Ever have a thought about a topic, but just can’t seem to figure out how you are going to get it out? I am really struggling with how this is going to go. I have tried the politically correct way, sugar coating and many massaging of my thoughts. So, I discussed this with a friend and their advice was just write it! No soften of the message.
Here goes!
I had just started working in an organization that was struggling to meet their SLA’s and the leadership of the team was getting extremely frustrated with how change was going. Since I was new, I figured the best way to understand what really was happening was to ask questions of stakeholders and the organization’s folks. The results were interesting…
I went back and started to discuss my findings. That information was met with nothing short of disrespect from the overall person at the top. He got extremely defensive and started attacking the organization. He then moved to telling me everything that “he” has done for the organization.
You don’t have to be a genius to understand what is really going on. So, I tried a different approach. I asked the management team – to think back to when they were in a similar situation and needed to make a difficult change. What worked best?
- Telling the organization what and how to do it?
- Guiding the organization?
I pointed out some of the approaches that we have tried in the short time that I was there and how they is were having a negative impact on overall performance. I also pointed out some of the approaches that I have implemented to date that were starting to show results in the positive. Small little items that keep the team engaged in solutions or changes. I figured that using a softer approach after being attacked was best. Well, I was wrong. Attack session #2 began.
I can’t tell you if the organization had made the necessary adjustments or came close to their SLA’s or necessary performance. I did not stay too much longer after that session. I truly believe that the only way that organization is going to make it – is to remove the “leader” from the top.
No matter how difficult the task is – if you are a leader – you must guide your team to overall success.
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