Glenda, the office manager for Schuitema, commented during lunch yesterday that in her many years working in the corporate world, she found that when it comes to helping others, there are three kinds of people in the office.
The first group of people would do his or her best to avoid giving any assistance or departing any knowledge to others, in fear that the other person’s growth will become a threat to his or her own interests. For example, the insecure manager could withhold important knowledge from his subordinates so that he becomes indispensable to the company.
The second group of people would help only when they know there is some form of return that would benefit their own interests. Likewise, if they knew that the assistance would not bring any gains to their interests, they would try their best to resist extending any help. In a real world scenario, if an employer offers to pay for the training of his subordinate with the condition that the subordinate signs a 5-year bond with the company, then the employer is essentially giving in order to receive, because his company benefits directly from the upgraded skill-set of his subordinate.
While this works and is unfortunately the norm in many working environments, the arrangement is not sustainable because the subordinate knows that he is a means to reach to an end, and that he is being used by the company.
The last, and perhaps most difficult to find group of people, are the people who would help unconditionally, even if the help does not benefit or might even prove detrimental to their employment. In a previous company she worked at, Glenda departed all her knowledge on financial accounting to a fresh graduate working in the office, despite knowing that the fresh graduate will replace her once the training is over.
Another stellar example of unconditional giving and helping in an organization is Starbuck’s recent move to allow their employees to pursue a bachelor’s degree for free under the Starbucks College Achievement Plan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9_BKHzgV6c
In the inaugural collaboration with Arizona State University, Starbucks is offering its partners (Starbucks-speak for employees) the opportunity to finish their bachelor’s degree with full tuition reimbursement… no strings attached.
While comments online have been filled with questions on what happens when employees who have benefited from the program ups and leaves the company, Howard D. Schultz, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said in an interview with New York Times, that even if they left, their experience “would be accreted to our brand, our reputation and our business.”
In other words, Shultz knows that while employees might leave after getting a degree (and they most probably will), his job as a leader is to help them to grow and fulfil their potential. His intent is to genuinely care for his subordinates, and not just the bottom line of the company.
And as for Glenda, our generous office manager who helped the fresh graduate, she eventually did get replaced by the very person she was helping. But the good news? Because of her unconditional giving, she was then offered a different position in the company, where she went on to work far longer than her initial contract.
Who says it doesn’t pay to be unconditionally generous to others?