Success in your Job and Life depends upon the way you approach the problem. Human beings have different attitude towards the work which in turn drives their growth in various realms of life. A real assessment of one’s abilities and a focus on personal development has always done wonders for many people.

I have worked with many people in life and with different attitude. My team has always been acknowledged as most productive for all these years. In a big team it is always challenging not only to drive change but also to mould individuals for getting the best out of them. Training and daily interaction with team become an important aspect to polish the thinking for best results.

The most important change I strive for in my teams is to make them state the solution than briefing me about the problem. This does not at all means that problems are not discussed but they come as a next step. Imagine you are given a task to be accomplished where you require your own effort and some effort from other team members. You could not complete the task just because both you and other team members failed to deliver on time. On a regular update meeting or on a final day you are being asked about the status. What would you answer?
1. Would you say that it’s not done just because other people failed to do so? Then you would start to put all the blame on other team members and wish someone should get this done for you. or
2. Would you say that how your health is not good for few days and how other team members were also absent for most of the part. You would blame the hardware, the internet speed, the commuting, traffic etc. or
3. You would admit that there is a delay and that you are working on it. You need some more time but you are confident that you would get it done before deadline.

I will go for 3.

I have seen maximum cases falling in first two points where people are not willing to accept that it is their responsibility to get the thing done. They fail to believe that they can do anything wrong and put all blame on the environment around them. Sometimes they are scared and even tell a lie about the status just because they don’t want to face the truth.

The most important thing from both personal development perspective and from Job Growth is to take Ownership as stated in point 3. Remember no manager has even a small interest in knowing what happened to you or with your cat. All they need to know is the status of the work and if it’s not done then what are the new dates. The moment one starts to discuss why you were sick and problems with other team members than whole purpose of the discussion is lost.

Managers should always train their team members to take ownership. So in effect discourage discussion around point 1 and 2. The best approach is always start with the status not issues. If status is not complete then get the new deadlines. Always negotiate on new deadlines and in the process discuss the problem and their possible solution. By doing this you would focus energy only on the problem and all other unimportant issues take a back seat. It goes something like this
Employee- The task is not done but I am on top of it. I will complete it in another week.
Manager- Week is too far, I want status in 2 days.
Employee- I will do my best but things not working my way because of some issues
Manager- What are those issues
Employee- I am facing some logical issues on some sources and one of team member is not well.
Manager- Tell me about the logic thing
Employee- I did something like this, and this and this but things didn’t work out. I need 3 days for that.
Manager- do it like this. Also get knowledge from these sources and consult person X. this will complete it in 4 hours. On absenteeism pull resources from X team and I will inform him to co-operate fully with you.

Here two things are important. From employee angle it is important that he should be very positive and states the problems clearly. Managers like this approach rather than one excuse. On Managers end it is important that your employees should trust you, are not scared of you, and take you as your role model. It is important to have the result and understanding for best result.

Continued Below.........

As an employee One need to understand that it’s not crime if things are not done inspite of your best effort. You should not work like machine but as a human who have brains. Always asses what went wrong and how it can be modified in future. Make plans and make sure you achieve them before time. An honest assessment of your own abilities will help you set expectations and grow in a Job.

As a manager you have to be very positive and help team grow. You are the only person who can infuse the right attitude in them. Their performance depends a lot on you and you should own it completely.

Related posts:

1. Why Your Team Need People Better Than You