Part Two of the SueJanTina Ant Eradictor Story
Remember the ant in my last article? The one who worked and worked on an impossible task and finally had to stop? I ended that article by asking if you know someone like that. I heard from many people who do–and a few who admitted to being that way. This post adds to the first article.
Being Very, Very Busy About The Wrong Things
Someone with whom I used to work was like that ant in many ways. She was busy, busy all the time and we couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t getting her work done. That is when we discovered she was taking on tasks she wasn’t supposed to do, because she liked those better. Volunteerism and creative initiative can’t take the place of doing one’s real job.
Many offices have one or more employees who seem to be involved in Heculean labors. They sigh heavily, talk about how early they arrive and how late they stay. Often they try to drag others into the drama of their work by asking for excessive help, making every request a rush job and generally being a pain in the neck.
Ironically, often the work being done by those employees isn’t vital work anyway. It’s a big crumb that didn’t need to be moved in the first place and won’t be useful when it is moved. Many managers and supervisors allow that to continue because it’s difficult to tell someone who seems to be working hard that their efforts are resented and ridiculed more than appreciated.
Are you that kind of employee? If you are the kind of employee who feels you are doing far, far more than anyone else because of the hours you work , the way you rush around or because you’re over your head with busyness all the time, consider how you might appear to others.
Instead of seeming to be dedicated and hard working, you may just appear to be showing off, disorganized or foolish. Are you doing your real work to the degree needed or are you creating work so you can impress others?
Do you manage or supervise the work of an employee like that? If you are a manager or supervisor with an employee who has become a joke for his or her excessiveness about work or attempts to seem like the only one working, take action to bring that back into balance.
*If you evaluate the situation and decide the employee is truly inundated with work, see about realigning it to be more equitable.
*If you think the employee’s heart is in the right place but he or she simply isn’t managing time well, do some one-on-one training about that and consider reassigning work.
*Stop work that is requiring far more staff and resources than the end result justifies–and don’t reward attempted martyrdom.
*Be direct about the ineffectiveness of the employee’s work and the negative effect it is having on others.
*Provide guidelines, set parameters and discuss what the employee should be doing more of and less of and what they should not do again.
That is the manager’s kinder and more gentle version of SueJanTina, the miracle ant eradicator.
September 29th, 2010
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Challenging and Problematic People, Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development, Supervision and Management |
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Want to buy some SueJanTina Ant Eradicator?
The summer I was ten, my friends Cheryl Sue Glaze and Janet Ross and I would spend the afternoons at Cheryl’s house making a concoction to kill ants–especially the ones near the swings where we liked to play at Frances Willard School in Arkansas City, Kansas. We thought the huge ant hill there was unsafe and should be eradicated, so we decided to invent a liquid ant killer. Also, mixing chemicals seemed like a fun thing to do.
Cheryl’s Dad told us we could mix everything he gave us but we couldn’t touch anything else. We agreed (and it wouldn’t have occurred to us to disobey) and I would rush over to Cheryl’s house every afternoon so we could experiment with water, tea, sugar, salt, soda, lemon juice, liquid soap and vinegar.
When we had mixed a new varation of those ingredients, we’d take it to the school yard and dump about a quart on the ant hill. We were nearly always gratified to see that we did away with some of them. (I know, I know, that sounds mean, but at the time it seemed like a fascinating scientific experiment.
We named our product SueJanTina and half-seriously thought we might be able to sell it. Looking back on it that experience was prophetic about what the three of us might do when we grew up.
Janet Ross English: Janet kept careful records of everything and had a whole notebook of our various mixtures. (Her mother was a pharmacist, which probably contributed to her tidy approach.) As an adult Janet worked as an administrator in a school district. She also was elected to the city council and served as the mayor of Arkansas City. She passed away two years ago, after fighting cancer for several years.
Cheryl Glaze Geske: Cheryl mixed the ingredients carefully, put the finished miracle formula in jars and kept the counter tidy. She was precise about measuring and telling Janet exactly what to put in the records. Cheryl became a nurse.
Tina Lewis Rowe: I never mixed anything or kept any records. Instead I stood on the picnic table in the backyard and yelled, “Come one, come all! Buy the amazing SueJanTina Ant Killer! Available now at a store near you!” I had a complete spiel about the product and why everyone should buy it.
We never found the perfect formula for SueJanTina and the next summer we were interested in other things. However, in Janet’s last conversation with me she mentioned the fun of those times and said she remembered it every time she drove by Frances Willard School.
Not all ants are effective in their work
I thought of SueJanTina the other day when I saw an ant in my kitchen struggling with a big bread crumb ten times his size. I often have a few ants in the house this time of year and generally sweep them up and put them outside in the dirt (I’ve become much more humane as I’ve matured!) This one was so valiant in his efforts I decided to watch him and see how long it took for him to get to the door where the ants emerged and disappeared all day.
The ant staggered and dropped the bread crumb but eventually picked it up and moved forward. He dropped it again and climbed all over it trying to get a better grip. He toiled, he worked, he worked overtime and probably through his lunch hour. Finally he got to the door. I was thinking how industrious he was and what a lesson there was for all of us in his refusal to give up, even though he was almost overwhelmed with his task.
That is when I realized the crumb was far too big to go under the door–and the ant realized it too. He spent the next hour trying to get the bread crumb under the door, to no avail. He left twice and brought back other ants to help. Each time the helpers would give a half-hearted try but soon leave and go back to their own work.
Finally the ant went under the door without anything to show for his exertions. I purposely left the crumb where it was, to see if it would be nibbled into smaller pieces. Nope. It was still there a day later so I vacuumed it up.
The ant showed perserverence by trying to move such a big crumb for so long. Unfortunately, he didn’t show good judgment about what crumb to move.
Do you know someone who stays very busy doing work that shouldn’t be done? What about you?
Part Two of this saga is in the next post!
September 29th, 2010
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Challenging and Problematic People, Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development, Supervision and Management |
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There used to be a fantastic pizza place on Highway 101 in Encinitas, California: OlyO’s. (It’s been a wine bistro since 2006.) The small space had casual tables and wooden benches that were always crowded but fun. There was noisy conversation, laughter and a beach within walking distance. Dave and Sue Olsen were the owners and when Dave chatted with me briefly one time when I visited, I felt very special because he had a role in making OlyO’s the perfect California beach town pizzeria. (And, the pizza was spectacular!)
There was a sign at the front, ”If there is time to lean, it is time to clean.” Dave told me he had been given that advice early in his career. He and the employees apparently followed the advice, because they were constantly wiping, washing, tidying and putting away. For a hectically busy, small pizza kitchen, it looked very clean.
Since then I’ve heard bartenders and store managers say that adage–and I’ve said it to myself! I have a mental OlyO’s list of things to do–recurring tasks, now and then chores and things to start even if I don’t get them done right away. It’s been useful for keeping me energized, productive and caught up with tasks I might normally procrastinate about.
Create An OlyO’s List
If you’re supervising, managing or working with a group, enlist their assistance in developing a list of things that can be done instead of killing time in the afternoon, before lunch, the days before vacation or when the schedule has some free time–even five minutes. Or, make a list just for yourself.
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Clean the break room or coffee area.
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Clean around the copier or in the supply room.
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Clean your desk top or get rid of clutter.
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Contact someone who could be a good resource.
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Do something on a project that always needs work (Research, organize, file, shred, replace, stock, clean, inventory or whatever ongoing work is required.)
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Delete old emails or old files or organize them more conveniently.
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If you’re going to talk with coworkers anyway, talk about work in a positive way or focus on solving problems not just complaining about them.
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Pick three recurring problems and write them on a card to place where you can see it. Now and then use your less-busy times to think of solutions to those problems. Put a due date and swear you’ll have at least one option to consider or to present to the group.
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Leave your work area if you can and go to another area to say hello–without being disruptive there and without taking more than a few minutes at most.
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Make a list of the people who have helped you recently and send a thank you note. It doesn’t have to be mushy, just sincerely appreciative.
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Put something on your calendar and get it started as a way to force yourself to take action.
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Scan some material you want to save or can share.
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Get started on something you’ve been stalling about.
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Produce some work in advance of when you need it, so it will be ready to go.
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Freshen a PowerPoint presentation or edit a document you use but haven’t evaluated in awhile.
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Make a list that fits your situation or have your group make a combined list, then distribute it or have it in your desk drawer, billfold or workspace. Use it to provide a push when the temptation is to lean instead of clean!
September 17th, 2010
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Food, Fitness, Fun, Keeping On!, Life and Work, Service to Customers, Clients and Coworkers |
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In the book, Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive And Others Die, authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath talk about the curse of knowledge. They explain it as being the condition in which we know something so well we can’t remember what it was like to lack the knowledge. As a result, the better we know something the less able we are to communicate about it effectively.
That tendency creates problems enough for us, but we make it much worse when we add two of our human traits: Arrogance and Impatience. Those two traits added to our knowledge, skills and understanding can easily build barriers between us and those we want to influence, persuade or teach or with whom we simply want to communicate effectively.
*Have you been in a situation at work, home or somewhere else, where you felt someone was not concerned with whether you learned or even if you understood their viewpoint, but mostly wanted to demonstrate how knowledgeable or skillful he or she was?
*Have you ever felt someone was using his or her knowledge as a weapon against you, to make you feel lacking compared to them?
*Have you been in a situation where you felt you were bothering or irritating someone when you didn’t understand something right away, had to ask a question or weren’t sure of what to do next?
When we display arrogance or impatience, people with whom we’re communicating turn us off consciously or subconsciously. At the very least they develop a negative attitude about us–and often about the things we want to teach or share. There’s an adage, attributed to at least a dozen people, which is true no matter who said it: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Share your blessings with others.
Occasionally stop and think about how different your life would be if you lacked the knowledge and skills you now possess–whether or not you use them every day. Consider basic as well as high level abilities: reading labels or instructions, writing or typing your name, having an advanced vocabulary, being able to drive, understanding a book, newspaper or magazine and being able to explain it to someone, being able to cook or use tools and knowing how to perform any of thousands of routine and special tasks. Be extremely grateful for all of that and for the impact on your life and work.
The next time someone–a friend, coworker, employee, client or customer, family member, trainee or class member–asks you a question, remember what it was like when you had questions, too. The next time you need or want to share your understanding, knowledge, skills or abilities, make it a positive experience for others. Think of it as a privilege to be able to transfer something from your mind and heart to theirs. If they don’t immediately understand the information or agree with your opinion, rather than letting arrogance or impatience put a hex on what you’re trying to do, stop for second and remember what it was like to not know. Start where they are and with good cheer and a caring attitude move to the next step, then the next, pausing to make sure those you are leading are following.
Count your blessings–and remember when you hadn’t received them yet!
Dawson Chatagnier: First day toward a Ph.D.!
September 9th, 2010
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Life and Work, Service to Customers, Clients and Coworkers, Training, Technology, Blogs, A/V etc. |
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Strategic Thinking and Tactical Thinking
The semantic and actual differences between strategic thinking and tactical thinking are discussed in thousands of websites, books and magazine articles. If you look at the overviews on search engines, you’d almost think one article had been copied 483,672 times. The essence of most of them is this:
Strategic thinking is about what should be done. Tactical thinking is about how to do it.
Organizations Need People Who Will Do Something
In the last few decades there has been a tremendous emphasis on the components and by-products of strategic and tactical thinking: leadership, creativity, analysis, judgment, innovation, courage, vision, persistence, insight and inspiration. As a result, many employees are much more concerned about being considered a thinker than they are concerned or even interested in being a doer. However, in the real-world of work there are no job descriptions that say,
“Job only requires thinking brilliantly and making plans. No grunt work, administrative work or plain old work involved, ever. Once the big thinking is finished, employee can pick and choose what tasks seem most impressive and dump everything else on others. An infinite amount of time is available for thinking about, meeting about and talking about every project.”
Doing Is Important But Getting Work Done Is Even More Important.
In an effective workplace, work comes in, gets done, goes out and another task–or several–takes its place. In many ways, all work involves an assembly line and a conveyor belt. However, there is a tendency to think that when an employee is very, very busy, working furiously on task, it is an indicator that he or she is being productive.
That overlooks the fact that some employees stretch every task to the maximum time allowed and beyond. Some employees create such havoc over routine work that more time is required. Some employees generate extra steps or they need more input, more time, more everything, than is reasonable. Just working at work isn’t enough. In most workplaces, getting done with a task and moving on is what builds the business or the organization.
When Strategizing And Planning Are Out Of Balance With Getting Work Done:
- You hear, “Let’s meet about this again tomorrow” almost every day.
- There are large visions without immediate plans of action and a timeline for achieving them.
- It seems that being asked to strategize or plan is considered a compliment but being asked to do something is irritating or demeaning.
- Some employees act as though their work is done after they have planned work for others.
- Tasks and projects are backlogged. Picture a clogged drain pipe with a cup of water being poured in every day but only half a cup draining out.
- Time lines are extended repeatedly.
- There are many times of ”back to the drawing board” because of obsessive concerns or a failure to make decisions and get going with the work.
- A task becomes all-consuming and other employees are expected to make it a priority, no matter how much it disrupts their own work.
- Coworkers and clients make “joking” remarks or come right out and complain.
- Forward progress has slowed or stopped and daily work has become painfully and unreasonably laborious.
The bottom line: Conceptual, strategic and tactical thinking is needed in every workplace and it should be valued. However, there is a time when the talking and planning needs to stop and work needs to be done–on time, efficiently and effectively.
September 3rd, 2010
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Challenging and Problematic People, Life and Work, Supervision and Management |
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