Why Team Members Don't Do What They're Supposed To Do

And What To Do About It

Rational Endurance

Workers remain surprisingly resilient Resolute in their focus on getting the job done Workers are presumably trying to preserve

their own job and financial security Rational Endurance may be good enough to

get an organization through a few difficult years

But it will not yield the level of workforce performance required for longer-term success

Emotional involvement or commitment (seesaws between obsessive engagement and ambiguous detachment)

Workers" level of engagement in their work Just under 1/5 are highly engaged (freely giving

that extra effort on an ongoing basis)

Another 1/5 are disengaged ( they probably have "checked out" from their work, as so many employers fear)

The remaining 3/5 are moderately engaged at best

Workers" level of engagement in their work

Why does this matter? Engagement remains the ultimate prize for employers

Workers" level of engagement in their work

Think of the human power driving the financial and operational engine

The greater the power, the better the engine performs on multiple levels, all things being equal

Workers" level of engagement in their work

Intuitive belief - that highly engaged people do outperform others

There are clear links between workers level of engagement, their focus on customers and aspects of their organization's financial and operational performance.

Workers" level of engagement in their work Diminishing cooperativeness and engagement is

all about risk Risk that the moderately engaged will slide

toward increasing disengagement Risk that resiliency will harden into difficult to

manage Risk that job performance will erode over time,

with serious consequences for financial results Risk that, as the economy begins to rebound

and the job market opens up, the less than fully engaged employees will seek other employment

Risk of facing serious gaps in skills and talent in an environment where people are arguably the last source of competitive advantage

Workers" level of engagement in their workOpportunity lies with the small number of

highly engaged , who can become role models for their peers, helping build the kind of environment and work experience that does engage greater numbers of people

Workers" level of engagement in their workChallenge, by contrast, lies with the large

number of moderately engaged. Left to their own devices, these employees could easily slide toward the wrong end of the engagement scale, with serious consequence on productivity and morale

Whey team members don't do what they're supposed to do

The 10 Reasons Why team members don't do what they're supposed to do

They don't know why they should do it

Reason for nonperformance

"They don't know why they should do it" is the easiest for managers to accept because it is so logical without explanation

Problem

Managers usually describe this reason for nonperformance in different ways They don't think it is important They think it is not worth the effort They don't want to do it They don't have a reason a reason for

doing it They say "Why should I do it?" They don't care

Preventive solution

The reason for doing things must be important enough to employees to influence their choices of how to perform when the boss is not watching

When you want people to change for the purpose of improving productivity Explain the problems in detail Explain the goals in detail Discuss the solutions in detail Explain the expected benefit of success Expected agony of defeat

They don't know how to do it

Reason for nonperformance

Frequently managers view this reason as similar to not knowing what they are supposed to do, but it is totally different

Problem

Sometimes managers mistakenly assume that telling employees is teaching them

Demonstrating is one method of teaching without telling

For learning to occur, it is necessary for employees to practice (simulations)

Preventive solution

Choose a role model Allow employees to make mistakes

and fail

They don't know what they are supposed to do

Reason for nonperformance

This means literally that people do not know there is a specific task they should perform

Problem

Early warning is an employee's response to a boss's request with "That's not my job"

Big discrepancy between what managers think is the employee's responsibility

What employees think they are supposed to do

Preventive solution

Improve efficiency and eliminate performance problems - jointly develop job descriptions

Ask your employees to tell you what they are supposed to do

Describe job requirements in behavioral terms

They think your way will not work

Reason for nonperformance

When employees thinks your way will not work, they have a logical reason for not doing it your way

Problem

This refer to the occasion when your way is effective, but your employees do not believe it

Preventive solution

Have the employee present their options to the project

The burden of responsibility is on you, the manager

Announce that you will take full responsibility for the outcome

They think their way is better

Reason for nonperformance

The emphasis here is on their way, not yours

Problem

This situation refers to employees having misinformation about how successful their method is compared to your method

Preventive solution

Realize that innovation in a general sense thinking of or trying something new

Before the work begins, discover whether this problem exists in any given situation

They think something else is more important

Reason for nonperformance

Management and the employee disagree on the priority of the events

Problem

I haven't had time to get to it yet I didn't know you were in a big rush

for it I had a few other things to take care

of That will be the next thing on my

list I can do only one thing a time

Preventive solution

Label the work according to its priority when you assign it

When work priorities change, let the employees be the first to know

You need to better manage you frequent changes and "hot priorities"

There is no positive consequence to them for doing it

Reason for nonperformance

They simply don't understand what a positive consequence is from the employee's point of view or how rewards affect performance

Problem

People do things for which they are rewarded

Performance that is rewarded will increase in its frequency

Rewards reinforces the good performance

Preventive solution

Deliver rewards as reinforcers for the performance you expect and pay for

Verbal compliments should be specific about the things done

Inspect what you expect

They think they are doing it

Reason for nonperformance

These employees were not doing what they were supposed to be doing because they thought they were doing what they were supposed to be doing (this is not double talk)

Problem

When you leave me alone, I know I am doing a good job

We must be doing okay because there have not been any speeches about quality lately

I must be doing okay because you always tell me when we make too many errors

Preventive solution

Organizational performance should be posted for all to see

Providing feedback increases productivity dramatically without making any other changes

Record achievement rates, not failure rates

If you have to give feedback about poor performance, focus on the performance -- not the person

They are rewarded for not dot doing it

Reason for nonperformance

What manager in his/her right mind would reward employees for performing badly? The answer is that most managers do it daily as an unconscious act.

Problem

Employees who do difficult tasks poorly are given only easy tasks to perform

Employees who are difficult to control receive job assignments giving them a lot of freedom

Employees who repeatedly complain to the boss about certain work assignments are given those work assignments less frequently

When employees make errors in their work, the boss corrects the errors

Preventive solution

First step is to analyze the consequences you deliver when employees fail or cause you problems

Do not reward employees for nonperformance

When employees make errors, require them to correct the errors

Reward employees for the opposite of what you want

They are punished for doing what they are supposed to do

Reason for nonperformance

The employee who approached the boss in the interest of the organization was punished for that approach "What have you people screwed up this time?"

Problem

The employee who does difficult work well is assigned all the difficult work

The employee who makes suggestions at meetings get to do extra projects to carry out the suggestions

The employee who attempts to do something for the first time and fails is faced with the inherent punishment of failure

The employee who comes early and stays late is called the eager beaver by fellow workers

Preventive solution

To remove the punishment, change your behavior that actually deliver punishment

Provide a reward to balance the punishment in those situations where the work is punishing

The High Cost of Change Failures

The High Cost of Change Failures

Loss of jobsLoss of energy Loss of trust Loss of respect Higher stress

The High Cost of Change Failures

Fragmentation Depression AngerDiminished risk taking Loss of credibility

The High Cost of Change Failures

Trouble at home A change in management’s

attitude GamesLess to go around Craziness

Seven Unchangeable

Rules of Change

Seven Unchangeable Rules of Change

People do what they perceive is in their best interests

People are not inherently anti-changePeople thrive under creative challenge People are different

Seven Unchangeable Rules of Change

People believe what they see The way to make effective long-

term change is to first visualize Change is an act of the imagination

Overcoming Resistance

Overcoming Resistance

Good ideas creates an aura of hope Hope inspires some people but

causes others anxietyAnxiety prompts resistance Resistant trash is good ideas

Overcoming Resistance

Fear - People are afraid of failingLow energy – unwillingness to

commit to the change Inertia – we’re doing it the other

way for so long

Overcoming Resistance

Memory – people have been challenged before and lied to before

Percentage – people want to know what the payoff for them will be