Out of the Crisis.Org

[Louis Altazan]

Point eight of the Deming philosophy states, work to remove fear. How might this apply to an auto repair shop? Most would acknowledge there is fear present, but may not realize the scope or consequences. For instance everyone is familiar with fear of the unknown. Managers fear implementing new concepts, they resist growth and fear what the future may hold.

Employees fear repercussion, from speaking out about poor management. They may fear not appearing “all knowing,” if they ask for help. Some of these fears are conscious some or not, but they influence behavior none the less. For instance, ask most employees to keep a log for their manager’s review. Every time they mis-diagnose a problem, every time they get off on a tangent or loose time in non-productive activity is to be recorded. In most cases this will not happen. Where there is fear there will be faked figures.

Accurate information on loss time [defects] could be quite helpful, but is not likely to come forth. So how might this change? Point eight states, work to remove fear, not eliminate all fear. It may not be possible to remove all fear. That does not mean, we cannot lessen its effect.

Managers and employees have basically two separate issues. Manager’s fears are largely that of their environment. Since the environment (e.g., the future, economy, new technology, competition, etc.) cannot easily be controlled, managers must learn to conquer these fear(s). On the other hand employee fear is largely the result of management behavior. Management must work to reduce these.

Manager’s fears

Many people who have behaved in courageous ways state they were gripped with fear. Fear normally has the effect of stopping or greatly slowing behavior. Somehow, some people have been able to successfully act in spite of fear. This has often resulted in great advances.

Fear results when a person is faced with the unknown. People instinctively like to know the outcome before engaging in an activity. The more dire the potential outcome, the more information a person needs to act. Information takes time to gather, thus the hesitation when faced with fear. This is well documented and has been dealt with in may ways through out history.

Early on, people were convinced [coerced] to face fear, by even greater fear, or other stronger emotion. For instance, “Face the enemy or die here and now.” Even today, this is in applied though maybe not as harshly. For instance, go along with the crowd or face ridicule. Another example might be, change or go out of business.

Experience [pre-knowledge] is also helpful in dealing with fear. A seasoned warrior may face the battlefield more successfully than a new recruit. While the warrior may not have seen the exact scenario, they have faced many similar encounters. Because of this pre-knowledge they have far more information available to make a decision. This can greatly reduce their response time, making them appear far less fearful.

Faith has long been useful in dealing with fear. Having faith that all will be well, lessens the need for detailed reassurance. Leaders use this to lead people into fearful situations. It is not that those led lack fear, their faith in the leader has simply overcome the fear. This may also work with pre-knowledge. The more times a leader brings his troops through danger, the more faith they may have.

Closely related is the knowledge that our actions or our cause is just. People often face fear for what they consider a just cause. Our belief in something greater than ourselves can take the place of fear.

When time allows, preparation can lessen fear. Studying that which is feared, weighing the odds and making contingencies. This is the nature of management, though we know we can never allow for every possibility. In the end, fear is conquered when we face it. After the study, odds weighing and planning there comes a time when the decision must be made to act.

Acting in the face of fear perhaps is one of the best methods of conquering it. The more times a person faces and acts in spite of fear, the easier it seems to become. Since most fear is unfounded, the odds tend to favor those that are courageous. Planning in advance, greatly increases these odds. Failure is rarely fatal, failing to try very well may be.

Employee fears

The most prevalent fears of employees are much easier to address, though may take quite a bit longer to overcome. Employees do not face the same fears as management. Management has assumed many of the fears associated with business. They have also created many of the fears held by employees. Since this has gone on for such a long time, it may take many years for employees to trust managers.

Lip service cannot accomplish removal of fear. In the past, if management addressed the topic at all, it was usually in the form of, “You can tell me anything,” type statements. While this may sound nice, actions are what people respond to. The fact is, managers do not generally take negative news well. Being told an employee just scratched a client’s car, is not a lot of fun. Logic dictates it is far better to be told than not to be told. Our reaction may determine whether we will or not.

Basing a person’s pay [livelihood] on condition is another way to insure fear. When a person is penalized for mistakes, it is natural for them to attempt to hide those mistakes. Being penalized can take many forms. A snide remark, the silent treatment, reduction of opportunity, the list goes on and on. Closely related are rating systems. Knowing a person will be rated all but insures withholding information. A poor rating is closely akin to ridicule. Modern society often regards anything not above average as poor.

Allowing other employees to practice ridicule of coworkers is as effective in keeping fear alive. No one appreciates loss of prestige in the eyes of their peers. Allowing or worse, encouraging such behavior will keep fear alive, with no regard to what is stated by management.

Since it is very difficult to take bad news well, more effective is to change our definition of bad news.
Problems are inevitable, where humans are concerned. Trying to see a problem as an opportunity for improvement can help. Rather than a punitive response an interest in how can we prevent this may give far better results. This takes a good deal of practice and self restraint. Understanding that employees do not normally create problems, rather they deliver them is key to the Deming philosophy.

Another approach

A manager’s response can normally be greatly improved by removing some of the “personal impact” of problems. Many shops operate on a net income reward for management. For instance, after everything is paid, what’s left is what the manager/owner makes. With such a system it is hard to not take loss personally. Every mistake comes out of the manager’s theoretical pocket.

More effective might be creating a salary for the manager. This is the amount they make for executing their duties and is not reduced by losses. As funds allow, an account can also be established to pay for damages. In effect the money still comes out of the business, but with a dedicated fund it may be a bit less painful. This also reminds us of the need for improvement and gives a measure. Excess funds can be used to fund further improvement.

Reducing fear should be the goal of any organization intent on constant improvement. With removal of fear, comes trust. In time employees may begin to trust their leadership. Trust in leadership encourages faith and faith can move mountains.

_________________
Louis Altazan
Owner/Manager AGCO Automotive Corporation
Baton Rouge, LA

[Bud]

Modern society often regards anything not above average as poor.

Wow. 1/2 the population is 'below average.' How can we allow so large a percentage of our population to do so poorly?

We can give them an incentive to improve, maybe a spiff or a bonus. If that doesn't work, we'll just have to get better people.

[Louis Altazan]