Be proactive, not reactive: Take Charge before action is
needed I am often called in to "fix it." And when I start doing my
assessment of what has gone wrong, and what is needed
in the organization that is having difficulties, I often find that
much of what has come down could have been prevented . .
. either by preventative maintenance or timely preventative
action.It is easy in the hurry up of today's business economy to be
so busy putting out fires as you respond to important, urgent
projects, that you neglect those equally important but not so
urgent projects. It is what keeps you in crisis mode, calling
me to take care of things and people that have really gotten
out of hand. (Don't think I don't want you to call! )Use these seven tips to prevent unnecessary crises:
- Go slow so you can go fast. Take enough time at
the beginning of a project, before you start implementing, to
get everyone on board, marshal your resources. Make sure
your objectives and desired results are clear to everyone on
the team. Time spent on pre-work is an investment that will
pay off with effort saved during implementation.- Build relationships before you need them. Get
allies, colleagues, and stakeholders lined up sooner rather
than later. You can call on those with whom you have a good
relationship when time or conditions demand fast action,
with little time for discussion or persuasion. It's much
harder to leverage distant relationships during crunch
times. People are more forgiving and helpful when the
relationship is good.- Beat, don't meet, deadlines. Give yourself some
time for the unexpected: last minute slips, resource
unavailability, illness, or production glitches. High drama
rushes to the deadline not only sap the team's energy but
they set you up for insurmountable obstacles. Beat the
deadline, then go have fun!- Check and check again. Go over your deliverables
one more time after they are supposedly finished. Proofread
the report, don't just print it. Pay attention to how the
deliverable is presented, not just the content. Cover all your
bases. Don't assume making the deadline will compensate
for being just a little off.- Just do it - yourself if necessary. If your group is
responsible for the action, results, deliverables, whatever,
and it isn't coming, you hold the bottom line. As the
manager, you are the one who will be seen as failing, not
your team. Go back to the employees who are responsible,
but get it done. You'll lose with your management and your
customers if your team doesn't deliver. (Be sure that you
take the responsibility for failure, the team gets the credit for
success!)- Learn, let go, and get on with it. Obsessing about
mistakes doesn't help. Neither does being vindictive or
unforgiving. You learn and then change your mind, and
change your behavior. Do your analysis: what needs to be
done differently next time? Then change the process: how
can you make sure you will do it the new way next time?
Temper tantrums, rants and sullenness don't help. Keep
the process professional.- Having said all this, don't overlook "bad" behavior.
Remember Rule #1: behavior that is rewarded is apt to
be repeated. And the corollary to Rule #1: the best reward
for bad behavior is to do nothing. Overlooking unwanted or
"bad" behavior will just get you more of the behavior you
don't want. I know it is a pain in the neck to hold people
responsible for their performance and their behavior. And, to
be fair, sometimes employees will test and test again to
see if you will let them "get away with it." Don't fall for it. You
owe it to yourself, the rest of your team, and the organization
you work for, to expect everyone to be a positive contributor.
Otherwise, we will be talking for sure!Patricia Wiklund Ph.D. works with managers who are
challenged with a difficult employee or colleague, and
organizations that need to get back on track to effectiveness
and productivity. Start increasing your management and
leadership skills with her new audio coaching program on
Emotional Intelligence: The Leadership Edge. Just click
here: http://www.PatWiklund.com/eiaudiocoaching.shtml
Contact Pat at Pat@patwiklund.com
Keyword : Crisis, Proactive, Management, Take Charge
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