Why do some people get on and do what is required, while others doubt, postpone, and suffer anguish over even the most minor of tasks?
The elegant term, “procrastination“, is one way to explain this behavior. You could use other prosaic phrases such as “perfectionist mentality”, which describes someone who has to do anything and everything perfectly.
It can also be assumed that in 90% of cases, when your team leader or manager postpones taking action, he is simply not sure that he knows how to deal with a situation, and he wants to avoid making mistakes. A mistake would diminish his authority in the eyes of the team, and make it necessary to do everything all over again (and, therefore, would mean spending more time on a task). Also, the consequences of making a wrong decision can be more unpleasant than the consequences of decisions that were not made at all.
The team leader did not hold a “1:1” meeting because he, allegedly, “wanted to prepare carefully, so that it went perfectly”. He did not find out about the employee’s problems and begin to resolve them, or voice concerns over them. If the engineer remained silent and didn’t quit the project, that was seen as a good thing. However, if he upped and left, this was explained away by the fact that “the company simply does not have established processes for retaining key employees”, “the salary revision policy is outdated” or “competitors in the labor market offer more interesting projects.” Maybe you have had similar situations in your company?
Project risks have much the same story. No risk register and no risk management plan – we simply hope things will turn out well. If nothing goes wrong – well, that’s great, the project manager saved himself some time. And if, or, more precisely, when the theoretical risks become reality, you can “courageously overcome” them. Or explain everything away with terms such as “high uncertainty avoidance” or “cyclomatic complexity” (you’d better not google what that is! It sounds complicated, which means it fulfills your requirements).
Why do some managers rely on an eternal “ideal tomorrow“, while others take action so that the team does not burn out and projects get completed?
Maybe because some sit behind their desks and hide their ignorance beneath their overloaded to-do lists, while others figure everything out and try to learn how to do it? After all, it is better to do things imperfectly than to never do anything perfectly.
So, in the here and now of 2021, how can you help your managers and team leaders to avoid making mistakes? How can you help them to stop hesitating when faced with a decision just because they are not sure that the “author’s solution” will work?
The answer is to train them in the theoretical bases of key techniques, then allow them to put those theories into practice, and finally implement them in the workplace. Help your people become who they really wanted to be when they took up their job offer. Help them to become confident professionals in their field, who do their job because they know how to do it.
We have been training specialists for more than 10 years.
We train only practicing team leaders and project managers.
Only available for experienced team leaders and managers.
Apologies for the wording, but we “pump” specialists with confidence by giving them the knowledge and understanding of the processes of working with a team and implementing projects.
There is option available: To become a team leader or project manager in the Team Course
Until May 31, the course fee is available at a discounted rate ($1000). Training is scheduled to commence September 2021.
Training duration: 7 months (3-day training sessions once a month + additional intersessional practice in working groups).
The training program has the following key features:
We look forward to meeting you!
