Working with a business group last week, we brainstormed about achieving Operational Excellence. We all agreed that having an operational plan, a standard, an expectation set is a crucial step.
And, we came to one clear truism: planning is one thing, but implementation is something entirely different.
For most, it is both an occupational requirement and an occupational hazard to be constantly looking out for performance defects. We are problem solvers at heart and want to practice constant improvement; therefore we are on the lookout for areas to improve. Yet, we get into a rut where we only see what’s wrong and become blinded from seeing what’s being done right.
We can spend all day, every day looking through our lens that only sees the defects, the errors, and the misses. So, how do we balance looking through the defects lens with the human need for approval?
We are operating businesses, but managing people. Humans need acknowledgment and approval, and the recognition that comes from balanced feedback. You have to retrain your lens to let in instances where you can Catch People Doing Something Right.
Here is the challenge.
It feels easier to focus on what needs to be done rather than to balance out the communications by also giving time, voice, and attention to those things that do not need attention because they were done right, to begin with. We tell ourselves that focusing only on what’s wrong, works. It is focusing on what’s important, it is a more efficient use of everyone’s time.
But is it time efficient?
Experts agree that employees start looking for work elsewhere when they begin to feel emotionally unsafe. Having to do the same tasks, day after day, while only receiving feedback on your faults and none on your achievements, is a recipe for burnout. It’s also the fast track toward creating a dysfunctional workplace culture.
We certainly do not teach a baby to walk by ignoring their efforts to pull themselves up, to begin balancing, and to take those first wobbly steps. No, you wouldn’t dream of only providing negative feedback about their progress. You support them, encourage them, and inspire them. Why, because you know it works!
Is the time you save not talking about the things that look good a profitable trade-off for the time it takes to hire, onboard, train, and trust a new employee after losing your workforce to burnout? What is the time accounting of adding two sentences to an interaction versus sitting through hours of resume sifting, candidate interviews, and teaching new employees your policies?
Setting the tone.
How can we balance the needs of the human with the needs of the process?
Here is a pro tip about setting the tone:
Think about how much impact your first words to someone have on the rest of the interaction.
The process needs constant scrutiny, but people need belonging and impact. When every conversation begins with the misses, the not-enoughs, the what happened to’s, you can never completely wash away the splash of negativity. Those conversations must happen, but a high-performing team needs more than improvement messages alone.
Begin your interactions/meetings/huddles by talking about what is looking good, what processes are working, and what areas do not need attention. Catch people doing something right every day and see how that changes both your relationship with them and your teams and workers’ level of engagement and happiness.
It’s simple yet powerful.
For you, it’s a simple perspective adjustment; for employees, it is a revolution. It develops a feeling of safety, a lightening of the everyday grind, a sense of belonging and of being seen. It’s unbelievably powerful yet remains free, low-calorie, and non-toxic.
