Greater clarity around organisational challenges
Because of my recent unpleasant experiences with trade suppliers it set me wondering why customer service appears to be so awful at the moment. Is it because people are worn out and tired? Have the past couple of years disruption just been too much? Is it because those at the top pay little attention to how or what their staff/employees are coping with?
Always one to seek a way on how to improve things my mind turned to what might be an easy fix. A recent story caught my attention:
Greater clarity around organisational challenges was how two police officers described the lessons learned from a novel job swap recently when a middle ranking detective (Detective Chief Inspector – DCI) and his Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) walked in each other’s shoes for a day https://policinginsight.com/features/trading-places-what-happened-when-a-deputy-chief-swapped-jobs-with-a-detective-chief-inspector-for-the-day/
The DCC learned more about the issues which currently irk those on the frontline while the DCI gained deeper insight into the broader challenges constraining senior management in their decision-making.
Both officers revealed it was an enlightening experience and take forward a new perspective to share with colleagues as they confront daily challenges in their own roles.
Criticised by some as a gimmick, praised by others for strength of leadership, the Cambridgeshire exercise has set the LinkedIn tongues wagging.
So do you really know what impact your decisions are having on those you lead in your organisation? Are you so blinkered on your own roadmap that the challenges they are facing are either unknown or immaterial to you?
How aware are you of the simple quick wins you could implement at little or no cost to you that would actually make the world of difference to your teams?
Take time back on the shop floor and you might just remember why you joined the job and the difference you set out to make, you might just get that lightbulb moment that sparks real change in your organisation.
Too many of us sit in ivory towers making decisions which have a massive bearing on the working – and social – lives of our colleagues with little or no thought about unintended consequences.
Do you fully engage with those on the frontline or put upon them in unnecessary ways with misguided intentions?
Just stop and think before you answer…or better still, retrace those steps that took you to where you are now. Take a moment to walk once more in those shoes; remember the pressures you felt back then from above; acknowledge you now have the power to make the difference you were so desperate to see back then; remember what used to irritate you back then about your leaders; appreciate you are now that leader.
Very quickly you will see the bottlenecks in your organisation’s processes and identify where focus needs shifting.
Time back in the thick of it will shine a light on the heart of your team and make you realise the futility of your excuses ‘that’s just how we do xxx, we’ve always done it like that’.
In no time at all, you’ll gain a whole new perspective on your organisation and the challenges faced by those working in it…some of which are actually caused by you.
Be the difference and remember – never ask someone to do something you’re not prepared to do yourself. When you really feel in need of some time out, tune in to an old episode of Undercover Boss and you’ll see this whole principle played out in any manner of real life scenarios, often featuring very touching human experiences.
I’m sure like me, you’re quick to criticise career politicians or managers parachuted in who have never walked the walk.
Go on, roll up your sleeves and get stuck in at the sharp end. You never know, your reaction might be the same as the DCC who, when asked what she thought of revisiting her former role, freely admitted: ‘I miss it.’
never ask someone to do something you’re not prepared to do yourself.
It’s not a new idea, I’ve written about the benefit of walking in someone else’s shoes before as have many others. Perhaps now is the ideal time for us to remember this basic and get back to it?