Laziness

The uncomfortable reality facing leaders

Laziness is usually associated with slobbery. A lackadaisical and careless approach to work. Associated imagery or personification of this is probably easy for most of us. But there is a new laziness emerging I can see and cannot un-see it - even when looking at things in my personal life.

Recently, I was diagnosed with 'hip impingement' due to build up of inflammation on my left hip from years of wear and tear from sport. After approximately three months of physiotherapy I can honestly say my day-to-day pain is pretty much the same. However, during this same time I have learnt a significant amount about my body, I have been diligently working through targeted exercises to improve and prevent injuries and I am achieving miniature wins along the way. It is tough as I feel like giving up almost all the time and often find myself low on motivation. Oh, and it continues to be an expensive and time-heavy process on a daily basis. Alternatively I could do what I have done in the past - turn a blind eye and grin 'n' bare it as it gets gradually worse. 

It is something I am faced with every day when I train, coach, and mentor leaders in my day job. They constantly speak to 'not having enough time' at work. They aspire to do wonderful things with culture, leadership, and engagement but seem to never get to it. They are constantly snowed under with tasks, metaphoric firefighting, and grappling with systems that never work as well as they should. The response is generally to suck-it-up and plow through it as best they can. Or in other words, to be lazy.

It is a tough pill to swallow - being called lazy when you're working as hard as you can. Longer hours as ever. Committed as ever. It may even be offensive. But hang in there and hear me out. 

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. - Socrates

One of the hardest things for us to do as humans is to change. It is confronting to realise the effort we are putting in at work is not effective or in some cases possibly detrimental. It is also very difficult to change deeply embedded habits. Just try to stop biting your nails or say 'umms' and 'ahrrs' when you've been doing it your whole life. The same goes with communication patterns at work or how we deal with under performing staff. If we continue to deny it is happening or avoid keeping people accountable then what do we expect to happen?

A lot of good hard working people are putting up with a lot of stuff that doesn't work very well meaning they simply work harder (and longer). They work harder because it is more difficult to change their approach to slowly and gently influence the people, processes, and products around them. Working harder without changing one's approach is in fact the lazy option.

Source: Funny Quotes

The smarter (and more difficult) option is to take time for reflection, discussion, and engagement to analyse the problem(s) and one's response to it. To then experiment (or play as I like to think of it) and refine new approaches. To make mistakes and cause more work or more problems in the process. This is the path of real work. Of real transformation. Of real effort. 

In The Rhythm Effect I speak of rhythm and synchronisation where things come easy and groups of people find a relaxed and calm state in the face of dynamic challenge. This can sound a little whimsical and fluffy, but I can assure you it is a game of true hard work and pragmatism. It is a process that may take weeks, months, years, or even decades to find rhythm in your field of expertise. But like my hip, there is only one guarantee - if I don't engage with the changes I need to instill and put the work in, the problem will only get worse. 

What does laziness look like in your work? In your team? In your mind? I propose it may be a little different to the obvious. And, if this is too confronting for you or your people then I'll tell you what I tell myself:

"Lighten up! Don't take yourself so seriously. Its okay. Start playing"  

Play Well,

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About Paul Farina:

There's no better feeling than cruising over the finish line. Over-delivering on promises, being ahead of upcoming challenges, inspiring others to do the same, and getting it all done with fuel left in the tank to enjoy life. It's the feeling of looking back on the work done by everyone with assured contentment, as well as being hungry for the challenges ahead. Simply put, productivity feels fantastic! 

This is best summed up as...

"Assisting leaders to increase their Return On Effort"

Paul is obsessed with high-performance without sacrificing health and fulfilment. Partnering with leaders, teams, and organisations, Paul implements programs to shift behaviours for shifts in results, relationships, and future opportunities.

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