I do not know how others do it ....
Oh, but I know. A
lot of people complain about this and I also found out about it since my very
first job.
If a conclusion
should be drawn regarding how people are generally working, regardless of
country or industry, it would be this – people follow the doing-things-at-the-last-moment
procedure.
We all got
carried away rather easily in following it. And no reproach can be made to a certain
person, industry or country. Nowadays, we live in a fast-forward society, where
everything changes really fast and this also reflects upon our tasks.
I once attended a
job interview that convinced me to never apply for that company ever again.
When the potential manager told me that the thing she cherished the most was
that she and her team did not have to work on Saturdays, the alarm went on. And
the pitching sound really got to uncomfortable when she started presenting the
team and how it should learn not to take things so personally and that
sometimes projects are abandoned and the team must make sure to succeed with
the last minute changes. I do not even want to think how many Munch’s living
paintings could be found in that team! It is one thing to be adaptable, and another to have as sole certainty that everything
changes with no planification beforehand.
This is how I come to realize that, often enough, beyond the discussions about values, some teams have only one strategy – everything done at the last moment.
It is understandable that
not everything can be foreseen or anticipated. And, sometimes, it’s fine that
things are like this. But having to deliver projects without a small
planification and vision could be dangerous.
Why is it dangerous to do things in the last moment?
Employee’s motivation
is most affected when things are done with not much discussion about why things
change, and the task must be delivered urgently. Even for those employees that
do not have organizational skills, this could lead to loss of motivation.
Of course, when
unexpected things happen stress is triggered by them. And with the stress,
health problems emerge too. How many of us have already seen colleagues and
managers get sick due to the stress at work?!
Lacking strategy is
also damaging productivity on the long run. People talk more and more about
strategy, but I get the feeling that only few really know what it means. If a
strategy is mainly concerned with the goal and less about resources and
anticipating eventual issues on the way, that is not how strategy is supposed to be. Also, if the
main participants are not informed regarding the strategy and cannot bring
their contribution to various stages of it (whether through indications
regarding projects or information about other participants and/ or projects/
issues/ advantages, etc.) and be able to share their knowledge/ advice, that’s
no strategy. There are cases, of course, when participants speak their minds
but are afterwards ignored. That’s no strategy either.
What works
A while ago, I
was telling you about a saboteur I used to work with. It did
no matter how well my team organized its tasks, that person would always hinder
our delivery of the project. So we came with the only solution we had at hand
to change things for the better – we gave that person another deadline than the
official one (mainly, an earlier deadline). And it worked. Having some time
especially for the delays caused by this person helped us deliver in time our
project.
Can proactivity be learned?
YES.
Like any good
thing, one realizes its importance when one does not have it. After several experiences,
and having thought about improvements for my tasks (the agile method, to the
best of my knowledge), I realized proactivity can do a lot of good.
How does one start?
With simple
steps. And sketching the plan. Afterwards, and according to needs, one will
learn if one needs a more elaborate plan (namely, a more detailed plan) or a mere enumeration
of tasks and the people they are assigned to.
But proactivity
does not stop here. A plan must be constantly checked to see if things unfold
as planned and interventions must be made when there are changes or delays.
It is wonderful
to have to rely on people that are easily adaptable, and I won’t deny that this
is actually very important nowadays.
But for calmer
minds, an increased productivity, a lower stress level and, why not?!, a
long-term vision, I dearly recommend proactivity and less doing things at the
last moment.
