Good leaders value and reward their people. This is universally true. The best leaders, whether in the military, government or business will understand and recognize the worth of the people they lead. And they demonstrate it by what they do, not what they say. Talk is cheap as the saying goes.
So, what does this current situation say about the leaders of Lowe’s?
Well, it’s plainly obvious that they hold a very traditional view. They consider the people at the top as the people they value the most. The managers are valued above the average Joe who works in their stores. This is a common point of view. You see it in the military, government and almost all businesses. The people at the bottom come and go, but the people at the top are the “real” company.
Unfortunately for Lowe’s it also true that the best companies out there vary from this attitude. The companies with the most loyal associates, most innovative business practices and the most long term stability don’t do things like what just happened with the discretionary bonuses. They take a different approach. They emphasize all their employees and they take the view that spreading the wealth to everyone benefits not just those people but also coincidentally, the company too.
Motivated and happy employees = successful leading companies in the marketplace.
So, to put it bluntly, Lowe’s occupies that area of middling, average companies with unimaginative and dull leadership. They do all the same things they’ve always done and they always will because doing anything else just simply never occurs to them. They talk a lot about how much they value their people because as we’ve established, that’s the cheapest thing to do. But what they do is completely contrary to what they say and the associate reaction illustrates that their people know it.
In the end, this is all to be expected. The people at the top have been hired into their positions because they have a propensity for doing the safe and mundane. (That’s a long winded euphemism for: “They’re really not that bright no matter what school they went to and they do the safe thing because it’s the easiest.”) Expecting them to do anything else would require imagination and bravery and despite whatever they may tell you they want from you, they themselves simply don’t have it in them.
Accept the fact that your leaders aren’t anything special and that you’re working for a mediocre company. Don’t expect them to do anything exciting or innovative, you’ll be less disappointed when they do oblivious nonsense like this again.