As I look out of my window at the neighbourhood children riding their bikes and skateboards, memories of my old school yard days come flooding back. I remember as school kids, we would be running around the yard playing tag, while others would be playing handball, and the aspiring footballers amongst us would be kicking a Sherrin in one corner of the yard. Then when lunch was over, we would get ready for our PE (Physical Exercise) class. Fridays were the best part of the week as we would be outside the classroom longer than normal.
I remember our sports teacher Brother Edmond would get us to go to the sport's room to collect all the gear; rope, balls, hoops, coloured vests and all the usual sporting paraphernalia. The school I went to, St Francis Xavier College in Perth prided itself in sports. Students were encouraged to get involved in the various activities available.
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On the sports field, Brother Edmond would split us into two teams, get us to stand on opposite sides and give us a long rope, so thick that some of us could hardly get our hands around it. “Pull!” he would shout, and suddenly we found ourselves in a practical application of physics, aka a “tug of war”.
Each of us would have a different technique, a different hand grip or a different leg position, some were stronger, some weaker, some tall, some small build, but all with one purpose and objective to pull the other team across the white marker in the middle. Whether we won or lost, at the end of that exercise, we would walk away to another activity, with arms across each other’s shoulders, laughing and carrying on, and hoping we could be doing this every day.
In our workplace, we again find ourselves amongst different people with different abilities, stature, experiences, and skill sets, but all with the same objective of pulling together in one direction, which is usually the organisation’s objectives.
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In his book “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff At Work”, Richard Carlson hones in on those who are highly productive or who have an intense work ethic wondering why everyone else isn’t like them. He writes, it can be frustrating for these people to observe, work with, or in some cases, even be in the presence of people whom they perceive to be less productive than they should be, inferring people who appear to get less done than they could. For some reason, these highly productive people see such colleagues as ‘not pulling their weight’. They than harbour this perception personally and allow it to bother them while they are working.
Carlson observed that many such “overachievers” don’t even see themselves as achievers, but rather as ordinary people who simply do what it takes to succeed or get the job done. He summarizes that they honestly do not understand why everyone isn’t just like them. Carlson shares an experience of a super-achieving man who insisted that he wasn’t an overachiever, but just believing that most other people were simply underachievers. The man wasn’t intentionally being arrogant, but rather that was how he saw the world. He honestly felt that most people don’t work hard enough and almost no one lives up to their full potential.
We can sometimes have a similar attitude that while we are working hard and, ‘sweating’ over a project, assignment or fulfilling a customer order, others are not. Carlson writes that if we really believed this to be true, he could imagine how frustrating that would be and how irritated we would be most of the time. We would be programmed, he writes, to see everything that wasn’t getting done, or that could or should be done, differently. We would see the world in terms of its deficiencies, he continues.
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While this might be an extreme view of things, we may fall into periods when we are thinking this way. If we do find ourselves ‘at the edge’ of these feelings where we are focused on the deficiencies of others, which may be a challenge for those who are “overachievers“ whether they see it or not, we need to realize and understand that other people have different priorities, work ethics, comfort levels, gifts, abilities, and mind-sets.
People see things from entirely different perspectives and work at vastly different speeds. Carlson also reminds us that different people define productivity in very different ways.
I remember the time when I was a stock picker at a retail distribution centre. This was during my University summer vacations. Knowing that I would be working for pocket money for three months, I would go hell-for-leather in completing my orders. While picking stock and stacking them on my trolley, I would observe that the older and more experienced store-men would not be rushing 'crazily' as I did. They were not at all slow by any means, they would meet their individual quota, but they would pace themselves or have a chat with a fellow store-men or a passing forklift driver mate of theirs while still working.
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While I'd describe my productivity as displaying youthful exuberance, I wouldn't say that I saw myself as an 'overachiever' focused on the deficiencies of my fellow colleagues. I was never irritated by them, and was only glad that I was able to earn some money working for the three month at the distribution centre. They had always welcomed me back at the end each academic year. I had become very good friends with them when I graduated.
For those who have the extreme view of "I'm working at my productivity while the others are not", as described by Carlson, an easy way to come to peace with this productivity issue is to pay less attention to what other people are not doing and put more emphasis on what we get out of our own level of productivity. Whether they be financially, energetically, emotionally, even spiritually. In other words, it’s helpful to admit that we prefer to be a highly productive individual, irrespective of how others view their performance, but more importantly how we may view them. It is a deliberate choice we make as individuals, if we choose to be a highly productive individual.
Carlson writes that this choice comes with certain benefits. For example, we may feel better about ourselves than if we were less productive or feel that we are fulfilling our mission or living up to our potential. Perhaps, by working at a high productive level we are able to make more money or enjoy our work more than would be otherwise if we were less productive. The prospect of being personally more financially secure for the future, or having an increased likelihood of opening career doors becoming a possibility, are all benefits a highly productive person could achieve. Or it may simply be that we are able to alleviate anxiety by getting a certain amount of work done each day. In other words, we have several payoffs that are driving our performance.
Therefore, Carlson adds, we should not be a victim of those people who make different choices, or who, for whatever reason, are not as productive, at least according to our standards. So, to put this into perspective, Carlson suggests it’s helpful to think about our own work ethic, preferred pace of work, and overall ability to get things done.
It is very important for those in leadership roles to understand such nuances in the workplace. There may be many reasons why each member of a team is working at different productivity levels. The task of the leader is to ensure that each member is working towards their potential. As leaders, we are responsible to be the best we can be in ensuring our team achieves the desired outcome.
To those who wrongly perceive others as underachievers and therefore become frustrated and irritated by their output, Carlson puts forward a series of questions we can ask ourself, “Do I base my productivity choices on what others think I should be doing?”, “Am I attempting to frustrate and irritate others by the pace of work?” While these may not be the case, our choices are the result of our own rhythm, preferred pace of work, and desired results.
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The same is true for everyone else. Each person decides from within himself or herself how much work is appropriate, all things considered. Everyone must weigh the pros and cons, consider the tradeoffs, and decide how hard they are going to work, and how productive they are going to be.
It is important to realize that we are all dependent on other people such as colleagues, coworkers, subcontractors, and employees to adhere to certain standards and levels of productivity. While we should not ease up or lower our personal standards of work ethics, Carlson suggest, that there’s a way to look at varying levels of productivity in a healthy and productive way, as opposed to getting ourselves upset and taking the productivity of others personally.
As I have found in the many years of working with diverse people across various organisations and departments, it is important to be able to maintain a personal perspective on 'the what' and 'the why' for doing certain tasks. As I keep my own stress levels under control, it’s easy to bring out the best in people without making them feel defensive or resentful. This applies to leaders too, as they should regularly perform a self-evaluation on their own perspective of 'the what' and 'the why' they are leading.
Carlson ends by challenging the reader to examine their own subtle demands and expectations of their work. Carlson writes, once we accept the fact that it’s not personal, we will probably be able to lighten up enough to appreciate the differences in people and the way they choose to work. "We will feel more peaceful and relaxed", Carlson concludes.
So as a leader we not only need to be aware of and tolerant of our team members' capacity and choices to be productive, but perhaps we also need to find a way to encourage them to reach or fulfil their true potential. It is about motivating them to change their choice decisions plus giving them the wherewithal to achieve, by either removing barriers, creating incentives or provide more ability through training and encouragement.
Source: Media from Wix
At the end of a day’s work, all of us must feel that we have all contributed to the success of the organisation we are working for, be it a school, the company, or our own business. And just like at the end of the sports day, we walk away arms across each other’s shoulders, reflecting on what we have done together, sharing each other’s efforts, receiving rewards and the joys of having pulled in the one direction and having got ourselves on the right side of the white marker.
Source: Photo by Duong Nhan from Pexels
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