Adult and teen members of the 2003 Leadership Carroll County class recently came together in a session designed to educate leaders regarding ways of energizing and motivating employees.

Julie Welch, a member of Baptist Memorial Hospital's training and organization development team, led the group in discovering the spirit of "Gung Ho" using concepts derived from the book Gung Ho!, co-authored by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. The book promises to create loyal customers - increasing productivity, profits and prosperity - through "empowered employees who think they own the place and can make good decisions even when you're not there."

The phrase "Gung Ho" is derived from the Chinese words "kung" and "ho" that, joined, mean "working together". Gung Ho came about in 1938 as the slogan for the "China Industrial Cooperatives" (or, in Chinese, the "Zhongguo Gongye Hezhoushe") when the name of that movement was shortened to "Gong He" and then "Gung Ho". The slogan was adopted by U.S. Marines during World War II, coming to mean "boundless enthusiasm, energy and dedication."

Perhaps that is where Andy Longclaw's grandfather learned about the concept. Andy is the lead character in a movie Julie presented - following a parable in the book - that tells the story of how Peggy Sinclair, the new plant manager of Walton Works Company, turns the failing plant around with the help of Longclaw, who is in charge of the only efficiently run department in the plant.

Asked how his department seems to "run like a clock in the midst of disaster", Andy responds, "Gung Ho. We're all Gung Ho." His grandfather had taught him the secrets of Gung Ho, secrets Andy shared with every member of his department.

Casting Andy as an American Indian, perhaps, makes it easier to present Gung Ho as analogous to the behaviors of certain industrious animals. In the movie, the three elements that make up an effective Gung Ho organization are "The Spirit of the Squirrel", "The Way of the Beaver", and "The Gift of the Goose".

Andy agrees to teach Peggy the concepts one by one, with field trips into the wild helping to illustrate his points.

THE SPIRIT OF THE SQUIRREL
- Accomplishing worthwhile work gives your team a sense of purpose

Andy takes Peggy into the woods beside his grandfather's cabin where she can observe the squirrels hard at work gathering food for the winter. Impressed by their diligence, Peggy notes if everyone at the plant worked as hard as the squirrels, Walton Works would no longer have a problem.

"What makes the squirrels work so hard?" Andy prompts. What is their motivation, and why does that goal encourage them?

Peggy observes they have a goal of storing food for the winter, and that their survival depends upon it.

"Squirrels work hard because their work is worthwhile," Andy summarizes. "It works for people too."

Worthwhile work is characterized in three ways: it is important; it leads to a goal that is understood by the entire organization, team or family; and all plans, decisions and actions taken toward the goal are guided by values.

The first concept is based upon people's desire to make a difference in the world. If employees (family members, etc.) understand the work they do makes the world a better place, The Spirit of the Squirrel can work to make the team more productive, because they know what they do is important. "Right work" - work that is worthwhile - increases self-esteem.

All it takes is breaking a job down to its essence: "Welding and grinding a piece of metal into conformity with an engineering drawing is one thing; making a part for a brake on a child's bicycle is entirely different."

Secondly, shared goals are those in which everyone has some input. Management sets critical goals, team members set the rest. "People support best what they help create."

"Some managers think that because they print a goal in an annual report, or announce it at some staff meeting, the goal is shared. But if the team doesn't commit to it, it isn't shared," Andy counsels.

He advises there are two types of goals: "Results Goals" set out the activity to be accomplished (how many units are produced, accounts collected, etc.) while "Value Goals" describe the impact the product has on the team, customer and/or community.

Values, the third concept, are the lubrication that keep the wheels of productivity turning smoothly toward the goal. "Goals are for the future - values are now. Goals are set - values are lived. Goals change - values are rocks you can count on. Goals get people going - values sustain the effort."

To be Gung Ho, values must exist and be understood because they are "the real boss" of the organization. It is management's responsibility to establish values and to ensure they are adhered to. "You can compromise and negotiate on goals, but not values; you can't impose agreement to values, but you can and must impose conformity to them."

And they must be respected from the top down. "Values become real only when you demonstrate them. Values have to hold up even in the tough times. Values are rocks you can count on," Andy teaches.

The Spirit of the Squirrel is the organization's vision for the future; a solid vision buttressed by a supporting set of positive beliefs or values. Without values, says Blanchard, workers are lost. "Lacking something to uplift their hearts when difficulties arise, their minds will not be equal to the challenge of achieving their goals."

THE WAY OF THE BEAVER
- Having control of self-achieving goals gives the team a sense of direction

A second trip to the forest following a heavy rain finds beavers busily repairing their dam. Each one is "busy as a beaver." Every beaver is in charge of itself, knowing just what it has to do to get the job done.

The Way of the Beaver works within the framework of The Spirit of the Squirrel to allow each employee to act as his or her own boss, reaching goals in ways best suited to his or her own personal style.

Says Blanchard, "An organization where employees believe they perform worthwhile work but management requires them to follow prescribed methods won't reach its highest potential. Nothing kills productivity faster than chipping away at people's self-esteem by insisting things be done the boss's way."

The Way of the Beaver enlists three principles to guide the system. Since Blanchard's model switches at this point to a football analogy, it's sort of fun to imagine teams of beavers moving the ball across the field.

Territory on the playing field, he says, is clearly marked, with goals and values defining the field and rules of the game. Leaders decide what positions members play, then get off the field and let the players move the ball. Freedom to change comes from each player knowing exactly what territory is his or her own, and goals and values are the sidelines. Players are free to move anywhere within the lines, that freedom derived from knowing how far they can go before they are out of bounds.

The Way of the Beaver promotes the idea that when employees have a clear understanding of the organization's vision - its purpose, goals and values - and their roles within that vision, they are the ones who can best decide how to get their work accomplished.

Managers decide who plays what position. Employees then "have the liberty, and the responsibility, to work to their highest potential. Paradoxically, setting limits on how far employees can go also gives them the freedom to move."

The second principle of The Way of the Beaver deals with respect for the individual and team members' respect for each other. Valuing individuals as persons is the golden rule of leadership, says Blanchard. People need to know that their "thoughts, feelings, needs and dreams are respected, listened to and acted upon."

Establishing a forum of communication, where every employee is part of the "information loop" and each understands why his or her work is important to the organization, is critical.

Says Blanchard, "Beavers respect each other. They can't control their own destinies if everything they do gets ripped apart. And one beaver doesn't hide a good tree from other beavers. They all share what's available to get the job done, and that includes full, accurate and up-to-the-minute information on everything. No secrets. In an organization, everyone must support and respect each other if, as individuals, they want to succeed in their best efforts."

In explaining to Peggy the difference The Way of the Beaver can make, Andy shares the difference it made in his team: "Our old habit was to shuffle into work each morning unsure of what the day would bring. Now we first have a huddle to go over the work of the day and form a game plan. Then we reach out, pile our hands together and yell TEAM."

The third concept of The Way of the Beaver deals with the methods employed in establishing the playing field, and just as one game doesn't end a season, it is important, according to Blanchard, to "think of the process as a journey, not an announced destination."

Rather than attempting to make people adapt to the organization, managers must consider employees' natural abilities and knowledge in determining how to make the best use of those skills. Their mission is to present work that is both challenging and achievable, but that also "requires a stretch", demanding the best efforts of the individual within his or her capacity and skills while allowing new learning and advancement into "uncharted territory."

"Set realistic goals for employees," says Blanchard. "The Way of the Beaver requires work that's achievable. A manager can't expect to motivate employees beyond their reasonable capacity or beyond their skills and training. People become discouraged and unmotivated when they fail to reach impossible goals. Conversely, goals that don't challenge employees' abilities ultimately drain their self-esteem."

THE GIFT OF THE GOOSE
- Cheering each other on energizes teammates and provides a sense of accomplishment

To introduce Peggy to "The Gift of the Goose", Andy escorts her on a canoe trip to observe the behavior of geese flying overhead. He challenges her to determine the reason behind the flock's noisy chatter - who were they honking at, and why?

Peggy determines that, unlike the random chattering of the squirrels and the whacking tails of the beavers that signaled danger, the geese are communicating with each other. She notices the honking sounds seem to come from every position within the ranks of the v-shaped formation and concludes the birds are "cheering each other on."

The Gift of the Goose means encouraging one another, and just as all the geese were honking - not the lead goose alone - a team works best when everyone cheers each other on. The Gift of the Goose brings enthusiasm to The Spirit of the Squirrel and The Way of the Beaver.

Like the other components of Gung Ho, The Gift of the Goose has three parts. First of all, Andy tells Peggy, congratulations that are T.R.U.E. - timely, responsive, unconditional and enthusiastic - can't be overdone. And congratulations can be active, praise for a job well done, or passive, "getting out of their way and letting them do it." Passive congratulations indicates trust and faith in the employee's abilities. "Giving competent people the tools for the job and then getting out of their way is always a genuine affirmation."

Secondly, congratulations needn't wait until the job is done. Blanchard again reaches for the football analogy to describe the importance of cheering not only the final results but progress toward the goal. At football games, fans cheer for each first down, then for each touchdown as it occurs, "not three months later at the annual awards banquet."

"Cheer progress; it's a moving target. Praise motivates people to continue to work toward their goals," Blanchard counsels.

Just as a visible scoreboard keeps fans advised of progress in the game, posting productivity measures where everyone can see creates enthusiasm. Adding to that effectiveness is public, timely praise.

"An annual message to the whole department congratulating them on a good year by way of a memo pinned to the bulletin board won't have the impact of an announcement over the paging system that Jim Anderson in shipping has set a record for cartons shipped without damage three months in a row."

Praise that is spontaneous (not planned), individual (not all-inclusive), specific (not general), and unique (not customary) is most effective in motivating people.

Finally, The Gift of the Goose manipulates Einstein's formula "E=mc2" to denote Enthusiasm = mission x cash and congratulations. Cash comes first in the equation because individual's material needs must be met before their spirits can be enriched through congratulations.

According to Blanchard, "many labor problems have spirit issues at their core, with lack of respect being perhaps the biggest."

"Congratulations offer more potential than cash," he says, and while "the amount of available cash is limited, managers have an unlimited supply of congratulations. It's important to pay people fairly, but managers also should heap on congratulations and feed people's souls."

Andy links the three components of Gung Ho by explaining to Peggy, "The Spirit of the Squirrel and The Way of the Beaver provide the spark. The Gift of the Goose is like throwing gasoline on the spark." But, he counsels, "The Gift of the Goose doesn't work unless The Spirit of the Squirrel and The Way of the Beaver are also present."

Within three months, as Peggy and Andy incorporate the principles of Gung Ho at Walton Works, the company begins a turn-around that will reach unprecedented levels in the years to come.

Sadly, the movie Gung Ho! depicts Andy on his deathbed, presumably after many happy years, entreating Peggy to teach Gung Ho to everyone she can.

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