Is your knife sharp?

It has been a busy and hectic year so far and, like always, the run up to C*&%$^!￡S (it’s too early to say the word) and the end of the year just gets busier and busier.

For our organisations to achieve all that we need to over the next 4 months or so we need to make sure that we are prepared. That all our systems are in place and that our tools are in perfect working order.

Tools?

What do I mean by tools?

Well lets think of a chef. What are their most important tools? - Their knives.

If you’ve ever tried to slice a tomato or an onion with a blunt knife you’ll know that is virtually impossible - and pretty dangerous.

and how does a knife lose its edge?

Well it loses its edge because we don’t care for them the way we’re supposed to:

We don’t sharpen them

We use them for cutting the wrong things

We wash them in the dishwasher

in short

We expect them to stay in razor sharp shape, ready for us whenever we need them - without us doing anything to help.

A good chef will take meticulous care for all of their knives - cleaning them properly, sharpening them, honing them, using the right knife for the right task because they need their knives in order to do their job.

So in your organisation what are your most important tools?

Your people

Your staff and your management need to be operating at their top level in order for your organisation to achieve you need.

Try to deliver a new project with an unmotivated, exhausted team who do not have the time, energy or expertise to deliver and see what happens.

Our people are our most important tools but we don’t value them as such. We don’t treat them like the precious assets they are and do everything we can to get the best out of them.

• We don’t encourage staff to take time off or expect that they are contactable via email or whats app while they’re on leave (just in case)
• We get frustrated by staff performance when we’re asking somebody to work on a project that doesn’t match their skill set.
• We won’t invest in quality training and professional development for staff and wonder why they lose motivation (or leave for a new job)
• We ask staff to go the extra mile for clients or volunteers over and over again but don’t go the extra mile for our staff.
• We hire people for part time roles and expect them to work way more hours than they are paid for - or at least we don’t tell them not to work those extra unpaid hours
• We don’t offer flexible working hours, remote working, mental health days or have a people centered approach to our staff because “it doesn’t suit us to work that way”

If our people are our most important tool how do we make sure that they are sharp and ready for action when we really need them?

We need to think about it and ask ourselves some key questions:

Are we putting the right people in the right role and giving them tasks at which they thrive?

Do we make sure they have the training and support in order to achieve what we expect of them?

Do we make sure to commend them for their efforts and thank them for the work and make sure to respect their weekends and time off with family and friends to make sure they are getting the balance right?

Do we pay people fairly and have benefits that show we care about them?

Do we understand that everybody is different and is motivated by different things and has different priorities?

Do we lead by example and take care of ourselves so that our team sees that people really are our priority and its not just something we say? - I had a friend at a big firm where all the junior staff would stay late until the senior partner left and they often stayed in the office until 11pm - This senior partner obviously knew this why didn’t they say “guys I’m staying late because I’ve a call with somebody I’ll come in late tomorrow - you should all go home”?

Change starts with realising that something isn’t they way we’d like it to be. Then all we have to do is to set a goal and put in place some simple steps to get there. The one thing that won’t help is doing nothing.

Does your organisation keep its knives nice and sharp or are they losing their edge and beginning to get a bit ragged?

Just a thought.

Kevin

If you’d like some help sharpening your knives get in touch