Level of Excellence

I work hard and I take pride in my work excellence.  I would never prepare a deliverable that was less so - the quality of my work reflects on me and my perception of who I'm doing this work for!  Generally, these days people seem to be unwilling to do whatever it takes to achieve a level of excellence.  So why that is.


It's hard to do excellent work. 


You must put in significant time and effort to create something that's complete, well constructed using top quality components, and is shined to the point where it gleams!  I could be talking about anything - building a quality piece of wooden furniture, baking a special dessert or creating a business proposal.  The principles are the same.  You must plan well, have all your ingredients/components at hand, and, work and rework the product until you have it just right!


It takes more time to do excellent work.


There's an old adage about anything worth doing is worth doing well.  Unfortunately, people's time is not as highly valued as it once was.  People are working harder than ever (measured by the hours they put in on the job) and yet the quality of their work is, for the most part, going down.  A direct result of not being given enough time to do the job properly.  How many times have you been asked for an estimate on how long it will take to get something done only to be asked if you can do it quicker.  Happens all the time.  Over the years, people become accustomed to being given less time to do a job and delivering less quality.  Another old saying is "good enough for government work!"  It's this attitude that sets-up the expectation:

lower work quality = less time spent working =  do more things in this time

Marketed as higher productivity and operational efficiency, it begets inferior workmanship.  Not only are the end products lacking, but the people who produced them start to think this is okay.  Is it okay for you to not get what you asked for or even paid to get?  We find ourselves overloaded and unable to put in the real time and effort when it's really required from time-to-time.  People need to push back and make it clear that:

less time = less quality = unhappy recipient

Now, if the recipient is your immediate supervisor, that may be fine.  But, if that recipient is getting an inferior proposal, it may well mean less business!  That's not okay.

It is very satisfying to do excellent work.

How many people do you know who are happy where they work?  Sadly, I think having time to spend on your given craft and getting that deep satisfaction that comes from doing a job well done is getting lost in the modern workplace.  I hate to end my day without feeling I accomplished something worthwhile.  Don't you?  This may be the most important reason to slow things down a bit and allow employees to adequately focus time and effort on producing higher quality results.  Those employees will stay around longer and they will tell everyone about the great place to work they work.  I call that a thing of beauty!



Those Who Work Hard, Get More Work - Reasons People Aren't Engaged

Those who work hard, get more work to do. Doesn't it seem to work that way at least. On the surface it's easy to see why this happens -- the manager needs things done, so work is given it to those who deliver. Why aren't all your employees doing the jobs they are paid to do?




Many under-performers simply lack motivation. In my experience, the top reason people become disengaged is they don't feel appreciated!  The solution is to involve them and solicit their help to move the organizational forward.  Works like a charm!  Most people prefer to come to work when they are recognized for being  part of the solution and not part of the problem. I once became the Director of an organization that was buried in tons of complaints and grievances. In talking with the staff, I quickly realized they felt their work was not being appreciated.  No wonder they saw no reason to put in any effort!  Digging further, I saw some great stuff was being done, but it wasn't being recognized.  By becoming the champion for these great things, part of the organization's morale problem was quickly fixed!  And, when people saw I was advocating on their behalf, additional people started to bring forth their ideas. At that point, I was half-way to turning the organization around.










When you take charge of a group and find you have under-motivated employees, you must deal with this decisively.  Your first responsibility is to challenge everyone who works in the organization to contribute their best ideas and quality work products.  Make it clear anyone who fails to do this will be spending time with you.  Send this message so your good workers know you are on their side.  The bad performers will also get the message.  If you're lucky, some may chose to move-on, while others may go on the defensive and attempt to capitalize your time with their "sob stories." And, there are those who dig-in to wait you out.  Be tough and show them you are serious about leveling the playing field.  Your first priority must be to those employees who are doing their jobs.




Poorly behaving employees often try to make their under-performance your problem.  Don't let that happen!  Bad behavior results from allowing people to act in unacceptable ways without negative personal impacts.  Once every employee has a formal performance plan and/or annual objectives, they know what you expect from them.  Any bad behavior must be documented and dealt with when it happens.  Yes, this will take time and effort.  Keep in mind your good performers will not like getting more work to do -- especially when it's due to you not being an effective manager!




Some employees think their career is their management's responsibility.  Those employees just wait for you to promote them up and out of the organization.  Realize, when you do this, your under-performers win!  And, your performers lose!  You've now become the reason for killing your organization's motivation and morale.  Management is usually the root of the problem.  When allowed to continue, poor behavior can spread throughout an organization, creating life balance issues and even worse complaints.  Good workers will leave and new hires will learn bad behaviors.  Finally, you no longer have a solid base of people you can depend upon to get things done.




Then, your job is a risk!




Nobody ever promised people management was easy or fun.  However, it is highly rewarding when you do the job right -- for everyone involved!