Help! No Management Support!

It depends on what level the employee is who is not receiving the support of upper management. If it another member of management in a lower level, he or she can continue to quietly work on changing the mindset of those they can influence. They can form a “grass roots” movement, so to speak, of continuous improvement through their support of those who are trying to make a difference. This may need to be done somewhat quietly and subvertly, but once more value is created for the customer and the processes run more efficiently, then upper management support may come. This would have to be done in a way that would not incur additional costs that would draw the attention of the traditional accounting department. If these efforts fail to gain the desired support, then greener pastures are looked for before their career becomes stagnant or sidetracked.

If the employee is more at the production level, then they usually simply give up, become disgruntled or cynical – sometimes with an attitude that they are going to only do what is absolutely necessary for the company. They often do something, either intentional or otherwise, which gets them in trouble with those in management. Basically, if the good employee was excited about continuous improvement and seeing the company become better, the lack of support turns them into somewhat a liability instead of the asset that they could have been. As I have heard many times before, “The attitude I have is the only one the company has given me.” Eventually, when the economy is good, these employees move on but unless something happens to help them overcome their negative attitude, they could carry with them for the rest of their working lives.

Dale S.