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Belfry & Studer Consulting

For the most part it's probably pretty easy to see what's going on: someones' performance is slipping; there's conflict among workers or between certain areas; communication is poor, people aren't coordinating their efforts very well; there's finger-pointing , blaming or 'scapegoating' of someone or some group; perhaps the tension is 'so thick you could cut it'; maybe absenteeism is up or there's been a lot of turnover, perhaps in a particular position. These are all well-worn paths.

Humans under pressure do all of these things. Each is a problem in it's own way, and deserves some amount of attention. The question may have more to do with: 'how much attention?' and 'to accomplish what?', than with whether or not something needs to happen. Perhaps beginning to wonder about whether what is seen, eg., 'increased turnover', is the problem or an attempted solution. At some point any conscious manager will begin to wonder about why people are leaving. I mean, wouldn't it stand to reason that something is happening when the same thing is observed again and again?

Why are we having this problem now?

This simple sounding question can be the beginning of an important change in thinking. It was for me! Trying to understand what goes into an observable problem opens a wealth of opportunities. Taking aspirin for a headache works, you feel better.....for a while at least. What if you figure out how the headaches develop, and do something about that? Wouldn't that be a better solution, unless of course, you really like taking aspirin? But even then, you would have learned something, wouldn't you?!

Problems at work are really no different than problems elsewhere. Those of you who have children can probably see some common ground with 'bickering employees' and your children's budding 'sibling rivalry'. If you can figure out how to successfully deal with that one, you already know how to deal with those employees, at least you probably do, if you've done more than just separate them or closed your door on them.

Symptoms or solutions?

How do you know what you're seeing? How do you know what you're seeing is what it really is? Why this problem now? Questions and more questions! Experience has taught us that, more often than not, asking the right questions can do more toward actually resolving a problem, than trying to solve it! Taking that headache example, starting to look for the tension and what's triggering that, can often lead very directly to a more comprehensive way to manage headaches. What if the headache is the solution to another dilemma? What if it's really a way to take a little time out? Then where are you?

You've got to know what you're dealing with!

Symptoms are great! They let you know that something's going on. For people who like to spend their time mucking around and being busy, chasing issues, keep up the good work. For those people that would rather do something more productive with their valuable time, there's a better way to look at it.

At Belfry & Studer Consulting, we're looking beyond the symptoms to understand what needs to happen. There are some important mechanisms operating, in which just being alive plays a big part. We're all human, and a lot of what we do is about being human. This is where we begin. Humans do what humans do, and understanding what that is puts you way ahead!

If the goal is a respectful, safe and productive working environment, then trying to resolve workplace issues, with anything less than a comprehensive approach, is doing yourself and those that look to you for leadership a big disservice!

Belfry & Studer Consulting