“Sometimes, I think I have to force things,” Emily said. “And forcing things doesn’t last long. I want to know how I can get people to perform, to perform at a higher level.”
“You want to know how you can cause people to change?”
“Yes, that’s it. Exactly. How can I get people to perform better, to stay focused, to pay attention, heck, just to show up on time would be nice.”
“So, Emily, when you look at yourself, how easy is it for you to make changes about your own life, your own work?”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” she replied. “Things are going pretty well with me. For the most part, things are under control.”
“Interesting,” I said. “We think we have the ability to cause change in other people when we have great difficulty seeing the need for change within ourselves.”
I have many areas to change in life: personal habits as well as professional approaches. One professional approach is to decline additional work that is really someone else’s responsibility. I am moving ahead with this one as well as informing my superiors of the reason: it is imperative that you address the inefficiencies in this area in lieu of shifting the work to those who you know will deliver.
What I have found in coaching change is that the employees who need to do it don’t think like I do. It is foreign to their skill set and past work life. So here we are. I have two people in particular who will look at me as if I am speaking a different language. Very frustrating. I have succeeding in small victories but we often take one step forward and three back.
I have and will continue to document but what I am really seeing as a solution is this: how do I move them into a role that plays to their strengths?
Leading change is challenging to say the least. However, if you set the right climate, provide constructive feedback and create a clear picture of the team’s collective goals, then that is a start.
A healthy climate is when your employees fee safe to express themselves and their ideas in a respectful way without being ridiculed. To set clear expectations and consequences. And to ensure the environment allows all employee to feel like they belong; part of the team.
Constructive feedback is clearly for the success of the employee and the organization. Coaching, not manipulation. Using influence and inspiring employees in a personable way, addressing one performance issue at a time yields the best results.
Creating a clear vision of your goal has to be established for the team and individually to align the direction of everyone’s efforts.