Peaceful resistance has been one of humanity’s proud achievements in the last century, with great minds like Gandhi, Mandela and Martin Luther King espousing it. These leaders showed that it wasn’t necessary to use force in order to achieve what they wanted. They also encouraged their followers to be peaceful and managed to defeat their common enemies without the use of weapons. Similarly, you can also use peaceful techniques while you’re leading a team in the workplace
Should You Run Your Company Like an Army?
The fact is that many people run their organization in the way that you run an army. They consider their competitors to be their enemies and their aim is to get ahead of them at any cost. For these people, life is a battle that they mean to win. And the people who suffer in this process are their employees.
What Are Employees Looking for at Work?
An employee comes to you in order to earn a wage and also to be gainfully employed. They want to enjoy the process of working in your company or on your team as much as they want the final outcome i.e., the money they’re going to make by doing so.
The Prevalence of Aggression in the Workplace
There are workplaces where everyday drama is the norm. Employers or managers feel like an example must be made of any employee who does something wrong. As a result, there may be screaming and shouting, fists banging and other aggressive actions which are supposed to keep the employee in line.
Why Aggression in the Workplace Doesn’t Work
Aggressive behavior may actually result in making the employee more sullen and less inclined to put in their 100%. And the worst case scenario is that the employee will start looking somewhere else for work. Because no matter how much you pay them, most employees still prefer to work in a peaceful environment and may not mind taking a pay cut in exchange.
Learning to Reprimand without Rancor
Does this mean that you can’t reprimand employees at all? No, of course not. However, any directions you want to give the employee can be given in a matter-of-fact way and, if possible, can also be accompanied by a piece of praise.
Rewards Work Better Than Punishments
If it were possible to completely run a company on the basis of rewards, that would be the best thing. But given that we live in the real world, you can just try to keep your punishments to a minimum. If an employee just doesn’t seem to be able to do what you expect them to do, it may be time to reevaluate your demands or find someone else for the job.