Imagine a workplace where showing up on time is considered a superpower. Welcome to the reality of modern management. Don’t put on your cape yet…
If I were to ask my high school self, “Can you imagine spending your days teaching adults how to help other adults be adults?” I would have laughed in my own future face, told myself to go make me a sandwich, and turned the Nirvana back up on my headphones. It’s a future I could not have fathomed. It’s a present that I still cannot fathom. How can certain rudimentary things come so naturally to some people, yet be so cripplingly hard for others? It may just boil down to intent.
Let’s get something clear, right away. This piece isn’t aimed at people who can’t do algebra, wax poetic with perfect grammar, or who were generally considered not good in school. It’s quite the opposite. There are some functions that are so basic that it’s generally expected that an adult, of sound mind, would not have to be taught to do them. Yet, managers at all levels, throughout the entire spectrum of workplaces, are baffled when those expectations are not met.
Since this subject cannot be contained to a simple blog post, we’ll set our focus on retail automotive for the examples. However, from circle to circle of friends and colleagues, many of these basic elements are the same, so readers from outside the automotive community may also be able to empathize. Let’s take a look at the most common “skills” that aren’t considered skillful and are no longer considered common:
The Punctuality Paradox: Showing Up Ready for Work
This may be the most common lamentation from all of the cat wranglers and leaders across the land. How many times have you watched the clock strike nine, only to witness:
- A coworker walk in, still on the phone with their significant other, with no intention of wrapping up the conversation?
- Someone drop off their coat at their desk, walk out, and immediately light up a cigarette?
- A person who immediately opens the newspaper (yes, those are still a thing)?
- An employee who instantly opens their phone to order coffee through DoorDash?
Yes, we know that these can be extenuating circumstances, but we KNOW there are also people who are chronically guilty of it, including managers. It doesn’t matter what line of work that you’re in now, or in the future for that matter, this behavior is cancerous.
This problem is twofold:
- There is a customer, patient, or client waiting with a need for something that has been requested. Even if the guilty party doesn’t have to face that person, their actions can delay deliveries, create penalties for breaking deadlines, and in some cases, even endanger the life of someone in a critical situation.
- It wastes the time of coworkers who are interdependent of one another. The time is compounded by the number of people who are waiting on the time-waster to proceed forward with what needs to get done (e.g., ten-minute smoke break x five people waiting on smoker equals fifty minutes of wasted productive time).
This often causes a chain reaction that ensures that everything is late for the rest of the day, despite everyone frantically cutting corners, skipping meals, and ignoring alerts just to catch up (further gumming up the works).
The Pride and Ownership Problem: Taking Responsibility for One’s Work
From those that come from a certain upbringing, this one hurts in particular. How many times have you watched someone do what can only be described as a completely half-assed job on something they were more than capable of doing? It’s usually before they half yell to the person nearest to them, “Welp, that’s good enough,” as if everyone else should also be complicit in the dickery.
These are the same people who:
- Leave streaked windows after washing them
- Leave a Brazilian strip of grass after mowing the lawn
- Drop a pair of shoes at your feet to try on at a shoe store
- Hand you the keys to the cars to test drive (BONUS!)
- Obliviously watch an elderly person struggle against the arctic wind to open the door for themselves
No matter where we go, we’re surrounded by people who operate this way. Up and down the ranks, people show up to work (on time or not) just to completely mail it in. In particular, managers who engage in this behavior metastasize a cancer of corner cutting that takes years to cure, if at all.
If it’s OK for the boss to not spell check or write like they’re tapping out messages on a Nokia from the nineties, why should the subordinates? If the manager has a thousand incomplete tasks, why should the subordinate be held accountable for thirty incomplete tasks? The subordinates should absolutely do those things, even if their manager dies from being lazy. However, if the culture is one of taking the path of least resistance, even the “overest” of over-achievers will give in, or likely just move on.
The Caring Conundrum: Cultivating a Caring Attitude
Standing on its own, or combined with the above, so many leaders I know find themselves baffled by those who just straight-up don’t care. Those times where you walk into a place of business to not be greeted by a single soul. Those times when you hear phones continue to ring and all the people with name tags are just talking amongst themselves. When people quit their jobs by not showing up or returning phone calls. What’s astonishing to some is the norm for others.
How many times have you heard these phrases from a coworker?
- “That’s not my job”
- “The cleaning people can take care of it”
- “Do we get paid extra for that?”
The bare minimum only applies. Any more written about it would further crush spirits.
Leading by Example: A Manager’s Guide
Read any book about management written since the twentieth century, and one will find a common thread: It’s the manager’s responsibility to offer the tools for success. However, there is an extremely broad interpretation of what those responsibilities are.
For some, there is federal and/or state licensing, testing, and certifications that can easily be leaned on. For other managers, there are the resources for internal test creation and administration, detailed guidebooks, and even full-time trainers. Yet others simply have a sink-or-swim mentality, using a Darwinian reasoning that the strongest will survive, making the organization stronger as a result. There is a full spectrum of possibilities when it comes to offering the tools to success. However, just offering said tools isn’t enough.
If any of us has a person working for us, it’s our responsibility to explain and demonstrate our expectations, no matter how simple they may seem. Here’s how:
- Show up earlier and already be working when your team gets there. If you’re late, apologize for wasting your team’s time.
- Remind your team that their productivity is important and the respect is mutual.
- When you need to miss work, let those above AND below know it, while also having a plan to distribute responsibilities in your absence.
- Define clear deadlines and the outcomes for when deadlines are missed.
- If you demand perfection, demonstrate a commitment to perfection:
- Ensure your written communications are clear and free of visible errors.
- Follow the defined process should the work be turned over to you.
- Smile or nod at customers, acting like you appreciate them being there when introduced.
- Walk customers to their destination when they ask for directions.
If your organization is particularly concerned with how your team presents itself, take ownership of that:
- Keep yourself well-groomed and dressed appropriately.
- Offer to help team members with their appearance if necessary (e.g., buying shoes, uniforms, or offering grooming assistance).
To boil everything down, if you want those around you to care, you must actually care. Not just those who work for you or around you, but everyone you come in contact with every day. Your position should never be too important to pick up the phone if it continues to ring. Your title should never be too lofty to not stay and fold chairs after the company picnic, empty a wastebasket if it’s full, grab a hose to help clean a car, or lend a hand when you see someone struggling.
The Common Sense Revival
We can no longer make assumptions about what’s “common” or “sensible” anymore. And, while we can’t control the actions or inactions of others in our lives, we can certainly control how we react to it. If you’re the critical type, and the one pointing the finger, make sure the three fingers pointing back at you are leading by example.
By demonstrating the behavior you set to exemplify, it provides multiple examples of the difference you are seeking to create. This builds the foundation for laying out your expectations and teaching others what they’re expected to do. When you see your teammates walking-the-walk, not just talking-the-talk, you’ll know you’ve built the common sense you felt was missing.