On a recent trip to the Northeast, we travelled a two-mile stretch of rural road where the speed limit changed six times! There were no changes in road conditions, elevation or population density.
The first sign upping the speed limit to 55 mph was welcome.
Great, we can go faster!
The second sign read 60 mph.
Sweet, get to speed it up.
Sign number three read 45 mph.
That’s odd, nothing seems different. Why the change?
The fourth sign showed 55 mph.
Geez, can’t they make up their minds?
Sign number five reduced the speed limit to 35 mph.
Come on, this is getting annoying and silly!
The sixth sign read 45 mph.
Oh, whatever!
Later, as we recounted the speed limit sign adventure to our hosts, it occurred to me that I had had a few bosses whose leadership directions changed as abruptly as those road signs.
This is an important project. Get moving now. We want to show the guys upstairs we can make this happen.
Wait, I need you to slow down. Things are moving too fast.
Hurry up, we’re losing time. You have to get this done right now, don’t care what I said before, just do it.
Ease up, stop pushing so hard.
Each set of instructions was inconsistent with the last, with little to no explanation offered or context provided.
What’s your take?
Is there a lesson to be learned here about how you direct your team?
Have you said those hurry up / no, wait, slow down words to them? Have you been inconsistent with your team without offering a reason for the change?
What say you?
Image source before quote: morgueFile.com
This brings to mind a favorite expression of mine, “Full steam ahead, hard left rudder.” The translation is that some people are often running around in circles due to contradictory (speed up / slow down; do this / no do that) directions that come from above in the chain-of-command. The frequent cause of this is that the managers/executives do not agree on the proper course of action and this lack of agreement results in a lot of wasted effort on the part of the workforce and, unfortunately, negatively impacts morale, which has a corresponding affect on productivity.
LeRoy – are you a sailor? Your observations of poor morale negatively impacting productivity parallel the findings of many organizational studies. The key is getting to the root cause of the issue — the lack of agreement you note amongst management — and fixing it.
As a matter of fact, I am a retired Coast Guard Master Chief, although I am still working. I concur that the most expedient fix is for leaders and managers to execute some leadership and management. If they (leaders and managers) don’t have their acts together, how do they expect their teams to execute and deliver the desired results.
Well said, LeRoy!
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