In Star Trek, The Next Generation, there is a famous line that Captain Jean-Luc Picard said to his first officer Commander William T. Riker: make it so number one. It’s a great line. But television rarely represents reality, and this is no exception. While Commander Riker may have dutifully executed Captain Picard’s order, how many times have you asked a subordinate to do something and it was done immediately and as you expected? Perhaps you are one of the fortunate few, but far too many executives we met expressed frustration in getting their subordinates to do what they ask them to do, when they asked them to do it and to get the results expected.
We tell executives never to assume that saying something once will result in immediate compliance – or even delayed compliance for that matter. What often happens is the group listens, smiles, nods in agreement, then goes back to doing what they were doing. And, it’s not what you asked them to do.
To get your message out and get the staff to respond timely, we advise executives and managers to:
- Recognize that your staff will usually not immediately do what you asked them to do
- Recognize that you, the leader, may be contributing to poor responsiveness and that it is your responsibility to be clear on:
- What you want done – the objective
- Why you want it done – the purpose and reasons behind it
- The benefits to be achieved when it’s done – for the organization and for the individual(s) – remember people listen to WIFM – what’s in it for me.
- And consistent with your message by giving the same message regardless of whom you are talking to in the organization and by acting in a way that is consistent with your message – walking the talk.
- Recognize that if you frequently change your mind and show the same sense of urgency with many new initiatives, your credibility as an executive will be severely damaged. Consistency and focus are important.
One final point. In dealing with organization-wide change initiatives we found the following approach to be particularly effective. When you are tired of saying the same thing over and over again and you are just about ready to give up in frustration, remind yourself that your staff is just beginning to hear you. Overstated – perhaps a bit, but important to remember.
For more information on communicating change and overcoming employee resistance, see the article "Workplace change made (more) easily" under Resources at www.kubicalaforestconsulting.com
Copyright 2009 Kubica and LaForest
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