Three Obstacles to a Good Outcome
Mary Rogers just got fired and is trying to figure out why.
No specific reason was given, only that they were cutting back on staff due to having to tighten their belts …along with a vague statement about her position not turning out to be as relevant as they thought it would be.
Hmm…interesting, she thought. ‘Joanna Styles who works in her area is still there and her pay grade is higher than mine.’ This left her wondering what was really going on with regard to her position and the good job she thought she was doing. Then she started to wonder…was it really a ‘good job’ or just ‘adequate.’
This situation can be disconcerting to anyone who has been through it and there’s a long list of reasons given for why this can happen to someone who seems to be doing a good job.
Among the many reasons given – some are surface – and others are very valid in their own right…such as ‘lack of relevant training’, which probably heads the top of the list. But this teaching moment is not about the need for more effective training in the work place, it’s about something even more basic. Something that underpins all of the obvious reasons, and gets to the heart of why things don’t lead to a good outcome, or the results one anticipated.
And this ‘something’ is often not recognized at first glance as it resembles those things that are said to be ‘hiding in plain sight.’ That is – we see them…but we don’t really see them. Meaning we only see the surface but don’t look closely enough to see the underpinning of what’s missing or actually wrong.
The real reasons are usually connected to just three words: Understanding, Communication and Intention. While simple on the surface, these three words pack a wallop when it comes to effective outcomes that managers and CEO’s love!
If you’ve ever been a boss or manager and asked someone to do something and just assumed it would be done, but discovered later it wasn’t, or was grossly incomplete…you know how the word assumption can play into things like deadlines, due dates, targets, agreements – large or small.
Yes, if someone has been hired and trained, we should be able to assume that they know their job and care enough to do the best job possible. But even while caring and being capable of doing the job …it may still be possible to fail, or at least falter, unnecessarily.
Targets, deadlines
Interestingly enough, it is often the smaller targets being missed that can undermine a company’s goals from being achieved. Some may reason that these are just smaller administrative details that aren’t powerful enough (in and of themselves) to make or break a company, so what’s the big deal…
‘So I missed my target this month, I’ve still got lots of time to make my six month bonus” they rationalize. And this is true if he or she discovers why they missed their monthly target – and adjusts their activities to handle the reasons found.
A very large company can absorb mistakes, and even a lack of production among certain staff for a much longer period of time before the home office notices a statistic plunging downward. In a smaller operation however, those missed deadlines can make the difference between a good week and bad week in terms of product delivery and monthly income. This is not only hard on the CEO but can mean no bonuses that month or future raises possible.
The cumulative actions – good or bad – show up quickly in a smaller operation.
If you’ve been trying figure out how understanding, communication and intention apply to the above, below is the scoop, as these tie into almost every area of an organization, large or small.
Understanding
Understanding in a business means that you understand anything written or spoken connected to your job from anyone on your team to those connected to the business. And that if you don’t understand a memo or task given that you find out what you missed or what a manager meant when he said ‘please do X,Y and Z .’ For clarification can save you!
It also means understanding your job training, your company’s mission statement or purpose, and any company policies that are there to hold the team together and ensure that only quality products are delivered to its clients.
Understanding any job training material at the beginning can make a big difference. For studies have shown that words or technical terms not understood can leave blank spots in the persons mind regarding parts of the job. And these blank spots can cause them to back-off from wanting to learn areas that seem complex, as they represent non-comprehension, which can lower the persons ability to perform as needed.
Non-comprehension can even lead to a fear of being promoted as he or she knows the new position means taking on more responsibility and they fear the learning curve might be too high.
It is difficult to be responsible for something that you don’t understand. So don’t be afraid of tackling an area of the job that’s not totally clear to you – by reviewing your training materials to make sure you didn’t miss anything – or by asking for definitions if no technical glossary is available. As conquering weak spots – things glossed over – will always bolster your confidence once you better understand them. And your future advancement may depend on being able to easily understand your industry’s terminology and how it applies to your job.
“Clearly written orders, requests, instructions or procedures’ can make the difference between a person understanding what’s needed or feeling like he is operating in the dark. Look closely at what you understand and don’t understand, and resolve to get any answers needed. Along with this, if you decide to deliver a little more than what’s expected…you’ll find others will have even more confidence in you and want to contribute to your success along the way.
Those small pockets of confusion about product delivery or administrative systems can create outcomes for the person that are sketchy at best.
Communication
A comic once said…’people think just because their mouth is open and words come out that they’re communicating…’ What a sharp observation! Spoiler alert: talking at someone is not the same as talking to someone.
Have you ever said something to a co-worker but were not sure if they fully heard you because a very weak response was given back. You may have wondered if they actually understood what was said. Or you may have sent a time-related document to someone – only to discover later that it was never read, let alone acted on.
There may have been times when you decided to back-off from addressing certain topics with a boss or manager because you weren’t entirely sure of your ability to create the outcome you wanted. Or, wanting to make a good impression but not really sure of your communication skills, you abandoned the dialog altogether.
Most people have had communication failures in the past regarding something that really mattered to them, and felt bad about it later. And not wanting to make the same mistake twice…they decided to play it safe and ‘not rock the boat’ in their current job. ‘What the heck (they rationalize) its better to hang on to what I’ve got.’
If your default setting has mainly been to ‘play it safe’ …you’re missing some chances at greatness in terms of your work. Or at the very least – opportunities that could improve your worth by taking the initiative when needed. A boss or manager can’t always be everywhere at once, so the people that work for him are in a position to solve things that otherwise might go unnoticed by the owner. The truth being …that nothing really gets fixed or improved in life unless we make it so.
A good rule of thumb if in doubt about whether to initiate a dialog or not, is to go ahead and communicate. If things are stalling or not moving forward as you would like – you will find that usually more communication is needed not less. If you take the subject of communication apart you’ll begin to see why some people are better at it than others and why some offices run smoothly and others do not.
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The basics of Communication
Its all good and well to talk about having better communication at work or elsewhere… but few have ever defined the mechanisms that make it work.
A successful communication involves a few things like – Attention, Intention and Understanding.
A real communication assumes that there’s someone there listening and receiving the communication, whether verbal or written. If done in person, we can see that there’s a body present…so we assume that the person has heard us and understands what was said. Now...hang in there as there’s a reason why I’m breaking all this down….
If we’re on the phone we assume the person is listening and therefore must understand what we said. If the communication is in writing, we assume the document has been received, understood, and will be answered as soon as the person is able to do so.
These are a lot of assumptions – so let’s see how they stand up.
What are the basics …the things that make communication work?
Imagine person A is facing person B and says something to him.
Now in order for person B to answer person A – he must not only be there in body, but in mind also. That is to say…he must have his attention on person A, be listening, and understanding what is said.
Seems simple enough. But what if person B is distracted, or not really interested in what person A has to say…then what?
Well you know the answer: person B is not going to reply…or if he does reply, it will not be appropriate and will show a lack of comprehension of what was said. So this is not communication – as there was no one present actually receiving it.
I’m sure you can recall situations where this has occurred, where you thought someone was listening, as the information given was important not only to your job but to theirs also. But because they were not fully present and had their attention elsewhere…you will had to repeat what was said. When having to repeat oneself it also helps to make sure that you are fully present also – or everyone’s time has been wasted. You will find that if you go ahead and set the example of be fully present when you speak…that this will help others also.
For in order to have a true team, communication must be understood by all participants, no matter the form. That means both sides must be there, fully present and engaged.
The other part of successful communication is that of the originator intending to get their communication across to someone. If the communication is weak or doesn’t get the persons attention, this can limit the response. However, the more you intend to get your point across – the better the outcome. Good leaders know this instinctively…as one can feel their intention when they speak …which is usually backed up with purpose.
Its not new news today’s in today’s world that Email has become the dominant form of communication. Or that we can become inundated with too much of it at times – causing us to not want to face it. The trick here is to simply decide to become cause over it, and handle it on a schedule that you determine you can pretty much stick to, and not allow it to back up in the first place.
In general if emails are written concisely, are understandable, and are responded to in a timely manner… things run pretty smooth… as one doesn’t have to guess or divine what the sender is trying to say. If its a report, only the facts are needed. If its a question of data being needed, make sure that you get an answer back with a polite nudge if needed. Follow ups may be needed with sometimes…but persistence will always pay off with an engaged team.
Email hygiene
If you practice good email hygiene it’s much easier to stay on top of it so a backlog doesn’t build up and things don’t fall between the cracks …which can come back later to bite you.
Besides you never know what gold might be hiding in that backlog that may be the key to your job success! Stranger things have happened ….like when an employee discovered an older email that represented a company opportunity – that was up to him to respond to – that would allow him to move up and make more money.
Willingness & Quality Staff
A good business owner knows that quality staff are not easy to find. And that besides the paycheck, the only other thing that keeps them there is their ‘willingness’ to work. Willingness being one of those bedrock qualities that determine high productivity and longevity. And if that willingness is lost for any reason you can end up loosing a valuable employee. An its expensive to recruit, process, train and get new staff going and fully productive.
A smart CEO knows that there must be willingness on both sides…and will see that the people he hires are trainable, able to work well with others, and take pride in doing good work. For willingness is a two sided coin, where responsibility must be on both sides for real productivity to take place. And a good leader sets an example that all good employees will want to follow.
Intention
The dictionary defines intention as: a purpose, goal, aim; a will or aspiration; that which is intended. As a verb: “to intend, direct one’s attention to, pay attention to, give heed.
If you look at successful leaders, you will note a strong intention, a sense of purpose, and a willingness to take responsibility. They look directly at the person when speaking, and engage in a friendly and direct manner. One can feel their intention at times. Its not heavy, merely direct. They intend to do something and do it.
Have you ever noticed that when you really wanted something to occur, that your desire to have it happen had the full weight of your intention behind it? That you didn’t just wish it, or hope it ? That when you intended it to happen…it did. You didn’t think about it, you just went into action and it happened.
It’s not about force, as pure intention has no effort in it. It’s just a decision that something will occur. Done when one is in a good mood, these moments of pure intention seem to happen even easier.The less you think about something and the more you just do…the intention will carry it through.
Not only does intention help improve your communication at work, but allows you to have a better chance of achieving your true business goals in any field.
Time
People get concerned about time, saying they never have enough of it, and sometimes use it as an excuse for not following through on certain tasks. But here again, one’s intention comes into play. Do they really want to finish that project on time or would they rather drag their feet and complain about it, and then blame someone or something else if they fail to meet a deadline.
Those who seem to get a lot done, and still have time to enjoy life, are usually the ones who work with strong intention, use their time wisely, and play the game of ‘how much can I actually get done this week, and still make it to the ball game on Friday.’
Yes one can be terribly serious about it all…but the sheer weight one’s seriousness can cause the time line to crash in on you…before you even get started. (More on seriousness in a follow up post.) But needless to say if you’re weighing yourself down with desperation or thoughts of how you’ll never make it...this can turn work into drudgery and make it even harder to meet a deadline.
People who succeed usually make it a kind of game of ‘tasks and time’ – and eventually come to see that they are literally creating more time – simply by completing as many tasks as they can in a certain time period. They challenge themselves to win and usually do.
Time and tasks aren’t a big secret. People usually have a ‘to do’ list that they intend to complete. And by doing so…lo and behold they find that they end up with ‘extra time’ at the end of the week..:) At root, they know that the ball game is a reward for a job well done, so in order to really enjoy it, they want to have merited the reward.
Are they actually ‘creating more time‘ by completing more tasks? How can this be? Sounds like something out of quantum physics. Is it magical? No, just intention.
What did Buddha, the Enlightened one say about intention?
‘Intention’ shapes our actions and ultimately our destiny.
Understanding, Communication & Intention help you win more and fail less, which leads to achieving your ultimate goals in life.
Barbara Miller
barbara@strategicsolutions.site