Its not always about being better or not trying hard enough
Someone recently said something to me, “If people aren’t succeeding, it just means they aren’t trying hard enough” and in that was implying that no one has an excuse so to speak for not doing well and in this case was referring to academics and careers. Like others are not enough or don’t try hard enough?! I was, as you may expect horrified that someone would say such a thing and think that we are all the same. We are all different, we are not going to all be Doctors or all be Builders, or Cleaners, or Accountants, or Telemarketers, or Retailers and so on. We all have different circumstances, desires, dreams, capabilities, interests and passions and that is what drives us down different paths. Gosh, where would we be if everyone was Doctors or Lawyers or anything for that matter! We need diversity!
What this did lead me to think about however was how this attitude of not enough or being better, plays out in the workplace (of course! As I do!).
You may have witnessed, been involved in or managed a situation where someone has been in a role and they start to work out what they like, what they don’t like, what they are good at and what they are not – and hopefully what they are passionate about. This usually unfortunately ends up in a performance management process (because they need to be ‘better’) and leads to termination whether it be voluntary or not just because of the part of the role they aren’t good at (or haven’t mastered yet) or don’t like. What would be great, would be if we could work with employees a little (appreciating business requirements) and use their strengths and passions and not punish them for their areas yet to be mastered! Why not change the role to suit to really get value from the employee. I know this can’t always be done but sometimes it can so it would be advantageous to the organisation to at least consider. I have written about this in a previous blog – Gallap’s data shows that employees understanding their strengths makes them 7.8% more productive and teams that focus on strengths every day have 12.5% greater productivity. And, even better, their studies show that using employees’ strengths leads to improved health and wellness outcomes. The more individuals can use their strengths, the less likely they will experience worry, stress, anger, sadness or physical pain. This is what we love at HR Business Direction. We are passionate about both helping our clients get a ROI from their people and creating working environments that support and promote mental health. This allows us to make a true difference in society – for businesses and individuals (and why we are supporters of RUOK? in the promotion of regular and meaningful conversations).
Another place my mind unfortunately went, was the disrespect for those that aren’t as intellectually gifted (after all, all our attributes are gifts!) let’s say. From my experience they are usually good human beings with so much to offer and excel with passion in other areas and therefore will be drawn to occupations that suit their passion and interest. This really saddened me to think that someone thinks that these people don’t work hard enough, are not enough, need to be better or aren’t as good as the person whom made the statement. This attitude can lead to discrimination and we all should know by now that we need to celebrate differences and sometimes reasonable adjustments can and should be made. Whilst a little off track, here is an example of a case from some time ago now but the sentiments are the same – or a blog written some years ago which talks about perceptions that need to change – I still agree! My experience with those seen to be ‘not succeeding’ usually do in fact try hard and work hard. And let’s not forget about the benefits of diversity in the workplace; more innovation, enhanced creativity, increased productivity and problem solving, increased employee morale and engagement just to name a few according to Diversity Australia. It also demonstrates a commitment to fairness, equality and social responsibilities and therefore other benefits come from that as well.
We can’t always be 100% productive and maybe even passionate and therefore not ‘trying hard enough’. Employees personal lives do impact work performance and productivity, but that’s OK, we are all human and we all feel things, have emotions and will therefore be impacted from time to time with the things that happen in our personal lives. I actually wrote a blog about this too – From talking to various business owners from time to time you hear, ‘I’m not responsible for my employee’s personal lives’ and this is correct, BUT once you appreciate that personal lives do, in fact impact on performance and productivity then you might take a closer look at supporting and managing the impact of those things that impact employees – which impact on productivity. I am not suggesting you control your employees’ personal lives, but know them, talk to them and genuinely care about them because then you will be able to do the best thing for them and the business. Individuals spend a quarter to a third of their life working and let’s not forget the workplace also has an impact on personal lives too. Also, the workplace environment has an impact on productivity and a cause of such is poor leadership.
This type of attitude of, ‘people not trying hard enough’ can grow into poor leadership. A good leader, whom get the most out of their people for the business need to be role models and an effective role model doesn’t establish principles concerning the way people should be treated with this attitude. They create standards of excellent as an example for others to follow. An effective leader actively involve others, they have mutual respect and create an environment of trust and human dignity and make others feel capable and powerful. An effective leader recognises the contributions that individuals make. An effective leader would not have this attitude and when they don’t this poor leadership in the workplace leads to decreased productivity, decreased innovation and creativity, teamwork, low morale, high turnover, need I say no more.
Not only can this attitude grow into poor leadership and teamwork but it can and does also create unfavourable workplace cultures, a culture (values, attitude and practices that guide employee interactions at all levels) that doesn’t support the goals of the business. Leadership and Management, work practices, people along with other things play a huge role in influencing workplace culture. Again, from a previous blog – The business environment in general has high competition, disruption, and operates in a not so great economy. A lot of businesses essentially do, or offer, the same thing as their competitors. But what makes them different is their culture and what drives or strangles their vision and success is their culture. It could be your strongest asset or your biggest liability. Culture is the bridge between strategy and the people who carry out the strategy. Google implemented a 20% time program which resulted in the creations of Gmail and AdSense.
Other things that come to mind with this attitude, thought or belief of others not being enough or others don’t try hard enough, is that some employees don’t want to spend their time working, they aren’t driven by money or materialistic things and they want to spend their life differently. They want to be in different roles to be able to have that lifestyle but that doesn’t mean they don’t try hard doing what they are doing either.
Please don’t make assumptions about people or view them as not working hard enough or not good enough, we have all different paths to follow. Diversity in the workplace should be embraced. Get to know who your employees really are, what ignites them, encourage diversity and use that to increase your performance and productivity in the workplace whilst promoting positive mental health. Using their passion would be far more productive than focusing on what hasn’t been mastered yet or doesn’t want to master. Select and develop good leaders, create a positive culture because its not about employees needing to be better or not trying hard enough.
At HR Business Direction we can help to maximise the performance and productivity of your team whilst ensuring positive mental health of all involved. Contact us here.
Leisa Messer BBus(HRM); GradDipIR; FCPHR
Managing Director | HR Strategist
leisa.messer@hrbd.com.au
07 3890 2066
www.hrbd.com.au