Category Archives: Work

#119 Training the right behavior

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In some work environments, urgency is not an exception, it is a way of life. You know the dreaded request, “Can you please give me this information or perform this task (or whatever)?” and this is followed by, “Today” or “Tomorrow.” When this happens to me, I get frustrated and vent. I decided my co-workers have to stop coming to me with last minute requests, once and for all. I asked myself, “Why am I frustrated?” and got the following answers:

  • “These people are incompetent! Why can they not plan their work in advance and give enough notice?”
  • “This is not fair. Now I have to work hard and give up my evening, weekend, and take on additional stress.”
  • “This is tough work, even if given enough time. Now that I have to work quickly, I’ll make mistakes, and this will make me look bad. I don’t want to fail!”

Clearly, I was having trouble suspending judgment, I calm my nerves, and ask, “What can I do differently?” The answer I got was another question:

  • “What did you do to anticipate and prepare, so that you could respond quickly?”

Now I have arrived at the root cause of the problem. Everything I do to decline, delay, or avoid the last minute request, because it is “unreasonable” are mere tactics, and will serve only to miss an opportunity to be exceptional. The strategic choice would be to improve my anticipation skills, build a track record of delivering quickly. Now, my co-workers will be embarrassed to ask for a last minute request, and if they do so, it will be only under extenuating circumstances.

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#118 Three critical roles in the workplace

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To some extent the ability to hire who you want depends on how important your project is to your boss, your executive sponsor, or the person who holds the budget. Even if the project is deemed important, you often you won’t have a choice of people when you pick your team. Sometimes you are spared the hassle, you are simply handed the people you have to work with. In other words, you are stuck with who is available.

Whether you get your pick of staff, or whether you have to make do, there are three roles that need to be filled, and are non-negotiable:

  • Analyst: This person will dig into fuzzy problem statements and give you a clear bulls eye to aim for. This person typically provides the technical or functional expertise required to understand the problems that need to be solved.
  • Project manager: This person will make sure tasks are defined, and completed on time, within budget, and per specifications.
  • People manager: This person will create and maintain an environment where people working together in groups can work more effectively and efficiently towards group goals (Koontz and O’Donnell).

The need for leadership is embedded within each role. One person may have to perform all three roles, or you may have one person for each role.

The point is, each role requires a unique skill set. A lack of awareness of any of these three roles will lead to neglect and scorn of the role that has a vacancy, and doom the initiative/program/project from the get go. It’s like trying to sit on a three-legged stool with one or more legs missing.

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