If we are not able to detect and recognize the problem, it is impossible for us to solve it.
Why do I sometimes not manage to do things right? In most cases, the main problem lies in knowing what the problem is. It seems obvious, doesn’t it? But if we are not able to detect and recognize the problem, it is impossible for us to solve it.
In this conversation I am going to propose 5 very simple questions. They are the ones I often use when I try to analyze or solve a personal or professional problem. As you will see, they correspond to the 5 most common reasons why we do not do what is expected of us. I encourage you to answer them, and thus become your own personal coach. They will help you in all areas of human relationships: at home, in the company, in the family, on the street. Through them, you will be able to detect and recognize where you are failing, and you will find alternatives to solve the problems that limit your personal and professional growth. Think that, at the end of the day, the work of life coaching consists of asking the right questions to get to know ourselves better, generate new possibilities for action and improve our relationships with others. In these questions, and in the answers you try to give, lies the solution:
1. Do I have a liability problem? Am I clear about my responsibilities? Do I know what is expected of me?
I have a liability problem when I’m not sure what my responsibilities ares and what is expected of me. That is, when I don’t know if I am really the owner of the problem, and even though I do things to the best of my ability, I cannot meet the expectations of my bosses or colleagues. Another variant of the problem, more difficult to solve, occurs when I adopt a somewhat “passive” attitude towards my responsibilities, and I tend to pass the problems on to others so that they can solve them. In other words: I often “look the other way”, and I hope that someone will come and solve complicated situations. Diagnosis: It is possible that in the environment in which I move, responsibilities are not clearly assigned. Perhaps it has not been explained to me well, and I am not clear about what my main role is within the organization. If so, I cannot be sure what others expect of me. Therefore, I have unintentionally neglected some fundamental aspects and tasks that I am expected to do. It may also be a problem of personal attitude: I am not really motivated by what I do, or I do not feel committed to the team or to the task. What I can do:
I must clarify as soon as possible with my superiors or collaborators what my specific responsibilities are, and what my responsibilities are.
Area of responsibility: what I have to do, and if I don’t do, no one else will. It is something like my exclusive responsibility, the function or task for which I am responsible.
I must be very clear about my responsibilities, because they define what is expected of me, and my contribution is measured by them. It is very important because it is the basis on which we create mutual expectations in our relationships with others.
If I am in a company, I must make sure that my responsibility is not something that I have taken for granted, or have imagined, but that it is agreed with the bosses and collaborators. The same thing happens in other areas. It is useless for me to dedicate myself to fulfilling my responsibility if others do not believe that this is my responsibility and, therefore, do not expect that from me. That situation only generates confusion and frustration.
Think about your family environment, for example. Does what you think you need to do match what your partner thinks you need to do? Do you have a shared view of each other’s responsibilities? If not, and relationships are conflicting or many tasks are left undone, it’s important to start by setting mutual expectations and clarifying what each party in the relationship is responsible for. The clearer, the less conflict.
Am I in charge of a team? Then I must clarify the responsibilities of each of the members, and those of the team in general. This process can offer me a great opportunity to involve my collaborators in the definition of tasks and tasks. If they participate, the role of each one will be agreed upon, and almost all doubts, misunderstandings and excuses will be dispelled definitively.
2. Is it a contribution problem? Am I clear about what my contribution should be? Do I know what I have to do?
I have a contribution problem when I don’t know exactly what I have to do on a day-to-day basis, and I often find myself performing tasks that do not correspond to me. This causes me to come into conflict with other areas and other people who perform those same tasks. Diagnosis: If I do not have people in my charge, it is very likely that most of my contribution is within my area of responsibility. It is possible that the contribution expected of me has changed in recent times – due to a promotion, or a change of area – and it may be that by inertia or routine I continue to do the same tasks that I did in the previous position, and that I have not yet taken on the new tasks. If I have people in my charge, the most frequent problem is that, in some way, I am doing the work of others. In the professional field, this is the typical case of the salesperson who becomes a sales manager, but continues to perform the same contribution as before: that of directly managing commercial operations and relationships with all customers. He has not been able to scale his work, so he will not devote all the necessary time to his new contribution as head of a sales team and, in addition, he will come into conflict with his collaborators – the salespeople – when trying to carry out his tasks himself. What I can do: I must reflect on what are the tasks I normally do. When I carry out my work, do I come into conflict with other people? Why? Do the tasks I do correspond to my area of responsibility? Do others expect me to do work that I do not take on as my own? I must think carefully to try to clearly define what my true contribution is, and what the contribution of the people around me consists of.
Do I have people in my care? So I must think that for teamwork it is always more effective and stimulating to describe tasks in terms of behaviors. I must involve and involve all my collaborators so that they are committed. In some cases, it is necessary to avoid the negative attitudes of the “passion killers”, as well as to overcome the cultural barriers that hinder our performance. I can also let my collaborators present their suggestions and their work proposals to develop the project. If they contribute, they will feel the project as their own, and they will take full responsibility for their tasks.
3. Do I have an accountability problem? Do I really know the positive and negative consequences of my work? Do I know how my work is going to be measured?
When Anglo-Saxons talk about accountability, they are referring to accountability to others, both in terms of economic results and moral and legal commitment. I have an accountability problem when I am unaware of the consequences of my actions on myself and on the people around me. That is, when I am unable to evaluate my contribution: the degree of fulfillment of my goals and commitments to others. This happens when I am not aware that what I do, or do not do, has concrete consequences. In other words, when I don’t care how well or poorly I do my job, because I feel neither pressure nor motivation. Diagnosis: Within an environment, there may not be concrete objectives or rewards that are sufficiently clear and attractive for people who try to do things well. We would therefore find ourselves facing a lack of encouragement. It is also possible that it is a communication problem: I am not informed of how my work is going to be measured, or I have not understood that the way I perform my contribution has positive and negative consequences, depending on whether I do better or worse. What I can do: It is important to avoid frustration and unpleasant surprises. Therefore, I have to be well informed about the methodology, objectives and metrics by which my work is going to be evaluated. It is not in my best interest to go to sleep, and wait for someone to give me a wake-up call. Nor does it make sense to continue working blindly until the next performance review. I must first consider what my expectations are. Are they really based on objective data or am I confusing my wishes with reality? If I am leading a team, I must clearly define and formulate work expectations, and I have to establish mechanisms that allow me to collect feedback. Otherwise, some of my collaborators will relax their contribution too much, and others will create unrealistic expectations, which will soon turn into frustration. I must also understand that it is very important to reward in an exceptional way those contributions that are truly exceptional.
4 Do I have a training problem? Do I have the necessary knowledge to do my job? Do I need training?
The skills and attitudes we need to face our personal and professional challenges vary depending on the responsibilities we have, the contribution expected of us, and the environment in which we find ourselves. It is a mistake to think that with the curricular and professional training I have received, I have enough. I have a training problem when I have not adapted my knowledge, and I lack the new skills I need to face the new challenges and changing demands of the environment. In that situation, it’s easy for me to find that I don’t know how to do something that others expect me to do: it doesn’t matter if I’m responsible or not, I just can’t do what is expected of me because I don’t know how to do it. Diagnosis: For some reason, I’m not qualified to do what others expect me to do. I may not have the knowledge, training, or talent to do the job. Sometimes, it happens that I don’t have the tools, physical or psychological, to do the job. Finally, it’s also very common that I don’t have the necessary resources, or resources commensurate with the challenges and responsibilities I’ve taken on.
What can I do? I must consider life as an opportunity for continuous growth and development in all areas. Learning new things and developing new skills is the best way to continue growing and is the basis of our future employability. Therefore, I must understand this new challenge – for which I do not feel qualified in principle – as a good opportunity. Approaching it from a positive perspective is essential. Otherwise, I will give up before starting, and I will not put my real skills at stake. I have to evaluate the real difficulties. What do I lack to face the task with certain guarantees? Do I need training? Do I need help? Can someone help me break this barrier? Are they tools what I need? Could I achieve it with more resources? How long would it take to be ready? After making these reflections, I have to explain the real situation, with the real needs, to the people who have entrusted me with the task. I will also have to tell them if it is really impossible to meet the initial objectives. Remember that to learn it is necessary to practice, and that new situations require new skills that you will have to develop.
Do I have dependents? As leaders, we must facilitate and stimulate the development of the potential and competencies of the team of people we manage. Demonstration – setting an example – and practice are the best, most credible and effective teaching method. I also have to be learning new things all the time. Otherwise, I won’t be able to motivate the team and detect new needs. I must define the capabilities that the organization needs, evaluating the real capabilities of the team members. Then, taking into account the results, I have to draw up a development plan, and I must make sure that it is carried out. I must consider that, perhaps, my collaborators do not have the experience or training necessary to perform their tasks satisfactorily. This process of re-adaptation requires time, effort and resources.
5. Do I have a dedication problem? Am I dedicating my time to the key tasks or am I only doing what I like?
Do I have a personal diary? In that case, it is very easy to identify this problem. I just have to review my diary for the last month and see what I am spending my time on. I have a dedication problem when I systematically dedicate myself to the tasks that I find most fun and enjoyable, and I leave the time I have left over for the key tasks associated with my responsibility and contribution. An example: I open the email and the first thing I do is review the messages that appeal to me the most, leaving the really important ones for the last minute. Another case: I have changed my responsibility, but I continue to do what I used to do because I am more attracted to it, or because I feel more qualified to do it than my collaborators. The consequence is always that fundamental things remain undone even though I dedicate many hours to my work.
Diagnosis:
I may not be aware of the importance or urgency of the tasks that have been entrusted to me, or that others expect me to do. Perhaps I have not had time to get sufficiently involved in the project. It is very possible that I am relegating fundamental work to the bottom of my to-do list, and that I will never find a good time to solve them.
What I can do:
I must identify those tasks that are fundamental to my development within the environment in which I find myself, distinguishing them from those that are only important or simply incidental. If I only focus on what gives me a little immediate satisfaction, or what is most comfortable for me, I will be seriously limiting and compromising my professional and personal growth. I must think about it like this: “It’s time for me to leave my comfort zone.” It’s time to grow.
Do I have dependents? I must align the work priorities of my collaborators with the expectations I have about their contribution. To achieve this, I will often have to review the agenda, using, for example, a matrix that differentiates between “important” and “urgent” tasks. When priorities change, it is essential to communicate this as soon as possible to all the people involved.
By way of summary
Many times we go over the obvious without realizing it, and when we encounter an obstacle, we start “shooting in all directions” trying to get it right… Fortunately, there are better methods. In my professional experience I have found that, on many occasions, these 5 simple questions are enough to diagnose the origin of the problem, and to put the necessary energy into solving it:
- Do I have a liability problem? Am I clear about what my responsibilities are? Do I know what is expected of me? If you don’t know the answer, you have a problem.
- Is it a contribution problem? Am I clear about what my contribution should be? Do I know what I have to do?
- Do I have an accountability problem? Do I really know the positive and negative consequences of my work? Do I know how my work is going to be measured?
- Do I have a training problem? Do I have the necessary knowledge to do my job? Do I need training?
- Do I have a dedication problem? Am I dedicating my time to the key tasks or do I only do what I like?
In other words: if you are clear about what your responsibilities are, what contribution is expected of you and how you are measured; if you are trained to do your activity and dedicate your time to what is truly important, it is very likely that your performance will be excellent. I would like to know what your experience is.
Discover more from José Cabrera
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
