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April 2006

Your Job Is Making People Uncomfortable

Are you comfortable? I hope not. I presume that when you read this column, you feel challenged--challenged to do something different, to try something new.

Those kinds of challenges always make us a little uncomfortable.

And that's good, because that's how we improve ourselves. This also applies to those we're leading.

I thought of this recently when I was talking to a CEO about facilitating a meeting for several of his managers, whose units were underperforming. He was a little hesitant when he realized we would discuss, among other things, performance of the various business units.

The CEO said that these managers weren't used to having business unit performance discussed so publicly. And the CEO didn't want to do this because it would make the managers 'uncomfortable.'

I said, 'Often, my job is to make them uncomfortable. If we wanted them to be comfortable, we'd let them keep doing what they're doing.'

As leaders, we often find ourselves in the role of change agent. We might not always think in those terms, but implementing change is what we find ourselves doing, in one way or another.

And people usually are at least a little uncomfortable with change. That's why they call it 'getting out of your comfort zone,' and it's true.

If you're leading a business unit that's underperforming, and want to improve the unit's performance, you must make at least some of your employees uncomfortable.

I don't mean that you have to threaten them with dire
consequences. Yes, telling them they could get fired will certainly make them uncomfortable, but it will also induce fear in them. And you know from January's column what I think about fear in the workplace.

OK, maybe some people in an underperforming unit are close to losing their jobs because of poor performance. And being straightforward requires us to be up front about this. But this probably doesn't apply to everyone in the underperforming department.

(But if it does, and you're the leader, you'd better be feeling very uncomfortable, too. If you're not, you will be soon!)

For most of the others, though, you need to point out that they're not doing the job. On an organizational level, they're letting the company down. But they're also letting themselves down, because they're not working up to their potential.

As leaders, we have an obligation to be straightforward about this. And knowing that they're not working up to their potential should make the underperforming employees uncomfortable, and ought to spark better performance.

This also applies to star performers. Sometimes we need to make them uncomfortable, too. I haven't come across anyone who's reached perfection yet (although I've met a few who think they have), so even star performers can improve.

Remember, as leaders our job isn't necessarily to make people comfortable, or even happy.

No, we must provide them with the tools and environment that promotes their working to their potential. They should be into continuous improvement, never being content with the status quo, but always striving to achieve more.

That may make them uncomfortable for a time, but it also will lead them to success.

Somebody once said that a leader's job is to create the
environment that allows people to be successful. I agree with that. Sometimes that environment has to make people uncomfortable, because that's the way to get them to improve.

If you're entertaining guests in your home, or if you're out with friends, make people comfortable. But if as a leader you want people to change, make them uncomfortable. Get them out of their comfort zone, so they can improve.

Are you comfortable with your own level of performance? What are you doing to make yourself uncomfortable enough to change? In the same way, what are you doing to make others uncomfortable, so that they can achieve more?

Until next edition, keep leading the way!

Copyright (C) 2006 by Terry Wall

 

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