Working Together to Get Back on Track
Usually
the phone rings early in the morning . . . most often on a Monday.
"Can you come now?" the caller says. "We need you today."
Without needing to ask even one question, the story spills out -- predictably a sad tale of lost productivity, ineffective work processes, warring employee factions, irate customers, and/or exasperated executives.
"There's no time to waste." The plea is repeated. "How soon can you get here. We need you now!"
They're right. They do need me today. In fact, they needed me long before today.
What I am hearing is the cry for help from a manager or executive who has just realized his people and/or organization have gotten way off track.
Often their wake-up call came when Finance pointed out just how far down the numbers are. That's when they finally realize that every day they remain off track is costing them real money.
But what they may not see is that the costs to the business go way past dollars and cents in the ledger books. The company's reputation, its carefully built good will in the market, and the willingness of the best employees -- those who are really essential -- to stay on board are all eroding. These are the soft costs that can far outstrip the hard dollar losses. These are the costs that can bring an organization to its knees.
By the time they call me, they are past needing just a quick fix. They require a permanent cure that will bring them back to the organization they once were . . . and keep them there.
The first questions I'm asked are always . . . "What are you going to do? How soon can you turn this around?"
Nine times out of ten, before I can even start to address their concerns, they give me their solution suggestions: "All we need is a training session . . . Just tell the folks in those other departments to be more cooperative . . . Can't we just do some team building? . . . Maybe take everyone off site for a special event?"
Oh, if only it could be that simple!
First things first: Assessment
Every "off track organization" I've worked with shares one significant factor: Things aren't as they seem. No one, from the executive suite to the front line, has an accurate, congruent picture of what’s causing the problems. Like the proverbial blind men looking at the elephant, each person describes the issues and problems from his or her own perspective. Each paints a picture that is, at the same time, both accurate and incomplete.
In order to parse out what interventions will be the most effective in reinstating them as a fully functioning, effective and productive organization, we have to understand the complete picture instead of the individual pieces. This assessment process includes four main focus points:
- What's important?
- What makes a difference here?
- What's really going on?
- How is what’s really going on getting in the way?
Let's look at them in order.
1. What's Important?
It doesn't matter what you call this or how you define it . . . mission, vision, or a defining statement. The first assessment objective is determining whether there is one and that everyone understands the primary objectives, the raison d'être for the organization's existence.
Good employees want to do a good job. They want to find personal satisfaction in their performance, and they take pride in the impact of their work on clients/customers, as well as on their fellow team members.
However, when good people don't have clear expectations or are uncertain about their part in the larger picture, they make up what makes sense to them.
Here is the bad news: Although well meaning, they often miss the mark. It's like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle when they don’t have the picture on the box to guide them. All they see is their individual piece and they can’t tell where it fits in the context of the total design. As a result, their expectations can’t be congruent with those of the corporation.
(What's even worse is the all too common situation when it's the executive team who doesn't have a shared understanding of what's important. Or worst of all, they choose to ignore the agreed upon understanding and make capricious decisions going forward. In these cases, both the executive team and other employees flounder helplessly, soon becoming discouraged and frustrated, quickly feeling betrayed. When this happens, it’s extremely difficult to turn the situation around.)
2. What makes a difference?
Knowing what makes the difference is the link between the big picture and everyday behaviors. It's crucial to the turn-around process.
What are the activities, the behaviors and the results that must be achieved on a day-to-day, quarter-to-quarter basis? What's important, what needs to be realized, what will enable the big picture?
Sound infrastructure is the foundation. Infrastructure goes beyond putting names in boxes. To be most effective, you'll need an infrastructure that reflects the optimal work-flow, addresses informal communication networks, and makes room for flexibility and responsiveness.
Having clear business processes that are understood and implemented allow employees to be successful on purpose, not in spite of themselves. Investing time and resources in orientation and skill-building means the team understands not just what needs to be done, but why . . . and how best to do it.
Holding everyone accountable means fewer surprises, and a predictable flow of work and results. When you have the same standards and accountability for behavior as for performance you provide employees with a positive work environment, and give them confidence that their best efforts will be expected and appreciated.
3. What’s really going on?
There is always a best and worst case scenario when we reach this step in the assessment and neither is healthy for the organization.
At best, we'll find employees and management frustrated and discouraged. They understand just how bad the deterioration is, no matter how valiant the attempts to keep things under wraps.
Few good employees want to work in a floundering organization. And, many of the best may already be making plans to jump ship, leaving behind a gap in leadership, expertise, and skills.
At, worst, we'll find employees who are actively undermining one another, purposely withholding resources, misusing company resources, or even sabotaging work output -- either their own or their colleagues'. Ironically, these are the types of workers you'd wish would leave but they are there for the duration.
Somewhere in between, we'll uncover petty in-fighting among employees and departments, rampant "work-arounds" and short cuts circumventing "the system," -- or making do "just this once."
We find often it isn't the people themselves, but the structure of the organization that interferes with employee effectiveness.
4. How is what's really going on getting in the way?
Admittedly, some of the situations mentioned above may not be significant enough, or have enough impact on the effectiveness of an organization, to demand immediate intervention. Or, the results anticipated for the outlay of resources to fix them may not give enough return on your investment. But you won't know that without going through the assessment process which will uncover non-productive attitudes and procedures, inappropriate behaviors, a lack of skills and/or direction accounting for the difficulties the organization is experiencing. These are the issues that quickly rise to the top of the "take care of it now" list.
In feedback sessions with both employees and executives, many of the participants are amazed when they realize Pogo's prophetic words apply to them: "We have met the enemy and he is us."
Implementation
With new awareness of the situation comes a willingness to take action. Given the findings, employees on every level have to make the choice to recommit themselves to what's important about the organization so we can resolve the problems and get back on track.
Reaffirming that choice allows us to move from assessment to solution -- implementing targeted training, coaching, instituting performance management programs, effecting organizational restructuring, and/or guiding strategic planning sessions that will bring people, processes and the whole organization back to working together to resolve the problems.
Implementation is a combined effort. Some consultants prefer to make their recommendations and move on. Some clients suggest taking the recommendations to implement on their own. Overwhelmingly, the best results – the fastest, most economical, and long lasting solutions – happen when consultant and organization continue to work together, addressing the next layer of issues and concerns that inevitably surface as a result of the change in both mind-sets and behaviors as people and organizations move toward achieving their objectives.
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Since 1986, Patricia Wiklund, Ph.D. has helped some of America's largest, and smallest, organizations resolve expensive and troublesome people problems and conflicts by leveraging the strategic power of soft skills®. A former mental health professional, she is as comfortable on the front line, as on the shop floor, or in the corporate executive suite, and also works effectively in government and educational settings. Call her today at 415 641-5997, or email her at pat@patwiklund.com to discuss how she can help you put your people and organizations back on track.
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