Freedom, Inc_ - Brian M. Carney [118]
THE PARADOXES EXPLAINED
With that in mind, let’s look again at Liisa Joronen’s leadership style and her way of thinking about problems. She took a service—office cleaning—that is normally done as unobtrusively as possible, put her people in primary colors, and had them patrol the corridors of her clients’ buildings in broad daylight in a way that they could not fail to be noticed. This was not mere contrariness, however. It emerged from the insight that visible employees would be seen doing their jobs, giving clients a perception of value. Visible employees would also act as the faces of SOL to their clients. Instead of scurrying about an office building at night like church mice after crumbs, they were encouraged not only to do their jobs with pride, but to seek opportunities to expand their business relationship with those clients.
The logic of it all is unmistakable and compelling—after you’ve set aside the prejudices about the nature of the work that kept you from seeing the opportunities the way Joronen did. Dialectically, she looked beyond the apparent drawbacks of having more-visible personnel at customers’ sites and found the advantages that could result. And thinking holistically, she saw that higher visibility, liberated people, and unconventional work hours were all connected. Service reps who worked during the day but dressed like slobs would do her business no favors. And, even more important for our theme, none of these changes would likely result in any incremental business if those now-visible SOL reps did not have the power to act on their own and sell clients on new products and services as the opportunities arose in the course of their daily duties.
Joronen’s business innovations were holistic—and wise—in another important sense. They took into account not only her needs as a business owner and leader, but her employees’ needs as well. The uniforms and the daytime work schedules give them respect in a job that often lacks it. It encourages them to hold their heads high and take pride in their work.
Other paradoxes likewise become easier to understand once they are put into the fuller context from which Joronen approaches them. She flew from France to Finland to meet a visitor to her company, for example, but she escorted that visitor around Helsinki by tram. This is not mere frugality. It is part of the oft-repeated desire of all liberating leaders to avoid double standards. Just as Bob Davids speaks of “subordinating yourself to your employees,” Joronen shows SOL’s people that they are treated equally by not taking liberties herself or using a visiting “dignitary” as an excuse to be chauffeured around town while her employees take public transit. Single standards, however, do not necessarily mean thrift. What they do require is equity and fairness. For a long time, FAVI had a top-of-the-line Audi A8 among its company cars, and no special status or permission was required to use it for long rides to see clients. Sun Hydraulics has a beautiful, relaxing garden with a pond and fountain behind its plant—built at considerable expense. A large terrace opens up onto it so that everyone can enjoy the view while eating his lunch. And SOL’s offices have dozens of sculptures and paintings from Joronen’s collection—which she acquired with her own money.
Thus, liberating leaders’ wisdom, with its holistic and dialectical thinking, helps to explain many paradoxes that so often strike a first-time visitor