having incentives, increasing collaborators’ salaries, creating an enabling work environment and other factors labeled as effective ways of improving collaborators’ productivity are not that effective. What is more effective is making the collaborators feel important and impacting the psychological aspects attached to their work. I have seen this happen where the collaborators carry out their work because they love how carrying out their tasks makes them feel. They love feeling that they are treasured and that the role they play in bringing the goals of the organization into reality is equally vital as the role that I play as the manager.
Related: Why Entrepreneurs Should Better Understand The Psychology Of Their Collaborators
The social approach
The social approach embraces connections between the collaborators and the managers, rather than putting these two groups on formal terms. On my path, I have made a habit of fist-bumping collaborators instead of ordinarily saying good morning. I have made it a priority to learn and appreciate all the cultures of these collaborators. And I have made it known to them that the company is an open supporter of diversity. Other than that, I have created a psychologically supportive environment by creating the team spirit in the business. This is something that I have achieved by ensuring all collaborators know that if one of us fails, the whole organization fails. Roles and tasks in the company are closely correlated such that we all need each other to shine.
I have noticed that this has made all my collaborators take on their tasks with more enthusiasm. It has also enabled the ability of every collaborator wanting to be efficient for the success of the larger team.
The benefits of a socially and psychologically enabling environment
I have also allowed myself to learn in the process of managing our business. The collaborators have many skills and insights that I have employed to make more profits and create a better business image. The lessons that I take from working and interacting with my collaborators at a personal level have also made me a better growth consultant. Through the connections that I make with my collaborators, I understand the intricate details of bringing a company’s dream to life — and at the same time, remaining a positive influence on the collaborators and society at large.
Related: Follow These 13 Rules to Collaborate Effectively in Your Business
Our business has reaped the fruits of creating a socially enabling environment. It would only be wise to focus on making the people who make company profits comfortable. That would also be preferable to bulldozing the profits into a company by instilling strict company guidelines. Creativity and innovation can only be born into an organization with the support of a psychologically enabling environment. Strive to create that.
