Do you ever feel like you’re working in a construction zone? Many organizations have so many road blocks and speed bumps within their doors that the flow of productivity can come to a screeching halt or at best move at a snail’s pace. We’ve found that the construction zone affect is caused by a several things. Here are four of them.
- Not Trusting Leadership: How often do you question what leadership is trying to do within your organization or in your department? I’m amazed at how many times I’ve come across an employee with little to no experience questioning the directives of a senior leader with more than 20 years of experience. If you can’t trust your leaders, you shouldn’t work for them. Also keep in mind that many times a leader can’t give all of the employees all of the information all of the time. Trust your leaders. Odds are they have more at stake than you do.
- Allowing Excuses: Some people live by excuses. There is always a reason for poor performance. Amazingly, many managers and leaders buy into it. That is a mistake. There may be legitimate concerns however; they should be followed by productive solutions. A good practice is to always ask two follow-up questions when confronted with an excuse. These two questions will help you distinguish between a legitimate concern and an excuse.
- Events Not In Our Control: Learn this phrase… “Control what you can control”. You can’t change the economy. You can change how you serve your customers. You can’t change the personality of others you work with. You can control your own attitude. Don’t spend time worrying about what you can’t change. Focus on areas you can change. Worrying about things you can’t control is a huge time waster in many organizations.
- Lack of Consistency: People are watching you! If you don’t think others in your organization are watching you then you’re not paying attention. If you’re a manager you have most of your direct reports watching. They are watching how you respond to leadership, how you support the organization and even your attitude. If you don’t follow-up, if you don’t follow through on commitments, if you don’t support leadership, if you’re always moving the bar and making excuses then you area creating road blocks. Also, you’re giving others an excuse to do the same.
Make a point to support your organization. Clear the road so productivity can flow freely.
