Sometimes when you focus on improving skills to get better at your job, you neglect thinking about whether there is something that you ought to eliminate.
This is especially important as a leader, since your behavior is being observed by your employees and may be adopted as their own.
Team members rely on each other. When everyone does what they commit to doing, the results can be fabulous. On the other hand, if one person neglects to hold up his or her end of the bargain, it can create a domino effect where the house of cards tumbles down.
If your organizational structure is built around teams, as the leader, it’s your responsibility to make sure that the teams function to their best advantage. There isn’t room for prima donnas, lone rangers, or slackers. They need to understand that no matter how talented they are, they will drag down the team if they behave in such fashion.
Everyone believes that they create value for their clients, and if you focus on value creation on some kind of regular basis, you probably are providing it.
It’s important, though, to take time periodically to determine whether your assessment of value is the same as the perception in the eyes of the beholder.
Does your team have clearly defined roles, responsibilities and expectations for performance? If it doesn’t, it’s a recipe for confusion and misunderstandings. Think about it: if people don’t have clarity about what their supposed to do and how they’ll be evaluated, they’re walking around in the dark.
Consider these examples
I was standing in line at the pharmacy and the man in front of me was disruptive and disrespectful to the person helping him. After he left, she and her co-worker were commenting on what had happened. As I approached to get my prescription, she greeted me, zen-like, saying “Relax – relate – release.”
Of course, I was immediately drawn in, and wanted to know more about this mantra. Had they had customer service training? Did she read about this in a book? Perhaps she had seen something on the internet?
I was facilitating a management offsite with a goal of improving communication among leaders. During the discussion, one of the participants enthusiastically said that she was open to the ideas of others as long as people realized that her opinions were the right ones.
What?!?
I’m sure this isn’t so hard to do but imagine yourself staring at a mountain of tasks. You know you need to climb this mountain but taking that first step feels overwhelming. This mental hurdle is like the concept of activation energy in chemistry – the initial energy needed to start a reaction. In our daily lives, activation energy applies to getting started on tasks, especially those we find daunting.
For executives, this can be particularly true. Big decisions, complex projects, and endless to-do lists can create a high activation energy, making it difficult to even begin. This is where understanding activation energy becomes a powerful tool for time management.
One of the questions I’ve received over the years is whether a leader needs to be “on” all the time. When the question arises, it’s usually because the person is uncomfortable needing to be “on” when they are not officially on the job.
In a nutshell, yes, you need to be on. Like it or not, it’s almost like being “on parade” when others watch you from afar.
How often does your staff create distractions with an avalanche of finger-pointing and accusations? “He said” this and “she did” that and “I don’t know anything about this” are expressions that pop up.
If you hear these types of phrases occasionally, it’s normal and controllable. But if these expressions occur regularly or increasingly over time, you may be a party to workplace drama.
One of my friends is the managing partner of a busy medical practice that has several doctors, a variety of specialists, and an often-hectic reception area. One of his employees has been a front desk icon to the patients.
This person, who I’ll call Greg, is the epitome of client service. He is exactly the kind of employee who makes a medical practice shine, especially during times of stress. He is warm, compassionate, efficient, and always has a good sense of humor.