MasterHedgehog2605
Confusing Staying Busy with Getting Results Leaders and managers…
Confusing Staying Busy with Getting Results
Leaders and managers sometimes confuse staying busy with getting results. You have been contacted by a firm where one of the partners had that very belief and it caused her and her partner some difficulties.
Karen was great with employees. She was also very bright and able to multitask. It was nothing for Karen to be on her laptop, doing the books, and simultaneously listening to an employee who was describing in detail a problem with a new project. Karen saw herself in these multitasking moments as efficient and time-saving. The employee, however, experienced Karen’s multitasking quite differently. The employee saw Karen as disrespectful, not efficient. The employee went away thinking Karen didn’t care. The employee resented that Karen didn’t even look at or acknowledge him. Sadly, Karen was oblivious to how her multitasking appeared to others. She had no idea her employees saw her this way. In her life, Karen had always valued getting things done as quickly as possible. But in this environment, these multitasking skills weren’t translating well at all. Her imagined efficiency was backfiring in other ways too.
Karen valued quality as well as efficiency. As good as she was most of the time, it would be untruthful to say that she was at her best when she multitasked. Her business partner reported that Karen had been making many mistakes recently, especially when she tried to do too many things at once. Inevitably, because Karen was doubling and tripling up on her simultaneous tasks, her partner was noticing more and more how she was missing a comment here, forgetting a detail there, and making mistakes on documents without catching them. These errors, omissions, and mistakes were becoming a concern. This was a subject her partner was not looking forward to addressing.
All this said, it was at Karen’s request that you and your team have agreed to work with her. This was only after she and her partner had their initial conversation about these issues. Because Karen was such a sincere and dedicated professional, she was really appreciative for an objective set of eyes and ears to help her grow. In addition to working with Karen, the other partner, Bev, asked that you work with her as well. You and Bev focused on strategies to improve Karen’s leadership skills. Both partners were seeking to grow and saw the value of working with a trusted facilitator and coach. You established objectives, agreed on how success would be measured, created a timely plan, and got to work.
Your primary task was to work with Karen. So, after meeting with her, you gave her two assignments. The first assignment was as follows: once a day she had to do one of two things either stare out the window and put her feet on the desk or take a walk. While she stared and sat or took her walk, she was to think about the big picture, things like strategy, vision, creative ideas, etc. She would not be allowed to do anything but think. Her second assignment was to take a few minutes every day to meet with at least one employee and give that employee 100% of her undivided attention for at least fifteen (15) full minutes.
At first, assignment number one was very difficult for Karen because of her mistaken belief system that busy meant productive. It wasn’t until after a few days and a significant increase in productivity that she began to realize how beneficial it was to just be still and think. She learned how to release her old belief system and allow this new one in. She realized how she needed to slow down and take time to think. The skill of slowing down to achieve more continued to be a challenge over time, because she self-identified as a “take charge and get it done type of person,” but she was learning. As part of the benefits of slowing down, she began to gather insights and evidence that was motivating her to be a better leader. She started to see how using her time to think more and delegate tasks to others (who were capable and willing) was a much wiser use of her time and energy.
The second assignment for Karen was to take time every day to meet with one employee and give that employee her 100% undivided attention for at least fifteen minutes. Karen did this as assigned. She didn’t hesitate to give the feedback that, at first, those fifteen minutes seemed like an eternity. You encouraged her to trust the process and continue. She also reported how the employees were, at first, just staring blankly at her because they were so confused by the undivided attention. Getting undivided attention from Karen was something they never experienced. To help Karen with these conversations, she was given a set of probing questions that she might ask employees to gently prompt them to talk. Karen’s delivery of these prompts and questions was so natural and sincere that in some cases the employee talked nonstop for more than fifteen minutes. A few employees were so surprised by Karen’s changed behavior that at first they asked her if she was okay. Up until these experiences, Karen did not realize how distant and unavailable she had seemed to her employees. She discovered that these conversations often turned into 20-30 minute conversations. The positive side effect was Karen was quickly building trust again with many of her most valued employees. They believed in her sincere interest and shared with her vital information and feedback that helped her become a better leader. Trust and communication were greatly improved by her conversation assignment. Her work relationships improved as well. Over time, Karen and her partner noticed a measurable reduction in attrition, greater employee buy-in, and improved employee willingness to ‘go the extra mile’ (i.e., work late, fill in when another employee was absent, etc.). They attributed this to the relationship-building experiences. Karen shared with your team that she was so impressed with the results that she even used the techniques at home and experienced positive results there, as well.
In our “get-it-done-now” world, we often think of talking and directing as being “active” and listening as being “passive,” but nothing could be further from the truth. One of the greatest assets a good leader possesses is his or her ability to get as much information in the shortest time and use that information to support sound decision-making. Leaders are successful by getting results, not by staying busy. Slowing down and listening more will improve communication; productivity will improve and market share and profits might increase as well. It’s all about the value of relationship building. It’s that simple.
Discussion Questions:
How would you describe Karen’s leadership style prior to the intervention? Please be specific and base your answer on the theories and concepts covered in the assigned readings.
How would you describe Karen’s leadership style after the intervention? Once again, please be specific and base your answer on the theories and concepts covered in the assigned readings.
What type of leadership development training or coaching would you recommend for both Karen and Bev going forward?
Which leadership models emphasize the importance of trust, communication, and relationships? What are the relationships between trust, communication, relationships, motivation, and ultimately, effective leadership? Please be specific and clear in illustrating how these variables are connected.
