Organizations that lack an understanding and sense of accountability, make employees feel like they are being asked to swim world record times in a pool of Jello. Everyone is trying really hard BUT the system-of-work is forcing them to push harder and gain little progress.
If, as a manger, you cannot predict what employees are doing and the completion date of delegated tasks…you cannot do your work.
Most meetings begin with the problem in mind. Then we discuss the problem, what caused the problem, if the problem we identified is really the problem, and then comes the need to blame someone for the problem.
The value in this method is that by focusing on what you want the solution to be as opposed to focusing on the problem, your energy and focus can be put into developing action steps towards the solution. The problem is known and acknowledged AND the solution is found in examining what you know, what resources you have and need in order to solve your problems in your context and in learning how to continually improve.
Acknowledging the problem AND developing a shared understanding of the goal to be achieved. Then working backward to accomplish this goal by carefully and pragmatically searching through the organization, team and / or persons real-life and work experience to identify exceptions of when the solution is already happening or could possibly happen in the future.
Much of the confusion and frustration comes from having too many layers of management in the organization. In other words:
Like Collins in Good-to-Great, getting the right people on the bus in the right seat is important. Unfortunately companies keep adding seats and squeezing in extra and unnecessary layers. Causing increased tension and everyone feeling squished, micromanaged, distrusted and unsafe.
We’ve all heard it “You should be coaching your staff”. Then you walk away agreeing and thinking “I barely have time to do my own work never mind coach and do the work of my staff.” Agreed.
What would you do right now if you could do whatever you wanted to?
Because if you don’t know what you would do, if you could do whatever you wanted to. How in the world can you know what you would do under constraints?
Competency in work is more that just intelligence. It is a combination of cognition, values, knowledge & skills, people skills and behaviors. How do you figure out all those things?
At the core of of what has been called motivation is to value something. If we value something we will go after it.