WORKPLACE COLLABORATION
It can be difficult to loosen control
of a project, especially when you believe its failure would reflect poorly on you and you alone. You shut people out and, more importantly, rob them of the opportunity to grow and expand their skillsets. Think of it selfishly: you might feel that you can do it better than others — however, how will you ever learn to trust your direct reports? And how can you be promoted if you cannot be replaced? (Don’t think that you cannot be replaced — the moment a person believes they are indispensable is the moment they become just that.) If so, you failed in delegation. • Preparation: before and during How well did you prepare for
this project? Did you include all (or a variety of) options, alternatives and contingency plans? Did you do it in a timely manner, or did you procrastinate, feeling confident that you can wing it? If you find yourself falling behind, do you cut corners by failing to follow processes and the plans you crafted so carefully?
GETTING TO THE ROOT CAUSE As with all behaviors, there is a personal reason for the way a person does what they do. You need to discover what it is before you can move past this event and onto the next project. Here are some questions you can ask of yourself, the other person and your team: - Fact-based after action review: • Were the timelines we were operating under valid?
• What went wrong and how can we correct it?
• What will happen if we don’t resolve (or fix, or address) this?
• Is there an elephant in the room? In other words, is there something that occurred (or is continuing) that no one wants to talk about? It could be that the timeframe was unrealistic and no one feels comfortable speaking
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up, directions or processes were not followed, or someone (or many) took shortcuts in an effort to meet the deadline? This question may lead to a heated discussion or a healthy debate; you will need to watch that it does not turn personal (which may or may not include finger pointing) towards any one person or several people. If that does occur, keep pulling the conversation back to ‘what can we do about it?’
• What were our assumptions, biases and other factors that we thought would happen yet didn’t? (You’ll want to be careful on this one to ensure it does not become a finger-pointing activity. For example “Sam said he would do it and he didn’t” or “Sally had to leave early for an emergency and ...”. Those types of statements will immediately raise defenses and as you know, once that happens, the meeting is essentially over.)
- Creativity and expanding perceptions:
• Are we asking the right questions to stop this from recurring? How can we not repeat these behaviors and ward off failures?
• Is there a better way to do this? • What if we ...? • Can we combine efforts or streamline processes?
• What viewpoint was considered? Did we omit anyone? Should the views of other stakeholders be considered? Why or why not? Don’t forget to praise (be specific
in your praise) and review what worked well. - What went well: • What action was taken when the emerging situation became obvious?
• What did we try that worked well? Does this have to be tweaked?
• Who, if anyone, was persistent, creative, or took a calculated risk that made a difference?
IN SUMMARY
When a situation goes from bad to worse unexpectedly, at your first available moment, do your own after action review (AAR) to determine if it was a process error or a people interaction cause. If it was a process error, take note of what has changed since the last time the process was used, and was the process new so blips were to be expected? If people were the cause, was it the interaction between two or more people, or was it a case of preoccupation and not paying attention? These are all failures of some sort, and need to be dealt with as a learning experience, not as behaviors that are hidden for fear of retribution.
Want more information and another
checklist? Email Dr. Shari with your request for this and additional information on this topic.
Dr. Shari Frisinger is a behavior analyst, works with aviation companies & flight departments to maintain optimum mental
health and be intelligent about what affects safety, productivity and morale. Her human factors and consulting programs raise awareness of potentially disruptive or unsafe behaviors, and offers techniques to ease conflict and enhance safety. Dr. Shari is an NBAA PDP provider, a member of Aviation Psychology Association, and teaches leadership at The University of Charleston and Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University. She has presented behavioral safety programs to numerous flight departments and aviation companies. Connect with Dr Shari in LinkedIn and Twitter, or email her (Shari@CornerStoneStrategiesLLC) to sign up for her newsletter.
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