The top management team of a large organization attended leadership training in which participants worked with horses in some intense and revealing sessions. Their CEO, “Joe”, was challenged to take a horse through a maze, simply by getting the horse to follow him without touching or pulling, while Joe’s staff looked on. At first the horse was riveted on the leader and followed him, but then, about two thirds of the way through the course, the horse lost interest and wandered away.
The facilitator of the session turned to Joe’s staff and asked, “Does this ever happen at work?” The staff said “Yes, all the time!”
Joe had a habit of kicking off projects with enthusiasm and then losing interest before the projects were completed. The horse’s disinterest was a direct reflection of Joe’s own leadership habit, a habit that frustrated and confused his team.
This is not uncommon. Once a project is up and running and your team has it under control, it can be easy to forget how much of your staff’s capacity that project is taking. It can feel as though the project is already done, since your role in getting it out of the gate is completed. When that happens, it is both easy and tempting to introduce new, exciting projects, even though your team is still working on the original project.
People become confused about what the priorities are, and it frustrates them because work is being piled on top of the work that they are already doing. It appears as if you don’t acknowledge or appreciate their current effort.
To avoid this problem, keep a list of ALL the projects your team is working on, alongside project milestones and deliverables. Each week, review these with your team and ask questions that will help you understand and stay interested in how these projects are unfolding, including how much of your employees’ capacity those projects are demanding.
It might sound silly, but it also helps to keep a list of “New Things I Want to Ask My Team to Do.” Review the list once a week and ration yourself. Limit the number of new projects you assign. Count the number of requests you make. You may be surprised by how many new projects and tasks you assign!
Simple approaches like these can help you avoid becoming the horse that wanders off before things are done. Your team will appreciate and notice the difference.
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