Employees are Human – Or Else
Employees are human, and too often we forget, or someone who works for you does this while you are unaware.
Marcel Schwantes wrote an artricle on Inc about 5 smart habits for leaders and his summary was that good workers leave because bosses forget they are human.
I think we all should take note. For example we see many Western companies do not realize that their China HR treats their candidates poorly. Many bosses treat employees like they would never want to be treated. We all might do it unawares and should ask our direct reports and candidates if we ever lean that way.
Employees Are Human Or Else You Get a Lot Less
There are two other cases we need to think about in China.
- You hire your China leader, and he is a bad hire but you do not know it. He likes to stand above his workers as many Chinese leaders do, and the best start to self select off the team. He treats them as less than human and natural results occur. The slugs remain.
- You hire a self protective leader and he always hires weak people under him. These people can be no threat to take over his position. He is the B leader who hires C and even D workers. These guys often work very hard and make themselves look like super human compared to the other workers. They want to appear irreplacable. Truth is that if you hire an A leader then all productivity will move up. Everyone can start to be the hero. You get the force multiplier. State owned enterprises in China are often filled with low self esteem people who got their job in their Dad’s work unit. They were raised under tons of criticism and feel like dirt and so do not push back when treated like dirt. Some leaders in China hire these kinds of people. They accept bad pay and work to do as told and never bring their heart to work. They just have a job and little to offer. The boss will always blame them for any problem, so he looks good. See our Executive Search China
So if you or your hires want to treat people like dirt, then you likely need to hire dirt, and you will get dirty. They can never help you reach high. If you hire real talent like people who can catch the balls you throw and run with them, then treating them like humans and getting people who run your China business to do the same will be necessary.