Where would organizations be without their people?

Picture: The Learner

Have you ever found yourself commenting under your breath about yet another policy being pushed down from above? Do your experiences at work find you wondering if you really are just another number in the cog of industry? Does the organization that you are a part of pay lip service to how valuable their people are, yet their actions really seem to indicate otherwise?

Ok, enough of the negative questions.

Are you fortunate enough to be part of an organization that values the insight and opinions of all employees? Do the organization’s leaders consult with employees before implementing policies that will affect those same employees? Do leaders within the organization understand the practiced art of listening? Does the organization that you are a part of demonstrate every day how valuable their people are, through both words and actions?

Now it’s a fact that learning and development initiatives will continue to take place in either type of organization implied above (or in an organization that falls somewhere in between the two extremes). The issue to consider is what type of organization is likely to see success from training initiatives. One that sees and believes that they have automatons collecting pay every two weeks? Or one that sees people and opportunities, (in short, an organization that believes the heart is as important as the brain)?

How the organizational leadership views their employees is an important component of any training and development program; if they view them as the former (automatons with no hearts), then perhaps an attitude adjustment is required first. After all, if the organization is to succeed over the long term then its people must also.

Or am I living in too idealistic a world?