ARE WE ASKING TOO MUCH?

How much do we expect from our teams? Are we realistic in what we expect? Or are we asking too much??Too much time? Too much responsibility? Too much initiative??

Following on from my previous article, I’m examining the first of the suggestions I made about where to invest our energy and resources as we move forward in what looks to be a continually tumultuous future.

That suggestion was to talk to our team. I’d said:

“Let’s ask them what they need to be able to be their most productive. And let’s not focus solely on technology, or tools, but take a broad view and include some intangibles. Things such as what makes their work a joy and what makes it a chore. What would they like their work day to look like? What do they need us, as leaders, to do, or stop doing, in order to facilitate their work day??Let’s do this, both with the team as a whole, and with each individual. And let’s really hear what they’re saying and not saying.”

That suggestion came from a mindset of caring for each team member as individuals and the group as a whole, while bearing in mind important corporate objectives.?An added benefit of this exercise is it will help us understand the extent of what we, as leaders, are expecting from our teams. The kind of commitment we want from them and whether it’s realistic, not to mention fair.

It goes without saying that we do need to have determined levels of productivity. But what does productivity mean to us? What is enough and when do we reach optimum levels?

As a nation and as a culture we’ve focused on delivering high standards. Quality, quantity and quickly. Overnight deliveries are almost passé. Now we expect deliveries as close to immediately as possible.?Going the extra mile has become the norm. Working those extra hours without complaint or compensation in order to deliver on a wildly optimistic promise has moved from being something we do as a favor in an emergency to being expected as the norm. This has led to our promises becoming more onerous on the burden of those responsible to deliver.?

It’s common these days for some to forgo allotted vacation time because taking time off work feels as if it could endanger their job security, promotion prospects, or their client base. Others may go on holiday, but take their work with them and neglect themselves, family and friends in their efforts to deliver the same output as if they were back in the office. Others feel compelled to answer work related texts, calls and emails from the early morning hours until late at night.

When we expect instant responses and instant action from our employees and they feel obligated to fulfill that expectation, how long do we think it can continue? How sustainable do we think that expectation really is? How motivated and excited by their work do we expect our teams to be?

(As a side note: On June 18th, 2021, this post appeared on LinkedIn by Sandy Carter VP of Amazon Web Services: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/sandyacarter_amazon-people-mentalhealth-activity-6809217467139915776-OwAi )

Which brings me back to my first suggestion. When we speak with our team members to ask them what they need to be more productive, perhaps we need to lay out our expectations for the kind of productivity we expect.?We need to be clear as to whether we’re concerned with output, or outcomes. Hours spent, or results. We have to be honest with both ourselves, as well as our team. We need to create an environment where frank, and sometimes painful discussions, can be had without fear of retaliation in any way.?

If our team is asked for their input, but we only want input that validates our own intentions, then we’ve completely missed the point. Actually, it’s worse than that. We’ve missed a valuable opportunity to create much stronger employee loyalty, greater job satisfaction and ultimately, much better quality of work and productivity. And we’ve successfully alienated our team, lost any chance of building trust and are, to all intents and purposes, coercing co-operation. Pretty shocking when you think about it!

Having these discussions has to be done with everyones cards on the table.?

Everyone needs to understand both the corporate vision and the team members concerns and ambitions.?There has to be flexibility on all sides if we want to reach mutually beneficial decisions.?If we can do that, we will have taken a huge and meaningful step toward making our next move a powerful step into a better future for all.?

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