Sep
25
“Completed” Doesn’t Always equal “Done”
Filed Under Management | Leave a Comment
A great tool in a busy person’s life is the checklist. As David Allen rightly says: “Get it out of your head.” I think his analogy of visual RAM is an excellent one, particularly as I upgraded the RAM in my MacBook by a Gb and now it is running a lot smoother, thank you.
But I’ve also found that checklists can become their own enemy. Particularly when it comes to business checklists.
I joined a new company recently and the Induction process is basically a checklist of things to do. Good start. However, not so good when things are checked off that haven’t been fully completed. And the new start employee can’t be the judge of that. There is a trust level that the Induction has been completed correctly - only to be verified over the next few days and weeks when gaps start appearing in the mind of the new employee.
Personal Checklists
Personal checklists are great because the creator of the list knows the level of detail required to successfully complete their tasks. If modifications are required, they will make them on the fly and the list will be completed.
Business Process Checklists
… are a different story altogether. The creator of the list needs to have a balance of detail and yet allow for some initiative on the part of the user. And yet when the chips are down and the day’s tasks are mounting up, the easiest thing to do is just check the list. Initiative and “extra mile” thinking is sacrificed for “completion”.
So What’s the Solution?
Well, to my mind there is and there isn’t one.
There is in the sense that, along with a checklist itself, there needs to be some recognition of the value of each part of the checklist. Why it is being done, the consequences of it not being done properly versus the benefits of a doing it well.
An example might be:
Task: introduce new employee to key contacts within the company
Benefit 1: employee can get up to productive speed with right contacts quicker
Benefit 2: employee feels connected with company quicker by developing their own contacts
Benefit 3: you are interrupted less with questions like: “who do I see about this again?”
But the alternative can be disastrous, particularly with the current skills shortage here in Australia. Any disaffected employee can leave, produce less effective work and contribute an overall lessening of productivity.
All because the task of “introduce new employee to key contacts” was completed on the checklist, but it wasn’t really Done!
But how much detail will a company want to provide to these checklists?
That becomes the issue when developing corporate checklists or processes. A high level view, in my opinion, isn’t enough. A 1-page overview of the importance of the process needs to be provided, or easily accessible or the company runs the risk of poor implementation (or no implementation!).
It also provides the value of reviewing the checklists in context. Reviewing a flow chart or checklist is one thing but reviewing it with the background of its inception is another altogether.
Action:
- Grab a checklist at your work and try and follow it.
- Do you understand its context?
- Do you know who developed it?
- Is it easily accessible?
- Is there a brief explanation as to its purpose?
Could this “Completed but not Done” syndrome be causing serious productivity issues at your place of business?
Sep
16
5 Killer Tips for Managers
Filed Under Management | 2 Comments
Being a new HR Manager in the construction and engineering industry, I am finding people are doing things the hard way. Particularly when it comes to managing people. I guess I have to say I’ve been fortunate to be well managed during my career and have endeavoured to manage well, learning as I go and making small improvements.
So, I think I can be reasonably well qualified to offer some thoughts to those people struggling with getting things right with their teams.
The list isn’t exhaustive but I can almost guarantee an improvement in morale and productivity if these 5 ideas are followed religiously. Ok, let’s see how we go…
1. Plan to acknowledge people - get it into your head now that people like a pat on the back, a thank you, an acknowledgment of some kind on a regular basis. I don’t care what you want. They want it. I have interviewed people who leave our company, I have facilitated sessions on staff development and this comes up time after time. The thing is, you don’t always have to throw money. In fact, you rarely do. So stop. Throwing money is easy but ineffective. It doesn’t connect you with your staff - it actually highlights a certain lack in management ability. People know it, people will respond to it. Pay enough attention to what your team is doing and be quick to let people know you noticed something good about their effort today.
2. Create clear objectives - This may sound easy, maybe it is, but my experience is it is not done often enough. Clear objectives means being specific about what you want the outcome to be. That may mean spending time thinking through exactly what you want in the first place. I was speaking with a manager the other day who rewards performance based on hours spent at work! To me it is obvious you would reward people for what they produce - and you can only measure that by knowing what you want done.
3. Set a Quality Standard - be clear about how you want the work done. It’s not good enough today to “just get it done!” It has to be quality and people have to see the quality. Otherwise it just doesn’t count. Maybe you’re looking at error rates, re-work, presentation, longevity of the product. Whatever it is for your product, specify it with your team. They will work towards the standards set down - if they are clear.
4. Deadlines - all these things combine together to be completed within a set time frame. If it’s not done on time, what slowed it down? Was the time frame reasonable? Was the team member adequately trained? Were other areas responsible for the slow down? You have to know these things as a manager and as a competent leader. People need to know all the parameters of a job. Many times it is really a lack of management ability that causes these problems. And yet the staff are blamed for poor performance.
5 . Pick the Right Person - speaking with a colleague the other day and they were bemoaning how their work was distributed. It was given to junior, inexperienced staff first (supposedly to help them develop) and then to be corrected by senior staff. Sounds okay but the pressure on senior staff became unbearable. Times frames became short, work had to be re-done which wasn’t properly calculated into the job. Longer hours, lower morale - poorer productivity. Get the right people to do the right tasks and develop the others as you go.
Once the job is completed, go back to Step 1.
Take Action
Try these 5 rules for 1 month.
Make your appreciation genuine, work hard on clarity. You will see an improvement in your team. Over time you will also see a reduction in stress and micro managing.
That’s when management really becomes enjoyable. 
Sep
9
I’m Angry and I’m Ticked!
Filed Under Business, Leadership | Leave a Comment
I just wrote a really good post on 10 Things to do in a New Job and when I went to publish it, I lost it! Two full pages at least - gone! My wife crept away and started doing things to keep out of my way! (wise woman!) I have no idea what happed. I refreshed, back tracked. Nothing I did worked. So I’m angry! I can’t write it again now because I have to go out. AArrgghh!!
(Sigh!) 
So, I will leave you, dear reader, with two things I discovered yesterday when cleaning my home office.
One is a quote that I found quite inspiring. I don’t know who wrote it so if you know who did I’d love to find out.
The other is a list I wrote out on leadership probably over 15 years ago. When typewriters were cool. I found myself nodding at each point and thought “that’s just as good today as it was then.”
Quote:
“Out of knowing who you are and what you want (self-awareness) comes a positive passion to make a difference. Find something that excites you, something that scares you a bit because it’s so big and challenging and wonderful, then trust your positive passion to make it happen. That’s what winners do!”
And the list on leadership. Note that even if you are not actually in a formal leadership role, we still lead, or influence others, so this is for everyone:
Qualities of Leadership
- Have you ever broken yourself of a bad habit? To lead others, one must be the master of oneself.
- Do you retain control of yourself when things go wrong?
- Can you think independently?
- Can you handle criticism objectively and remain unmoved under it? Do you use it productively?
- Do you readily secure the cooperation and win the respect and confidence of others?
- Can you secure discipline without the need for a show of authority?
- Can you bring conciliation where there has been disagreement?
- Can you be trusted to handle difficult and delicate situations?
- Can you induce people to happily do some legitimate thing which they would not normally do?
- Can you accept opposition to your point of view without viewing it as a personal affront?
- Do you find it easy to make a keep friends?
- Can you hold a steady course in the face of disapproval?
- Are you at ease in the presence of your superiors or strangers. Do your team members feel at ease in your presence?
- Are you really interested in people? People from all cultures and generations?
- Are you tactful? Can you anticipate the effect of a statement before you make it?
- Do you posses a strong and steady will?
- Do you nurse grudges and resentments? A leader readily forgives and moves on, there are more important things to do.
- Leaders are optimistic.
- Do you have a “master passion”. there is one thing above all else that excites you?
- Do you welcome responsibility? (A test: when the phone rings, are you pleased?)
Okay, I feel better now and it’s time to get ready to go on the day’s bike ride.