Regardless, their absence meant that my son, dog Harry and I were left to fend for ourselves. My wife - who majored in "Being Able to Find Everything In the World" and "How to Turn On Major Non-TV Appliances" - even left us with lists. This included a few ridiculous things.
First up: Remember to feed the fish. That is so dumb. I mean, nobody sprinkles fish food in Lake Michigan and the fish there seem fine. They're fish. So I crossed those losers off the list.
Another one: Water the potted plants. Right. Like something's going to happen to them in 106 degree Alabama heat. If they can't take it, they need to move to Iowa or become fake or something. Another chore gone. The next one was more worrisome.
She'd written down something about laundry and dryers and lint screens that I breezed over. That's because of a previous terrifying encounter with the washing machine. See, I had expected it to have only the essential buttons to do its job: On. Off. That should be enough, right?
Noooo. It had settings for Delicates and Spin speeds and some reference to a Pre-rinse. Are you kidding me? Pre-rinse? Is this so your delicates can get used to the water temperature first? I'm convinced that all of these buttons actually do exactly the same thing: 1) Water 2) Soap 3) Slosh around. So, from sheer intimidation, laundry got crossed off, too. Man, this is getting easier!
Over the 4 days, our hygiene slipped a little. Language got coarser. Movies more violent. My dog started smoking and stayed out once till 2 a.m. with no explanation. We attempted to subsist on Pringles and mustard, but this got old quickly. At the point when I considered a goldfish and dried camellia salad, I knew we were in a maelstrom of maledom.
About midway through the trip, I received a phone call from my wife. After I told her we were fine (though smelly, starving and bearded), she mentioned the airports were insane! The rental car people tried to double their rate without warning. The driving, the navigation, and the loading and unloading of their luggage were such a hassle.
It occurred to me that these were all things I'd have handled if I had been with them. She followed up my thought with, I wish you were here.
Me, my son, the dog, the fish and a few crispy plants all repeated that phrase to her. Awww, says the clearly-moved audience. But it's true.
We all have our roles, jobs, specialties. We play our part on the team. When you don't play your part on the team, the team fumbles, falls or fails entirely. When a team member is out, that absence had better be felt or somebody ain't that valuable. Oh sure, I'm a fan of cross-training to cover gaps, but it takes a trainer to do it, which is another gift entirely.
In our business, you can take the team connection to individuals and entire departments. Their cooperation and mutual skill sets must mesh. But do they?
Seeds of Contention
Does your Accounting department assist the Sales department or feel they're a bunch of irresponsible overpaid babies?
Does your Web Marketing department assist those in traditional marketing or feel they're outdated has-beens trying to resurrect the Stone Age?
Does your CSR assist the technicians or get sick of constantly having to make excuses for their tardiness, sloppiness and callback rate for which the CSRs indirectly get blamed?
And lets go ahead and get brutal here: Does the boss assist all the team members in letting them do their jobs well or does he eternally represent task interference and complaints on minor things while taking home a major paycheck?
Do you have cooperation or contention? And have you ever asked? I'd consider either question as among the most valuable a team leader can ever utter.
True Confession Time: About a year ago, Hudson Ink embarked on a new product/service line. As is too often the case in my Ready, Fire, Aim mentality, there were some teething pains. Skill sets were still forming. Roles were unclear. Some feelings got hurt. A door or two got slammed. There were tough conversations.
Yet in the depths of this learning curve and from our different vantage points, a shared destination loomed into view. It's as if we all began taking turns at the wheel. One did the organizing, another the technical, another the marketing, another the sales funnel, another the customer service.
Respect restored. Roles refined. Goals defined. It was beautiful.
Midway through the year, I encourage you to look at your company goals. Are you getting closer or farther away? To what team are your employees assigned, and do they have the talent and drive to reach their goals? If they're merely ineffective bystanders giving you the false comfort of everything's okay as you glance off the iceberg, put them in a rowboat. If they're willing to make the tough choices and either admit or stretch their limits, then keep em.
No matter what, your role is calling.
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