The path to productivity is paved with trust

I think sports provide some great lessons for life and the workplace. They can demonstrate not only the power of teamwork, but also how absurd selfishness can be. (It’s also possible that this is just the delusion of a weak mind trying to justify its love for baseball and football.)

There’s the guy who starts celebrating before he gets to the end zone only to be stopped short because he didn’t know an opposing player was right on his heels. (I’m thinking Leon Lett of the Cowboys being run down by Don Beebe of the Bills in Super Bowl XXVII – a classic display of selfishness being punished immediately.)

There are also demonstrations of selflessness in sports, like the guy who lays down a sacrifice bunt to move a base runner into scoring position. This happens all the time, and the guy who lays down the bunt, but gets thrown out at first base, is broadly congratulated when he gets to the dugout because he gave himself up for the good of the team.

Sports can also provide opportunities for lessons about the treatment of others, and respect for yourself – lessons that have application in the workplace as well as throughout life.

At any rate, here’s my case from sports this week:

This week’s lesson comes from the Tennessee Titans versus the Carolina Panthers game. On Sunday, the Titans – in the midst of a Jekyll & Hyde kind of season – beat the Panthers 30-3. That’s a pretty thorough beat-down, but the really incredible part of the win was how the Titans defense controlled rookie sensation Cam Newton.

Coming into the game, Newton and the Panthers had the NFL’s 5^th-best offense to match against the Titans 17th ranked defense – on paper that’s a pretty favorable matchup for Newton and the Panthers. His numbers have been good for any quarterback, but downright, off-the-charts amazing for a rookie.

But a funny thing happened: The Titans defense held the Panthers offense to only 279 total yards, and Newton to only 212 yards passing – well below the season averages of 415.1 and 285.5 respectively. You know what the Titans did? They used a “spy” to contain Newton – someone on defense who is responsible only for keeping track of Cam. It worked. Basically, they micromanaged him and his performance suffered because of it.

It got me thinking: How many of us do our best work when we’re being micromanaged? You know what I mean? It’s the kind of thing that can really put a damper on productivity and kill morale.

On the Harvard Business Review Blog Network, Ron Ashkenas wrote on Tuesday, November 16 about “Why People Micromanage” and drew a huge response – 117 comments already! And whether you agree with Ron or any of those who felt compelled to comment, you can’t mistake one thing for sure: Micromanaging is not a good thing.

In Dan Pink’s book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, one of the big ideas discussed is the R.O.W.E. (Results Only Work Environment). I’m not going to go into the particulars – you need to read the book – but suffice to say there is no need for micromanagers in a R.O.W.E. It’s a workplace built on trust.

I read something today that included this little tidbit: “Not trusting people will generate people you can’t trust.” Hmm, that makes sense. Kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

On Thursday, November 17 Gary Dinges of the Austin American-Statesman had this on www.statesman.com:

“Managers make or break workplaces,” says alex Charfen, CEO of the Austin-based Charfen Institute. “Talented leaders motivate, are approachable, offer opportunities for advancement and provide routine feedback. Not-so-skilled bosses often micromanage, rule by fear and spend most of the day locked in their offices, unavailable.”

I don’t know about you, but the R.O.W.E. – or any other workplace founded on trust – sounds a whole lot better than Cam Newton’s workplace last Sunday.