Bidirectional Responsibility: Avoiding 5 Traps of the Hierarchical System, Building Harmonious and Efficient Manager-Employee Relationships

Author: Samuel J. Gilbert, John Erman
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: If you read this book seriously, it will change your life (I guarantee it). If many people read this book seriously, it will change the world (no exaggeration). This book is truly that good! — Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence and Reimagine
This book is the fundamental application of the "win-win" philosophy for organizations. It is filled with compelling insights and case studies, making it even more relevant in a new economic society where wealth creation shifts from relying on capital to relying on human resources.
— Dr. Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Samuel Gilbert and John Erman introduce a remarkable new concept—reciprocal accountability—that redefines how people perceive hierarchy and organizational relationships.
— Warren Bennis, Professor of Management at the University of Southern California, author of On Becoming a Leader
This book clarifies the advantages and disadvantages of hierarchy in businesses and points out how a single-accountability system hinders honest dialogue between managers and employees, the truthful flow of information, and ultimately leads to five direct negative impacts on the organization: untruthful communication, internal politics corruption, false teamwork, employee apathy, and mutual blame-shifting.
The authors creatively propose that to build harmonious relationships between managers and employees and improve organizational efficiency, a system of reciprocal accountability should be implemented: employees are accountable to their superiors, and superiors are also accountable to their employees. Superiors should create conditions to help employees complete tasks and achieve a sense of accomplishment while making decisions and managing. At the same time, a win-win political model should be realized: winning personal interests, company interests, and the interests of all stakeholders.
The management and leadership experiences described in this book benefit different levels of people in different ways. Decision-makers will learn how to improve mechanisms to encourage honest and equal cooperation between superiors and subordinates at all levels; managers will learn how to improve various relationships to better coordinate and support the people they lead; subordinates will learn how to determine when to speak up without risk and take more responsibility in creating such conditions; MBA students will learn how to judge which companies are capable of evaluating their opinions and achievements in their work, thus finding their ideal employers.
This book is recommended by three renowned American management experts: Tom Peters, Stephen Covey, and Warren Bennis.
This book proposes a fundamental solution to improving corporate management systems: by introducing a highly reciprocal accountability system and a win-win political model, the relationship between managers and employees can be improved. Managers not only ensure that subordinates are responsible but must also take responsibility themselves; employees, while ensuring company interests and considering others' interests, pursue their personal interests.