The man who beats his horse will soon be walking!

This one line story credit goes to a Haitian drivers grandfather and was mentioned in the book ‘The story factor’ by Annette Simmons.

“The man who beats his horse will soon be walking” is a proverbial saying that highlights the consequences of treating others poorly, whether it be humans or animals. It suggests that if a person mistreats or abuses their resources, they will eventually face negative consequences that will affect their own well-being.

The proverb can also be applied to human relationships. If a person mistreats their employees, for example, they may face consequences such as high turnover rates, low morale, and a damaged reputation. Similarly, if a person mistreats their friends or family members, they may find themselves alone and unsupported when they need help or support.

The article heading gives a lesson on treating your close relations, supporters, employees, well wishers with compassion. I will try to share my experiences as well.

1. Create a cordial environment

Creating a cordial environment at work and home is essential for maintaining healthy relationships, reducing stress, and improving overall well-being. Whether you are dealing with colleagues, family members, or roommates, it is essential to create an environment that is respectful, supportive, and positive. Here are some tips on how to create a cordial environment at work and home.

Be respectful: Show respect to everyone around you, regardless of their position or status. Speak politely, use appropriate language, and avoid gossiping or talking behind someone’s back. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Communicate effectively: Effective communication is essential to create a cordial environment. Listen actively, respond appropriately, and avoid misunderstandings. Use clear and concise language and avoid being confrontational or aggressive.

Be empathetic: Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Try to put yourself in other people’s shoes and see things from their perspective. This will help you to build stronger relationships, avoid conflicts, and create a positive environment.

Be supportive: Offer support and help to others when they need it. This can be as simple as listening to them, offering advice, or helping them with a task. Being supportive can help to create a sense of belonging and improve morale.

Celebrate successes: Celebrate achievements and successes, both big and small. This can be a great way to boost morale, motivate others, and create a positive atmosphere.

Practice self-care: Take care of yourself both physically and mentally. This will help you to stay calm and focused, even in stressful situations. Practice good sleep habits, eat healthy foods, and exercise regularly.

Set boundaries: Setting boundaries is essential to create a healthy work-life balance. Be clear about your expectations, communicate your needs, and avoid overcommitting yourself. This will help you to avoid burnout and maintain a positive environment.

When you are running your own business or department, always strive to create a condition environment in your team. It will ensure that the teams is motivated and on excellent spirits. A healthy competition can do wonders.

Creating a cordial environment need not be expensive. Initiatives like timely performance recognition, team activities, promoting mutual respect and team spirit etc can go a long way.

Personally, I created a Watsapp group, which included all the staff members. The group rules allowed team members to highlight achievements and share best practices. No negative performance numbers were discussed in this group. Colleagues would encourage good performance and celebrate team member success.

2. Give the team learning opportunities

Giving the team learning opportunities is essential for their growth and development, as well as for the success of the organization. When employees are given opportunities to learn and develop new skills, they become more engaged, motivated, and productive. Here are some tips on how to give your team learning opportunities.

Identify training needs: The first step is to identify the training needs of your team. Conduct a needs assessment to determine the areas where your team needs to develop new skills or knowledge. You can use surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one interviews to gather this information.

Provide access to training: Once you have identified the training needs, provide access to training programs, courses, or workshops that can address those needs. You can offer in-house training or provide access to external training providers. Consider both online and in-person training options.

Encourage self-learning: Encourage your team members to take responsibility for their own learning and development. Provide them with resources such as books, articles, and online courses that they can use to learn on their own.

Provide coaching and mentoring: Coaching and mentoring can be an effective way to support the learning and development of your team. Provide opportunities for team members to work with experienced colleagues or coaches who can provide feedback and guidance.

Create a learning culture: Creating a learning culture is essential for the success of any learning and development program. Encourage your team members to share their learning experiences and successes with each other. Celebrate achievements and recognize the efforts of those who are actively learning and developing.

Incorporate learning into work: Incorporate learning into the work of your team members. Provide opportunities for them to apply the skills and knowledge they have learned on the job. This will help to reinforce their learning and ensure that they are using the new skills to benefit the organization.

Measure and evaluate: Measure and evaluate the effectiveness of your learning and development programs. Collect feedback from your team members and track their progress. Use this information to improve your training programs and ensure that they are meeting the needs of your team.

An engaged team can focus on the organisations vision effortlessly. It saves a lot of resources as such learnings are applied to solve business problems.

In a scenario where no learning opportunities are provided, employees will struggle and waste precious time figuring out the optimal and efficient solution.

Supporting employees in pursuing their basic education and work related skills through free workshops, online classes leads them to become more engaged in the day to day business affairs.

3. Giving space

Giving space to others is an important aspect of healthy relationships, both in personal and professional contexts. It involves giving others the time and freedom they need to pursue their own interests, make their own decisions, and be themselves without feeling controlled or stifled. Here are some tips on how to give space to others.

Respect boundaries: Respect the boundaries of others and don’t try to control or manipulate their actions. Everyone has their own personal space and comfort zones, so it’s important to be aware of these and avoid crossing them.

Listen actively: Listen actively to others and try to understand their perspective. This shows that you value their opinion and are interested in their ideas and feelings.

Avoid micromanaging: Avoid micromanaging others and trust them to do their job or fulfill their responsibilities without constant supervision. This gives them the freedom to work at their own pace and develop their own ideas.

Encourage independence: Encourage independence and self-reliance by providing opportunities for others to take on new challenges and learn from their experiences. This helps them to build confidence and develop their skills.

Be supportive: Be supportive of others and provide emotional support when needed. This can involve offering advice, encouragement, or simply being a good listener.

Allow time for reflection: Allow others time for reflection and don’t rush them to make decisions or take action. Everyone processes information and experiences differently, so it’s important to give them the space they need to think things through.

Be patient: Be patient and give others the time and space they need to grow and develop. Change and growth can take time, so it’s important to be supportive and understanding throughout the process.

4. Make the team independent

Making the team independent is essential for building a self-sufficient and productive team. An independent team is one that is capable of making decisions, solving problems, and achieving goals without constant direction or supervision. Here are some tips on how to make your team independent.

Set clear goals and expectations: Set clear goals and expectations for your team. Communicate what is expected of them and what the end result should look like. This will give them a clear sense of direction and purpose.

Delegate responsibility: Delegate responsibility to your team members. Give them the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work. This will help them to develop their skills and build confidence.

Provide resources: Provide your team with the resources they need to do their job. This includes tools, technology, and training. This will help them to work more efficiently and effectively.

Foster communication and collaboration: Foster communication and collaboration within your team. Encourage your team members to share ideas, ask questions, and work together to solve problems. This will help them to learn from each other and build a stronger sense of teamwork.

Offer feedback and support: Offer feedback and support to your team members. Provide constructive feedback on their work and offer guidance and support when needed. This will help them to improve their skills and build confidence.

Hold them accountable: Hold your team members accountable for their work. Set deadlines and follow up on progress. This will help them to take responsibility for their work and stay focused on their goals.

Recognize their achievements: Recognize the achievements of your team members. Celebrate successes and acknowledge their hard work and dedication. This will help to build morale and motivate them to continue to work independently.

A team can be made independent by giving them meaningful responsibilities early on. Let them swim in the turbulent waters for some time. You can step in anytime.

This can be easily implemented by delegating small projects within the team and observing how they execute them. Those with high caliber will deliver better results. It can also help in identifying good performers.

5. Ensure fair remuneration

A fair remuneration is essential for building a motivated and engaged workforce. Fair remuneration refers to providing compensation and benefits that are competitive, equitable, and aligned with the skills, experience, and performance of employees. Here are some tips on how to ensure fair remuneration for your employees.

Conduct salary research: Conduct salary research to determine the market rate for similar roles in your industry and location. This will help you to set competitive salaries that attract and retain top talent.

Establish a salary structure: Establish a salary structure that reflects the skills, experience, and performance of employees. This will ensure that salaries are aligned with the value that employees bring to the organization.

Provide benefits: Provide benefits that are competitive and meet the needs of employees. This includes healthcare, retirement plans, paid time off, and other perks that are important to your workforce.

Offer incentives: Offer incentives such as bonuses or profit sharing that reward employees for their performance and contribution to the organization’s success.

Provide career development opportunities: Provide career development opportunities that help employees to develop their skills and advance their careers. This can include training, mentoring, and coaching.

Communicate openly: Communicate openly with your employees about their compensation and benefits. Be transparent about how salaries are determined and provide opportunities for employees to ask questions and provide feedback.

Review and adjust regularly: Review and adjust salaries and benefits regularly to ensure that they remain competitive and fair. This can be done through regular performance reviews, benchmarking against industry standards, and adjusting compensation and benefits as needed.

It is a big mistake to not pay according to the market rates. Such companies usually find it hard to retain talent. They are not able to enjoy the benefits of compounded employee capabilities.

A fair remuneration culture will also help attract talent from other organizations. Employees tend to stay longer as they understand that this organization will values their work.

6. Final thoughts

The article has tried to highlight not so good practices in business. It is advised that you should stay clear of them as they are not sustainable in the long run.

“The man who beats his horse will soon be walking” is a proverb that emphasizes the importance of treating others fairly, with kindness and respect. It suggests that mistreating others will ultimately lead to negative consequences for oneself, and highlights the importance of recognizing the value of all living beings, whether they are humans or animals.

An engaged team, which is treater fairly and is aware about the organization’s values and vision can contribute meaningfully to it’s sustainable growth.