Do We Have the Right Tools?

Photo by Barn Images on Unsplash

This isn't a picture of my husband's garage, but it could be. The man has a 4-car garage in which neither of our cars can fit because of the number of tools, but it seems almost every project requires a different one. How many different screwdrivers can there be?

But I admit he takes care of all those fix-it jobs around the house that I cause. If something can be broken, I will break it. So there's a reason for all those tools (or so I am told).

In the last blog post, I talked about setting clear expectations. Obviously, people have to know what you want before they can do it. However, if they don't have the proper tools, they may still fall short. And that's on managers, not the employees.

In order for employees to perform to standards, they need a clear understanding of the performance standards and they must have the proper tools. These tools include proper training, required tools (equipment and supplies), and adequate time. If we have not provided those items, it isn't fair to chastise the employee. Yes, I have seen employees do extraordinary things with a shortage of all of these things, especially in a crisis, but it isn't reasonable to expect superior results with inferior support on a continuing basis.

Ask yourself, have I:

• Provided comprehensive training on the task I want them to accomplish?
• Given them adequate supplies and equipment to get the job done safely?
• Provided enough time to do a quality, safe job?

It's our job to provide what employees need to meet our expectations for performance. Let's not let them down.

Do They Know What You Want?

Photo by Ameer Basheer on Unsplash

Today I had a coaching session. Nothing new there, but some people are a joy to work with because they really want to make themselves better leaders and are willing to do the work necessary to make that happen. David is one of those people.

He asked for a book to read during a hiatus in our coaching schedule due to his company's workload. I recommended, It's the Manager by Gallup. He said a previous book he had read by Gallup, First Break All the Rules, was one he had found very helpful, especially two questions, "Do they know what you want?" and "Do they have what they need to do it?" I could see this was very much a part of his leadership style and had helped successfully improve the performance of his people and his section.

Our conversation reminded me of the importance of setting clear expectations. Many times we believe we have been clear. Or we may just believe we shouldn't have to spell things out because "everyone knows" about certain expectations in the workplace. I have had managers tell me they shouldn't have to tell their employees what they expect because, "No one told me. I figured it out."

And we wonder why the performance we get isn't the performance we want.

My husband and I used to play in a dart league when we were younger. You had a scoreboard and you knew exactly what you needed to hit in order to make your target (and it wasn't always the bullseye.) Once you knew what you needed, it was a matter of focus and skill to win.  You could always just throw the dart in the general direction of the board and hope for the best, but in that case, winning was a matter of luck, not focus or skill. And winning wasn't likely. You have much better success when you have a specific spot on the board you're aiming at (a clearly defined target.)

Clear expectations tell people exactly what they have to do to be successful. You may need to demonstrate or to provide examples. One of the managers I coached had a fast food restaurant and was frustrated because his people had "no work ethic." He said he would tell them to "stock the front," but when he checked their work, it wasn't done. The issue wasn't that his employees were lazy, it was that their idea of what he meant by "stock the front" and his idea, were not the same. I told him to stock the front the way he wanted it to look when he gave that instruction and then bring his employees out and show them. Explain the standard for each element of the task. Once this was done, they understood what he wanted and he had much better performance.

Give your people a clear target if you want to win.

Value People

I have talked about this before in my short diatribe against the term "human capital." But that has been a while, so after hearing John Maxwell speak last week, it is once again top of mind.

I try to read and listen as much as I can to anything about leadership. Last week The Sewell Family of Companies hosted a leadership event in Wichita Falls, featuring John C. Maxwell. I have read many of Maxwell's books, but have never heard him speak, so reserved a seat at this event. Although there were many excellent takeaways, there was one that I wanted to address today. Mr. Maxwell listed 5 things that he feels if a person does every day, will allow them to live a life of significance. Those 5 things?

• Value people
• Think of ways to add value to people
• Look for ways to add value to people
• Do things that add value to people
• Encourage others to add value to people

I want to talk about the first one, "Value People." If we cannot do that, then it follows that the remaining four won't happen. If people are not valuable, why would we do any of the other steps?

We all say we value people. Our companies say we value our people. We say it because we are expected to. But do we? Really? Because our actions tell a different story.

When we value something, we consider it to be important or beneficial. We have a high opinion of that person or thing. We believe people are important to our company, at least in a philosophical sense, but do we believe they are beneficial or do we have a high opinion of them? If we do, we don't act like it. I cannot tell you how often owners (and even HR people) talk employees down.  We talk about them being lazy, disloyal, without work ethic, dishonest, etc. No doubt, some are. I would argue that most are not. Instead I think we get what we expect. People live up to our expectations. If we constantly tell people in words and actions they are not valuable to us, they will tend to give us exactly what we tell them we expect. A few will excel in spite of us.

Some of us are smart enough not to voice comments about how we feel about our employees, but our actions speak strongly--in fact, even if we are telling people how important they are and how much we value them, if our actions tell a different story, our employees will believe what we do, not what we say. If we don't "have time to train" people, that says we don't value them enough to increase their value. If our handbook reads like a police state, that tells employees we believe they are dishonest and lazy. If an employee comes to talk to us about a problem and we continue to read our email while they are trying to explain the issue, that says they and their problem are not important enough for you to listen. If an employee has a suggestion to make a process work better, but are told "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," that tells them their creative and problem solving skills are neither valued nor wanted. Employees are not going to continue to try to push the rope up hill.

If you want gold from people, treat them like they are gold. There will be a few that in spite of your efforts will not live up to your expectations. Fine. Help them move on to other opportunities. The rest will reward you for your efforts.