Winning companies begin with leadership
What makes a company a great place to work? Is it compensation, benefits, career opportunities or a pleasant working environment? All these matter. But after more than five decades in business, I have come to look at the relationship between happiness and performance somewhat differently.
A productive employee is a happy employee. Not necessarily the other way around.
There is satisfaction in doing a job well, meeting a difficult target and knowing that one’s contribution matters. People want to belong to an organization that is going somewhere. They want to take pride in their work and in the company they represent.
That brings me to the first lesson. Leadership must give people an organization that can succeed.
Some of my most difficult experiences were at San Miguel. At San Miguel Foods, several businesses were losing money and continuing as before was no longer sustainable. We had to dispose of businesses and close operations that could not justify their continued existence. These decisions affected people who had served the organization faithfully. I even acquired the rather unflattering nickname “Sibaktista.”
But what was the alternative? Continue losing money until the larger organization was placed at risk? Caring for employees sometimes means making painful decisions responsibly so that the company can continue providing jobs and opportunities.
San Miguel Beer presented a different challenge. We needed to reconnect with consumers, especially those concerned about affordability. But we began with our salesmen. We provided uniforms and new vehicles and allowed them to bring those vehicles home. Each became a rolling advertising billboard. Just as important, our salesmen could take greater pride in representing San Miguel Beer.
The Affordaboys campaign followed, helping us reconnect with consumers. The lesson was not simply about marketing. We had to rebuild confidence within the organization while giving customers a reason to return. People find satisfaction in being part of a business that is moving forward.
The second lesson is that leadership must develop people.
I learned this early at Pfizer from George Suter, a general manager who became one of my most important mentors. George believed in discipline, preparation and high standards. He expected us to take responsibility, but he also trusted young executives with opportunities to grow.
Oftentimes, people grow because someone they respect sees something in them before they see it themselves.
Years later, Winda and I traveled to celebrate George’s 80th birthday. Our relationship had long outlasted our years at Pfizer. What remained with me was not a particular management technique, but the influence he had on the people he led.
I tried to carry that lesson into the management traineeship programs I later championed. We invested in recruitment, rotations, mentoring and regular conversations with our trainees. I even held monthly lunches with them to hear what was working and what was not.
Retention was always a challenge. Many left and some became successful executives elsewhere. I eventually came to believe that the measure of a development program is not simply how many people stay, but how many become better leaders because of it. A company should be proud of the people it develops, even when their careers take them elsewhere.
The third lesson is that caring must be genuine.
Whenever I held year-end retreats with my direct reports, I included their spouses. I wanted the families to share in the occasion, because the demands of leadership are felt at home as well as in the office.
That is also why I appreciated Mega Prime Foods’ Wellness Voyage in Kuala Lumpur, where employees and their spouses participated together. It recognized that employees are husbands, wives, parents and members of families whose support makes their work possible.
Not every company can afford an overseas gathering. Genuine concern is also shown through fair pay, good supervision, opportunities for advancement and management that listens. The important thing is whether employees believe the concern is real.
I remember another lesson from John Gokongwei at Universal Robina. When the subject of business growth came up, his answer was simple: “Employment. Pet. Employment.” Building a successful business meant creating jobs and livelihoods, not merely increasing profits. A company must do well financially to continue doing good for its people.
The fourth lesson is that culture is learned from the top.
A nurturing organization is not one where poor performance or dishonesty is overlooked. I have seen the damage caused when standards are relaxed for longtime employees or favored executives. That is unfair to the many people who do their jobs properly.
Employees watch what leaders do more closely than what they say. They notice whom management rewards, how it handles difficult decisions and what it refuses to tolerate. Human Resources can design excellent programs, but it cannot compensate for poor leadership.
Over the years, I have come to believe that morale is a reflection of culture and culture, in turn, is a reflection of leadership.
Looking back, I remember the businesses we turned around, the brands we rebuilt and the difficult decisions we made. But I also remember the people who grew with those organizations and took pride in what we accomplished together.
Perhaps that is the real measure of a winning culture. Not simply whether people are happy to come to work, but whether they can do meaningful work, develop their abilities and feel proud of what they contribute.
Because the best thing leaders can do for their people is not simply to make them happy. It is to build an organization where they can succeed.
(Pet Bautista held top leadership roles as president of San Miguel Brewing, San Miguel Foods, Kraft Foods and PT Warner Lambert Indonesia, as well as managing director of Universal Robina Corp. He is a recent recipient of the Mansmith CEO Lifetime Achievement Award.)
