Some companies are respected for the cutting edge in technology. Others are respected for the balance between the technical and the human. Among these are those in which the human side takes place through the technician. In other words, all human technologies are used with great efficiency. They are at the forefront of the “mechanics” of the human, but not because of their essence. There are, however, those in which the human is not something technological. They are companies with spirit. The essence of the human is there, alive, pulsating in a natural, genuine way. A non-visible, non-tangible essence, not expressed in systems, technologies, techniques... But it is felt by employees, suppliers, customers. Something that is in the environment, in the “climate”, in the atmosphere of the company and in everything that is done, said, even thought about. People with constructive attitudes, a genuine interest to be useful, to serve, to contribute to customers and to everyone who will be, directly or indirectly, using the products and services generated.
In organizations with spirit, people are more than “colleagues”, they are friends. There is a climate of camaraderie among all, without any kind of separation, without feuds, without exclusion of anyone. People know each other deeply. And, because of that, they are able to understand each other and, thus, reveal the small differences in style, personality, in the way they communicate and even demonstrate, or not, their emotions and feelings. And it is because of this level of understanding that in these organizations there are, in addition to a true esprit de corps, exceptional levels of collective motivation.
What is the effect of all this on the performance of companies, on the results they achieve? Obvious? Not so much... Because if that were the case, we would have many more companies at this level of perfection as a team, as a group of effective friends. So what seems to stop more organizations from having that kind of motivation, excitement, energy?
Too much of the technician's culture that brings coldness to human processes? The premise that too much friendship undermines the logic that should prevail in business? Command-and-control leadership styles that tend to stifle people's creativity and spontaneity? The belief that the successful organization is one that “runs like a well-oiled machine” and in which the technician is everything...?
It is obvious to talk about the importance of people in organizations. Less obvious, more subtle, less often perceived and practiced, is understanding that the spirit of companies is not in people, but in their motivation.
In how many organizations in the country do we have motivated people all the time — and not just the two or three days after a salary increase or a bonus payment? That is, in how many organizations is motivation sustainable, something inherent to their way of being and not the result of “spasms” generated by artificial stimuli?
This level of sustainable motivation is only possible in organizations where the purpose, their reason for existing, is noble. They are organizations where everyone knows that they work for the common good, for society as a whole, that are building a legacy for future generations.
And it is this awareness that makes people give their best, generating exceptional levels of quality in everything they do. A non-mechanical quality, not only “of technique for the sake of technique”. But a quality generated by the simple interest in the well-being of those who will use the final product or service.
What would happen in our country and in the world if more and more organizations, both in the business, governmental and third sector, HAD this kind of spirit and DO their best, motivated by noble purposes, by the search for the common good?
Technology is always neutral. What enhances its value is the intention that underlies its application. The purpose. And therein lies the essence of organizations with spirit. And the lives of all of us.
Oscar Motomura