Are We Making It Harder Than It Needs to Be?
I've had a few conversations recently that got me thinking about the expectations we place on our teams.
I expect people to take ownership, figure things out, and get things done. I've always operated that way myself. If something needed to be done, I generally put my head down and found a way to make it happen.
And I'll admit, sometimes I struggle when others don't approach things the same way.
But something I've been thinking about lately is whether we're always giving people what they need to meet those expectations.
It's easy to get frustrated when something doesn't get done or takes longer than we think it should. I've certainly been there.
But when you start talking to people and really listening, sometimes you find out there's more going on than you realized.
Maybe they're getting direction from three different places. Maybe priorities keep changing. Or maybe what seems obvious to you isn't nearly as clear to the people actually doing the work.
I've also seen situations where we've added so much process and oversight that we've made relatively simple things unnecessarily complicated.
And I think as leaders, we have to own some of that.
I'm not suggesting we lower expectations. I still believe people need to be accountable for their work, and I'm not particularly interested in making excuses for things that should have gotten done.
But I also think it's worth looking at whether we're contributing to the very problems we're frustrated about.
I've been asking myself that question a little more lately.
Before I assume someone isn't meeting expectations, have I made sure those expectations are clear? Have I given them the room to do their job? And have I actually listened when they've told me something isn't working?
I don't always get that right.
But I'm working on it.
Thoughts?