Leaders ViewPointe

How to Turn "It's Not My Job" Into An Opportunity

Nothing can be more irritating to a customer, coworker or a leader than to hear someone spout off, “It is not my job!”  As a customer, I don’t care what’s in your job description.  What I care about is your ability to help me.  As a coworker, I’m more interested in a collaborative team effort and the success of our company.  As a leader, I consider your talents to be of value to the overall objectives and expect you to step up when needed.  (And as your leader, when you give me that kind of attitude I’m inclined to consider helping you find a different job in a remote location.)

“It’s not my job” has become a phrase that people use to excuse themselves from additional or undesirable work.  In some workplaces, it is used as the “invisible force field” that people invoke as they quote their job description and successfully avoid professional responsibility.  It is nothing more than the mantra of the lazy.

Let’s stop right there.  I’m going to suggest that we look at the phrase in a new way.  When an employee says “It’s not my job” - they are right.  Whatever is being asked of them is not their job.  It is no one’s job.  Because, none of us have a job.  That would be true if we worked in an environment that promoted personal and professional responsibility vs job descriptions and commands.  Our role as leaders is not to force or enforce job functions.  We are responsible to equip quality, productive people that have a mission-oriented mindset, not a job mentality.  They hear of a need and immediately consider “how can I best achieve the desired results?”

The right environment gives permission to workers to say, “It’s not my job - it is my mission… to wow the customer, help my coworkers succeed, and move our company to the leading edge of our industry.”  That attitude and atmosphere is what separates progressive, growing companies from those that are struggling to make a profit.  

There are FOUR WAYS TO PROMOTE A MISSION MINDSET:

1)  Create An “On-A-Mission” Environment.

Don't manage the job descriptions, lead the people.  Here are some quick tips for changing the focus of the work environment.  

• Identify the "Why":  The Purpose gives meaning to the project.
• Switch from a Top Down approach to a Side by Side Culture.
• Model and Expect Engagement.  Communicate frequently that business growth is driven by personal growth.

2)  Coach Employees to Identify Their Role with the Mission.

Yes, there are specific duties and tasks that each of us are assigned and accountable to complete.  Don't stop there.  Help your employees see the bigger picture and encourage them to consider how their role compliments the misison.  

Skip Weisman wrote about this in a great article “Eliminating It’s Not My Job Attitudes”

He said: When everyone in the company understands the ultimate outcome or purpose, everyone’s “job” is to contribute to it by applying their unique talent and skill in their “role.”

3)  Cross Train for Stellar Outcomes

A team success becomes more important than an individual success.  When employees have a better understanding of other’s roles and can function in that role when called upon, they are more open to doing what ever it takes to accomplish the mission.

4)  Correct the Chronic with a Conduct Policy

There will be times that you must address the person that refuses to be mission focused and hold them accountable to a standard that is higher than they prefer.  You do not want to ignore this issue or it will become your problem.  To keep this conversation from being personal, make it a matter of policy.  My friend Monica Wofford has a great perspective on how to accomplish this in her blog, “What Happens When That’s Not My Job Becomes That’s Not My Problem.”

-- Steven Iwersen

 

 

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Is Brainstorming Broken?

Innovation is the buzz word and expectation in every growing business today.  We are constantly striving to generate new ideas and spark creativity.  The most common method is to call for a brainstorming session.  Gather a group together, present the challenge and expect "earth shaking" results in an hour.  But sometimes brainstorming just doesn't work.  Could there be a better way?  

Dr. Tony MCCaffery suggests that there is no evidence that brainstorming works.  He offers a different approach that will generate hundreds more practical ideas in just minutes.  Check out his video. 

He suggests that the premise of talking through problems and ideas is not as effective as expecting people to write out their ideas, then submit them for others to consider.  The written form allows for all ideas to be considered and the introverted personalities gain an opportunity to have their suggestions presented.  His research indicates that the ideas are more practical and everyone involved is invested in the process.

I see his point, but disagree that the exercise of talking it out is the reason brainstorming doesn't work.  In my experience, talking through the challenges and hearing other perspectives often helps us gain understanding.  It also helps us generate greater levels of collaboration and cooperation.  

Brainstorming can be effective when you give people time to think, expect them to write out their ideas and read others ideas before they come to a brainstorming session.  The time for contemplation prior to the conversation is what makes the process more meaningful.  

Well, what do you think?

 

-- Steven Iwersen

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Heres an idea...

Five Reasons to Keep Your Staff Informed During Times of Change

Henry:  “Steven, I am really concerned about the changes the company is initiating and how the employees in my division are going to react.”  (He rolled his eyes, took a deep breath and continued.)  “I came here 5 years ago and we’ve seen 5 new directors come and go during that time.  Every one of those directors had a new idea or plan that we had to embrace, only to see all of our efforts thrown out when the company decided to get a new director.”   

Me:  “Tell me why you’re concerned about the new initiatives.”

Henry:  “Well in the past, every decision that introduced a change in our process was made in secret and handed down at the last moment.  No time for questions, buy-in or troubleshooting.  The morale takes another hit, there is no trust and the complainers get a little louder.”

That conversation sounds too familiar, doesn’t it?  I hear the same thing all over the country as I coach leaders in different industries - manufacturing, high-tech, offices, and non-profits.  However, on occasion I hear a different story.  There are organizations and leaders that have discovered that having an open dialogue and including people in the early stages of change is a successful strategy.  

 

Sharing important information with the people of your organization will generate five significant outcomes.

1. It provides a foundation for them to understand the issues and decisions that have to be made.
2. It minimizes the potential for speculation and misunderstandings.
3. The “power brokers” in the organization that try to generate fear will have their leverage minimized.
4. It creates opportunity for meaningful discussions and opportunity for people to offer suggestions/ideas on how to make the transitions successful.
5. And most importantly, it sends a clear message that they are important enough to be trusted with the information.

Remember:  You are not leading change, you are leading people.

— Steven Iwersen

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No More Boring Presentations: 3 Quick Tips to Get You Focused

A man that I hold in high regard, because of his insights on leadership, gave a presentation at an event I attended.  My expectations were high, the experience was disappointedly low.

I discovered that he is a comma communicator. This prolific author and influencer seemed to be incapable of getting to the point.  The presentation was plagued by incomplete thoughts and detours of impulsiveness.  The repetition of ideas sounded like he was circling around the airport, but couldn’t find the runway to land.  

“Maybe it’s just me today and I’m having a hard time listening,” I thought.  “Or, he is just having a bad day.”

I ordered the transcript of the program, thinking that if I could read his thoughts I’d have a better understanding.  It did help my understanding.  It also revealed that he is without question a comma communicator.  To be fair, I downloaded two more scripts of different presentations and sadly found the same problem.  

What is a comma communicator?  A person who speaks in incomplete, rambling sentences often punctuated by multiple commas. 

Here is an example from the transcript: 

“Well here is a point that I think makes all the difference, and if you think about it carefully, and I’ve been thinking about how this applies to a lot of different areas in my life and our business, because the impact can be a big deal if we don’t consider how important this is, especially if we ignore the current trends that we are facing during the next few months, and that is putting this issue at the top of our agenda.”

What was the point? 

When you and I communicate it is imperative that we get to the point.  Our listeners want to know what we think.  They will get lost and frustrated if we fail to communicate with clarity.

Three specific ideas on how to avoid the trap of a comma induced coma:

• Use the period.  Communicate your point in one concise sentence.  Brevity can improve your credibility.  
• Edit your illustration/opinion.  Support your ideas with a clear example or a confident opinion.  The art of editing is removing what is unnecessary or repetitive.  Supporting the point clearly and quickly will help people to stay focused on your ideas.
• Practice writing daily.  Take 10 minutes every day to write a specific thought out into one sentence.  The fewer the words the better.  The best presentations that I have heard were presented by people who were excellent writers.  Their spoken words were influenced by their understanding of sentence structure and language.  A great way to improve your presentation skills is to take a writing class.  

I do think that the leader I mentioned has some great ideas.  I’ll just wait for the book.

-- Steven Iwersen

 

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