Managing Through Stagnation
Standing Still Creates Nothing But More Friction
For years, I have been asking under performing front line staff "what is your definition of fun?".
I often get blank looks. It is a starting point to discuss how checking social media all day is not fun. Procrastination, politics, gossip, and generally 'having a laugh' at the expense of 'getting shit done' may all provide short term highs, but there is an underlying edginess that comes with it. Do it long enough at the wrong times too much and business stalls.
And when business stalls the little man or woman in the back of the mind starts talking...
"How long do you think you can get away with this?"
"The next monthly meeting is going to be a nightmare!"
"You're going to have to do some talking to explain this..."
But the little man or woman has a louder voice at night. It starts to find it's outside voice....
"How long can you get away with being crap at work before someone notices?"
"The business is tanking. Cut backs will start happening soon. You should start panicking"
A team acting like this, with self-talk like this every day does not make for a fun work environment. It amplifies any stagnation the business is suffering and a sense of impending doom prevails. When external factors bring our businesses to a stalling position the little voices grow and the same transference is created.
In this scenario, leaders have an array of things they can do to re-engage people and bring back the real fun. You know fun? When people are enjoying the challenges in front of them. When people enjoy working with the other people in the team. When they get reward from their work. When they smile and laugh while 'getting shit done'. Here are a few go-to's I recommend:
1. Acknowledge Stagnation
When things slow there is no point denying it. The last thing you want to be is the desperate leader telling everyone that "Q2 results are still insight as long we all commit!" and everyone rolls their eyes. It's a great way to lose credibility and then authority with your people. A better tactic is to be clean and admit that things are far from perfect. This allows everyone to be at ease and understand that things will need to be shifted and changed to move things forward. In fact, just by acknowledging the stagnation we pave the way for opening up discussions on how we will get going again.
2. Ask "what would you do if you were in charge?"
In his book, It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy, Michael Abrashoff talks about how he turned the worst performing ship in the Navy (the USS Benfold) into the best in the fleet. The first thing he did was to sit down with every single crew member individually and ask them three questions:
What do you like most about Benfold?
What do you like least?
What would you change if you were captain?
This does two things. The first is to gain insights - there may just be a gem that someone comes up with. The second is that it immediately engages individuals. It gains their attention and it helps them feel like they have a say on what goes on. There is a sense of investment, belonging, and care that simply wasn't there before. A great way to get people focused (or thinking) on tasks and projects that will be fulfilling for them and beneficial to the business.
3. Put the smallest things into action
The biggest problem with implementing change is that it is usually a seismic task. So big that we can find ourselves giving up at the first step. To get momentum up and a feeling of movement the best thing we can do is focus on the small tasks and do them well. Gain momentum. And then pick up speed. No matter what the scoreboard is saying, people will get a sense of moving forward and this will generate energy in of itself. Do the small stuff, broadcast the change it is making, and repeat.
When stagnation takes hold it is like trying to ride a bike in thick heavy wet mud. The sheer volume of effort to get up and going is beyond us. Its easier to just hop off and walk the bike, or even better, just dump the bike in the mud and walk away. I have no doubt that many people feel like that now. Getting that first wheel-turn is the most important part. Once a little edge forward is felt the next one comes a little easier. And then, once momentum is up we are more balanced, settled, and the mud turns into tarmac. Then, we are having fun again.
