Lipstick on the mirror

What do you do when employees intentionally disobey rules and regulations? Get out the company manual, reinstate capital punishment or subject the violators to non-stop torture? I don’t think either of those would be the solution. Besides, pretty soon, you’ll end up with human rights advocates banging on your doors.

You can deal with the problem using a little creativity and some understanding on employee empowerment. Just look at the following story.

At a large private high school somewhere in the Midwest, a young girl created a mini scandal when she made an impression of her lips on the bathroom mirror using bright red lipstick. The principal, a bright, well-educated woman with more than 20 years of experience in public school administration, was appalled. She immediately addressed the students over the school intercom:

“It has come to my attention that someone has been leaving an impression of her lips on the mirror in the second-floor girls’ bathroom with her lipstick. This behavior is considered vandalism and will not be tolerated. I hope that whoever is responsible for this will not do it again and will apologize for her inconsiderate actions. And I will warn you all that if this incident is repeated, all guilty parties will be suspended for a period of one week. I trust I won’t have to address this problem again.”

Naturally, the principal’s announcement had precisely the opposite effect. Despite the teachers’ best efforts, an epidemic of lipstick imprints spread through the girls’ bathrooms. In desperation, the principal listened to an idea from the school janitor and allowed him to try it.

The janitor gathered together about five junior and senior girls who were the unofficial leaders of their classes, and led them into one of the bathrooms with a bucket and a washrag in his hands. “I wanted to show you girls just how difficult it is to wash this lipstick off the mirrors,” he told them. The girls rolled their eyes and folded their arms, signaling their utter indifference.

The janitor then proceeded into one of the stalls, dipped his washrag in the toilet, and swirled it around in the water. He went over to the lipstick impression on the mirror and wiped it off with the toilet-water-soaked rag. Wide-eyed horror replaced expressions of boredom as the janitor finished wiping down the mirrors.

The lipstick problem ended almost immediately.

Talk about empowerment. The school janitor came out with the best solution in dealing with the problem, which teaches us a lesson: Empowerment means listening to the suggestions and recommendations of the people working under us.

Our Ph.D.s and business degrees do not necessarily mean we know all the right answers, all the time. You might be surprised to find out that, all along, the very practical and logical solutions to our problems had been in the hands of those simple folks without fancy work titles who were just waiting for the chance to show us what they’ve got.

Theories, books and high-sounding concepts pertaining to “employee empowerment” abound. Just take a trip down your favorite bookstores, and you’ll find title upon title dealing with the subject. And try looking the term up using your favorite search engine – you’ll get the same results: endless articles about “employee empowerment”. But really, employee empowerment is just about giving due respect and attention to those who are working for us. It’s according them with the right degree of honor and respect. All this begins when we adopt a teachable mindset and remind ourselves that there’s always something to learn from others.

Successful leaders understand this principle, that’s why they get the most out of their people. The bonus here is that, people like how things are run, and so they’re motivated to accomplish more.

The Bible teaches, “Consider others better than yourself.” So the next time you find a lipstick impression on the mirror, don’t call out the “death sentence” just yet. Call the janitor first for advice. This is good advice.

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