Archive for May 27th, 2008

A TRIP TO THE BOOKSTORE

I was walking through the bookstore tonight when I ran across this: The Really Inconvenient Truths: Seven Environmental Catastrophes Liberals Don’t Want You to Know About–Because They Helped Cause Them (Hardcover)

Now, I am not going to muddy The PAR System with politics.  I have other places for that.  Still, I was struck by the masterwork in the title.  It was taking a political issue that liberals have traditionally championed and that has recently become front of mind for many Americans and tries to derail the debate.  Instead of dealing with the issue, it points fingers.  It politicizes and stratifies the issue along party lines.

And you know what is going to suffer?  The environment.  There’s no way to affect positive change while bickering.

WORKPLACE PARALLELS

Unfortunately, I see too many parrallels in the modern workplace.  How many coworkers have you had whose reaction to a crisis is:

1. Spend 30 minutes finding who to blame.
2. Spend 10 minutes ensuring EVERYONE knows it’s not their fault (or 30 minutes when it just might be.)
3. Spend 2 minutes trying to fix the problem.
4. Spend 30 more minutes ensuring everyone knows it’s not their fault.
5. Call a meeting to “discuss the problem”
6. Go to lunch
7. Spend 2 minutes trying to fix the problem
8. Send out an email, CCing the President, Vice President, and Board of Directors about just how much it’s not their fault.

And so on…

What’s worse, how many managers have you seen ask the question: “Who screwed up this time?” or “Whose fault is this?” the minute they catch wind there is a problem?

IT DOESN’T MATTER

I cannot stress this enough.  Until the problem has been resolved, knowing who caused it, or worse looking for a scapegoat is irrelevant.  Companies that want to have excellent customer service, be a people-first organization, have empowered employees, or just generally run a good business should shelve the finger pointing until well after the problem is fixed.

Then look at mistakes as (get ready to groan) a teachable moment.  Good managers foster trust by honestly and openly reviewing mistakes and getting their people to understand why things went wrong and how to avoid them in the future.  However, this is a two way street.  Recipients of such teaching should be open to honest coaching IF it is given in an environment of respect.

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY?

Good question.

1. If your first reaction to a problem is to point fingers, you are not being productive.  Check the ego at the door and get the problem resolved.  That is being productive.  In a healthy organization, you garner more respect for fixing your mistakes than for avoid taking responsibility.
2. If you work for an organization that is more interested in finger pointing than fixing the problem, you are not in a healthy organization and you are not going to be at your most productive since you’ll be too busy looking over your shoulder.  Thinking about finding a place at work that truly empowers you to be productive.

If you want to know more about being productive, download the FREE PAR System Guidebook today!