I saw the above in a random post this morning. I’d like to take that 2% and up it to the 20% reminder Pareto’s Law conveys. Shape it how you want to, 20% of the people in your life cause 80% of the problems, 80% of your time goes to 20% of your customers, etc. No matter how you frame it, it is a great reminder of really taking a look at how you are distributing your resources and the return on investment, be it financial, emotional, etc. you receive. Recently I’ve noticed my 2nd and 3rd quarters have been time starved yet not financially productive. I’ve taken a look at where my time is going. And true to formula, 80% of my time is going to 20% of the people in my life, which happen to have a low to no return on investment for me, relationship wise, business wise, productivity wise, etc. A very ‘people pleasing’ dynamic grew out of this 20% at some point, and unchecked that dynamic has grown like a field of weeds. Consequently I have the majority of my time being sucked up by people with their hands out. Don’t get me wrong I believe in mentoring, supporting, even volunteering. The risk factor to stay aware of is when we fall out of balance and there is no mutual benefit. I’m not suggesting there always has to be a mutual benefit on every human interaction you have, but odds are you have a lot of responsibility in your life and need to be cognizant of what will build you up, and what will tear you down. It is true, if you identified a 2% shift there would be an impact. Realistically though, odds are if you invest the time you can identify over a 20% factor that would significantly change your daily life, and subsequently your life as a whole. The challenge is one, carving out time for evaluation, and two, having the courage to set down and walk away from those things that no longer serve your mental, financial and/or physical well-being. I’ve recently completed step one, and now begin step two. Step two will not be an easy journey for me, and perhaps at times unpleasant, but I do know that doing the ‘work’ to make it happen contributes to not only further empowering myself, but perhaps even empowering another by modeling the behavior.
Inclusion
One of the greatest hurdles to productive group implementation is one of the easiest to solve, listening. Was everyone heard is a major indicator in whether or not the product of a decision will be implemented and the percentage of support it will receive. When we look at the model of group decision making – orientation, discussion, decision making, and implementation – it’s easy to identify where verbal contribution factors in. So the path is clear. The challenge is the engagement piece. Is everyone’s voice being heard? Is everyone being asked to contribute. Even if someone does not have something to contribute, the request and offer for them to contribute is critical, as is the sense of inclusion. Whether one decides to contribute or not, has less impact on outcomes than whether or not they felt included. A sense of inclusion is paramount to the decision to support the outcome. What’s all of the above mean? Want to tank your project quickly? Have someone who was involved in the project bad mouth it.
Avoiding Conflict, The Abilene Paradox
There is a dynamic that seems like a smooth path, but leads to bumpy results – the Abilene Paradox is this dynamic. So what is the Abilene Paradox? It is when healthy debate and outcomes are foregone in place of conflict avoidance. Basically it is putting consensus above positive outcomes and productivity. Interestingly, the Abilene Paradox can leave a group with an outcome that no member would have recommended on their own, and not in a good way. The path of the Abilene Paradox leads to pluralistic ignorance and obviously that is no good for the individual participants, group or organization.
How To Motivate
I read this article today and enjoyed it so much I wanted to share it. My favorite part: “Autonomy means we don’t like being told what to do. Once we feel we’re being pushed around, we check out.” The article is brief, but has some excellent advice/reminders of the simplicity of actually engaging workers and creating a rewarding workplace. Click below if you’d like to read it. How To Be Motivated
Survival of the Fittest? Competition vs. Cooperation
Survival of the Fittest? Competition vs. Cooperation? Our culture has the propensity to value competition over all else. Often rooted in the Darwin alleged theory of survival of the fittest. I’m not sure how Darwin’s theory morphed into the manner of how we often flippantly interpret it. I am however sure that interpretation is off base when it comes to the workplace. Cooperation and adaptability is what Darwin was focused on. Darwin himself only mentioned survival of the fittest twice. In contrast he mentioned the concept of love/cooperation/adaptability (call it what you want) ninety-five times. He was correct. Cooperation will win every time when you look at the big picture. And in the workplace it will create a more productivity, higher return on ongoing efforts and perhaps even re-engage the over 70% of employees out there that are actively disengaged in their jobs. That is a lot of unproductive dollars going to wages for unproductive work. Creating a culture of cooperation increases your culture of adaptability and will result in increased ROI, increased employee retention, higher productivity, etc. It will maximize both time and results.
Without Connection You Have Nothing
In coaching, just as in management, without connecting you have nothing. Well, nothing long-term that is. Can you motivate by fear? Yes. Can you motivate by pressure? Yes. Can you motivate through goal setting and plan implementation? Yes. Will the motivation turn into long-term behavioral changes? No. Long term behavioral changes take an investment of time, enough to make a connection. People will work hard for you if they feel they have to, no doubt about it. So if that is your goal, go for it, no need to connect. However, if you are truly interested in contributing to the betterment of staff, peers, community, etc. it will take your time and consideration to do so. Templates are great but they cannot compete with the feel of connecting with another. Leadership works best when you connect. Without connection your result will be production based only, not behavioral. Once that employee, peer, etc. leaves your company, chances are they will return to who they ‘really’ are and not who they felt they had to be for you. Again, the choice is all about how broad of an impact you want to have.