This article by talks about a book from London School of Business leadership experts Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, titled Why Should Anyone Work Here?: What It Takes To Create An Authentic Organization, just released by Harvard Business Review Press. It lays out the DREAM of a great workplace and a great organization in comING up with six “imperatives” for employers:
Difference. Employees value a place where they can express disagreement, show they care about and voice countercurrent opinions, and ideal workplaces not only “permit” them — they leverage these differences.
Radical Honesty. Ideal organizations let all workers know “what’s really going on.” No more “only what you need to know” policies, Orwellian internal communications and topics over “my pay grade.”
Extra Value. Workers want to feel that they’re given a chance to develop their strengths and build new skills. Weaker performers understand they’ve got a chance to improve, while the stars want to stick around too.
Authenticity. The organization possesses a shared, real meaning beyond its profit-and-loss statement.
Meaning. Answer: What does an organizations do for the wider community? Why does an organization exist at all? How does my job fit into the bigger mission?
… These six attributes (DREAMS for short, if you didn’t notice) can apply to any organization, though the authors do see how DREAM-ing could be easier for one employer versus another.
Source: How to Create a Great Workplace and Retain Top Talent
Unfortunately it seems to be only a dream, at least for a lot of the private-sector organizations, where the management finds it difficult to go and act beyond shareholder value and quarterly profits.