GET RID OF SHADOWS

For long we have been so caught up in the old traditional way of doing things that we have ignored the substance. We are taken up by the“how” and have long forgotten the “what”.

This the apostle Paul calls shadows. 

“ Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days; which are shadows of the things to come, but the body is of Christ” Colossians 2: 16-17 (KJV)

Look at the 8 hours working day. The traditional managers were long stuck to working between 9am and 5pm till the Americans invented the flexible working time prior to the industrialization period enabling workers work 8 hours a day of their convenience, this over time has proven to be one of the work styles that have increased productivity among the work force today. The beauty is that it maintains 8 hours of work in a day allowing the worker do it conveniently. Who wouldn’t want convenience? I guess that explains the high productivity levels among those subject to this work style.

However some proponents are still opposed to transformation, probably because we consider it applicable only to top management. Let’s ton it down a little. In regards to driving, I was raised to always ignite the engine, let loose the handbrake and then change gears. Now from my experience, the vehicle has never failed to move even when I loosen the handbrake after changing the gears. The Substance in this case is the car moving while the shadow is at what point the handbrake needs to be loosened. We therefore need to get rid of the shadows.

Get rid of shadows

So what is it about these traditional work styles that blinds us to the substance which is efficiency? Now, I am not ignorant of the technicalities that come with the adjusting work styles and work environments neither am I against any organizational culture, nonetheless I am aware of the returns accruing to openness to innovation and also greatly conscious of how crippling rigidity can be.

Therefore let us shine a light into our lives and work styles and ask ourselves what styles we have been so attached to for long and negated the substance which is effectiveness. This I believe is the first step to improvement of our work in regards to both production and interest.

WHY WAIT?

Monday 7^th March 2016; time check-past 9 pm, while trotting the streets on my way home, a grey Toyota Alphard parks right beside me. It’s no surprise for I know who it is in the driver’s seat. A brother, Enoch, one I appreciate and love for his contribution towards our moral development during my early adolescence. He was one of those whistle blowers. The ones this generation has termed “snakes”.

Six years down the road, I realize how lucky we were to be reprimanded for our misdeeds in school. I now acknowledge the blessing in being corrected for it streamlines you into the appropriately shaped vehicle effortlessly scampering the surface of the earth.

I then wonder whether my nationals ever take off time to appreciate Pius Bigirimana and David Sejjusa for without the screeching sound from their whistles, the OPM could have been wasted and the “Muhoozi project” a heavy bombshell.

Only while enjoying fruits of wonderful nurture do we appreciate the pillars involved in the process. Similarly, organizations’ flourishing is normally the alarm clock for appreciating the various parties that play instrumental roles in their progression.

flourishing is normally the alarm clock

We needn’t refute that whistle blowers are strong sources of information for administrations consequently contributing to organizations’ growth. So why await an alarm clock to celebrate them?

 Let Us appreciate he that blows the whistle!

WHO BLEW THE WHISTLE?

Photo Credit;Google Images

Looking back, my early adolescence was really epic! My friends and I were the epitome of naughty. From class, onto the compound and into the dormitory, we were surely at the top of our game.

Now it isn’t my intention to boast or even justify what we did but rather paint a picture of what we were. Am talking about the kind whose names would gain first mention upon the mere paranoia of the slightest possible occurrence of crime and to this I am certain Aganyira Munanura Arinaitwe&Wagalinda Charles can adeptly testify.

Everybody does have their fears and antipathies, well we weren’t any different. We hated so much prefects and any individual whose goal was to make us submit to what was right or even report any bad deed we had committed.

Similarly, organizations have these kinds of people and I am not referring to the bad people (For some organizations are pure) but rather the ones who always report! The ones that will always purvey the message to management, the ones who feel their contextual job requirement is to please the authorities with information that is preferably supposed to stay “need to know”. Such are called whistle blowers.

These blowers can either be internal or external. Externally, you could have noticed service providers like NWSC and UMEME  urging clients to call a particular number in case of poor services or even delivery trucks having a phone number on which one can call to signal  bad driving. On the contrary, scenarios like the OPM saga where Pius Bigirimana blew the whistle are clear examples of what it means to be an internal whistle blower. Furthermore, army General David Sejjusa's open declaration of the “Muhoozi” project is another clear illustration of internal whistle bowing.

Recollecting back to how it felt like to be snitched, my heart aches with itching scars that were left from wounds of betrayal every time the whistle was blown internally. What is ironic though is that the opposite did not feel any different;it’s no trouble tracing the stitches that were applied on my heart every time my heart burst because of an overflow of anger and anguish whenever it was done externally.

Undeniable is the fact that no matter how the whistle is blown, it never goes well with the victim. However, it is quite unrealistic to negate the benefits that emerge from this noble cause although those are sweaters that I have kept and will serve on a cold day.

Today we acknowledge that no one wants to be irritated by the loud screeching noise of the whistle no matter where it comes from.

WOMEN'S CLOUT

Women for a very long time have been regarded as a marginalized group by various groups of people.  The constant advocacy for women’s rights has done a great job in preaching the gospel against this primitive stereotype both in word and action. However are women really as frail as society deems them?

Stephen Rwangyezi once said that there is no need for women to strive for power with men for they were created with more power over the latter. Women have the power to make men complete and perfect, to influence them as well as to control and manage most of creation.

According to Genesis 2; 20-25 man was not complete 'til God created woman.  We see woman being given to man as a helper with whom he would manage God’s creation with ease. Furthermore, 1 Sam 19; 11-17 presents Michal playing a big role in saving David’s life when her father Saul sent his messengers to kill him. What an exhibition of loyalty!

“Nothing lasts more than a mother’s love” Love being a verb that can only be proven through action, this statement is greatly demonstrated in the greatest organizations there are, Families! We see women at the fore front of the planning, organizing, coordinating and budgeting within our homes. Furthermore, they take on the human resource function of the family through recruitment, selection, induction and training of the house helps. This only proves that women can best manage all sorts of organizations for “He who is faithful in least is faithful in much…” Luke 16; 10

Women’s eye for detail and ability to communicate effectively enables them appreciate the smallest details among their workforce as well as easily engage employees. With ladies such as Jennifer Musisi, Allen Kagina, Winnie Byanyima and Dr Maggie Kigozi having proved that there is so much transformation that women can pioneer, there is need to break the existent glass ceiling in many organizations to allow more women go up the corporate ladder and take on managerial roles in order for us to enjoy the fruit of their splendid managerial skills.

Gender equality is simply equal opportunity! Women are not any less of a gender than men and should therefore not be treated as second class citizens. If anything they have proven to be a stronger gender. Discriminatory treatment for or against women of any kind in regards to human resource functions needs to be evaded with strong policies both organizationally and nationally enacted to eradicate this despicable primitive practice. That then will be the first step into enjoying fruits of women in management.

“For there is no partiality with God” Romans 2:11

TRANSACTIONAL VS RELATIONAL

On my birthday last year I received a text message from “airtel” a local telecommunications service provider wishing me a happy birthday. Just as many who have gone through a similar experience, joy filled my heart! I felt loved. A feeling I normally get when someone shows interest in a particular sector of my life in which I do not expect them to.

 Many a times we have heard couples complain about their partners not having time to listen to each other and failing to spare time for each other. Well, who would want to be in a marriage where they are just enjoying intimacy without companionship? In the same way, employees too desire to feel a sense of belonging and companionship with their employers.

Ever wondered why during fundraisers for causes targeted towards benefiting people, organizations normally bring forth some of the beneficiaries of these programs or even share a number of success stories frequently. The trick simply is: the donors need to have a feel of the impact of their giving so as to motivate them into giving more. Similarly, imagine the magnitude of motivation that would be aroused within an employee if they are acknowledged for and shown the impact of the effort that they put into work everyday.

Accountability according to many scholars is limited to the role that needs to be played by employees in completion of the tasks and duties assigned to them. A view that I find transactional. An efficient manager is one who acknowledges that the relationship has to be rather relational where they too feel accountable to their subordinates. The latter needs to feel that they are more than just machines that are used to manufacture a good but rather a vital raw material without whom the production process can be greatly sabotaged. They need to perceive an equitable importance between the result of their effort and the effort they inject in order to achieve the result.

“…I can pretend that am not lonely but I would be constantly fooling myself…” Said Rihanna in her song “we all want love” This statement implies an inherent desire within human beings to feel loved and cherished. Similarly human resources desire to be loved and have a relational and not transactional relationship with their employers. Just as the employees meet the needs of their employers, the latter also needs to meet the underlying needs of the employees by depositing into their emotional accounts in order for them to be more productive.

Stop having transactional relationships! Make them relational!