Let’s Do This!

A lot of people want to see changes happen. Some of those want to make change happen. Whether it’s introducing a new tool to a software team, changing a process, or shifting a culture, many people have tried to make changes happen.

And many of those have failed.

I’ve known “Jeff” for nearly 20 years. He’s super-smart, passionate, and has great ideas. But Jeff gets frustrated about his inability to make changes happen. In nearly every team he’s ever been on, his teammates don’t listen to him. He asks them to do things, and they don’t. He gives them a deadline, and they don’t listen. Jeff is frustrated and doesn’t think he gets enough respect.

I’ve also known “Jane” for many years. Jane is driven to say the least. Unlike Jeff, she doesn’t wait for answers from her peers, she just does (almost) everything herself and deals with any fallout as it happens (and as time allows). It doesn’t always go well, and sometimes she has to backtrack, but progress is progress. Jane enjoys creating chaos and has no problem letting others clean up whatever mess she makes. Jane is convinced that the people around her “just don’t know how to get things done.”

Over the years, I’ve had a chance to give advice to both Jeff and Jane – and I think it’s worked. Jeff has been able to get people to help him, and Jane leaves a few less bodies in the wake of progress.

Jeff – as you may be able to tell, can be a bit of a slow starter. Or sometimes, a non-starter. He once designed an elaborate spreadsheet and sent mail to a large team asking every person to fill in their relevant details. When nobody filled it out, Jeff couldn’t believe the disrespect. I talked with him about his “problem”, and asked why he needed the data. His answer made sense, and I could see the value. Next I asked if he knew any of the data he needed from the team. “Most of it, actually”, he started, “but I don’t want to guess”.

Thirty minutes later, we filled out the spreadsheet, guessing where necessary, and re-sent the information to the team. In the email, Jeff said, “Here’s the data we’re using, please let me know if you need any corrections.” By the next morning, Jeff had several corrections in his inbox and was able to continue his project with a complete set of data. In my experience, people may stall to do work from scratch, but will gladly fix “mistakes”. Sometimes, you just need to kick start folks a bit to lead them.

Jane needed different advice. Jane is never going to be someone who puts together an elaborate plan before starting. But, I was able to talk Jane into taking just a bit of time to define a goal, and then create a list, an outline, or a set of tasks (or a combination), and sharing it with a few folks before driving forward. The time impact was either minimal or huge (depending on whether you asked me, or Jane), but the impact on her ability to get projects done was massive no matter who you ask. These days, Jane not only gets projects done without leaving bodies in her wake, but she actually receives (and welcomes) help from others on her team.

There are lot of other ways to screw up leadership opportunities, and countless bits of advice to share to avoid screw-ups. But – the next time you want to make change and it’s not working, take some time to think about whether the problem is really with the people around you…or if the “problem” is you.