A Breath of Fresh Air

When I was in my late teens growing up on a farm in central Pennsylvania I spent a few occasions cleaning chicken houses as a part-time job. For those uninitiated readers, when a flock of birds has been caught, caged, and shipped to a processing plant the houses must be prepared for the new batch of baby chicks. Feed and water equipment is removed or elevated and the layers of bedding and accumulated manure is scraped off the floors and onto trucks for disposal. It’s a dusty, smelly job often done in the heat of summer. Goggles and masks are needed to protect ones eyes and respiratory system. Stepping from the stifling stench of a recently cleaned chicken house into the fresh air was a welcome relief.

I probably wouldn’t have to work very hard to make some metaphorical connections between shoveling manure and the state of our business and political environment. Let’s just admit that employees and voters can handle more of the truth than leaders give them credit for. Yes, we are facing tough issues. Yes, the decisions will be difficult and may take time to implement. The real problem is a view from the top that says employees and voters are too stupid to help find the answers and craft the solutions.

The anger being expressed in our current election cycle is fueled in part by voters who are tired of being told their voices don’t matter or their ideas are too extreme. When one segment of a society (no matter how small) tries to dictate what is best for everyone else no wonder people get mad. If a business leader imagines their solution to company problems is superior to everyone else no wonder the employees disengage or become cynical.

It’s time for a breath of fresh air. We need elected leaders who are willing to listen to the people and invite them to be part of the solution. We need business leaders who expect honest feedback from employees and who invite new ideas from every corner of the enterprise. Now is not the time for us to silence the good people who want to work together and take back our country by calling them names or sizing them up like enemies. Now is not the time to withhold bad news from employees and shareholders to keep them from abandoning the ship.

Open the windows and doors! Toss your ego aside! Count on the ingenuity and creativity of those you serve to see you through this mess. They probably already know how to shovel the manure.