Pay Attention! Part III, Tune In

This part 3 of the Pay Attention series is the final piece. Originally, the whole Pay Attention post about maintaining situational awareness was one post but my editors (i.e. my kids) felt it was too long and so it was divided into two parts. The second part grew and became two parts, then the third part grew...I won’t bore you any longer with the details of it’s etymology except to say this post is closely tied to listening.

Since we’re on the topic of Situational Awareness and Paying Attention to our surroundings in an effort to accomplish our mission, let’s approach our conversations with a data mining strategy. I already expressed that you need to be looking around and listening which are more or less passive functions. Conversations, on the other hand, can be an active form of gaining situational awareness. I find that I can data mine during a conversation by asking questions and paying close attention to what’s said and what may be left unsaid. Questions are also helpful in conveying interest and promoting conversation just as they are useful in getting the answers we seek. Remember that a large part of this entire exercise is to express genuine concern for your team. It’s good for morale.

Smart and polite conversational engagement with team members, colleagues, and customers can pay huge dividends. These dividends come in many forms: improving morale, gauging the climate of the team, strengthening of relationships, honest customer feedback, etcetera. The focus here is gathering information to enhance your situational awareness. People generally speak to an issue from their viewpoint. Attempting to see things from that person’s viewpoint can help you better understand what’s actually being said/expressed/conveyed/shared. The better you know the person you’re conversing with the better you’re able to see things from their viewpoint.

So, the first big key in conversational engagement with your team is knowing your team. This means knowing each individual. Of course if your team includes 500 people spread over three states, the depth of your interactions is probably a good gauge of the level of personal knowledge you need. If an occasional hello, while passing in the hall, is all you have for interactions with that team member you probably need to know their name and not a whole lot else. However, if she’s running a major project for you, you’ll want to know more about her professionally than just her name.

Asking questions, in a thoughtful and judicious manner, can provide you with a mountain of information; while vague or pointed questions only provide limited and sometimes guarded responses. These same questions also help us demonstrate to our team that we’re aware of their contributions. With that in mind, here’s some of my personal rules: two DO’s and three DON’Ts.

DO ask relevant and specific questions.

This will “cut to the chase” and express to your team member that you have a real interest. It shows you’re paying attention. The best example in day-to-day life of what not to ask is “How are you?” It has become another form of hello and isn’t an expression of concern over their well-being. A specific or relevant question would involve noting a specific condition or life event such as “How’s the knee healing?” or “How are those wedding plans coming along?” This shows a real interest and opens a dialog. I know this isn’t necessarily a work related example but hopefully you get the idea.

If you want to know the status of a task or project, it should be for operational reasons and not just to fill a box on a briefing slide. So, asking a generic open-ended question, such as “What’s the status of XYZ project?”, isn’t typically productive in providing information. The individual you ask has to determine what information (and the pile of information could be huge) is relevant. Instead, you decide what information you seek. Figure out what specific information about the project will give you the type of status information you want, then ask a question. Perhaps you can find a key element within the project that should have just been completed, or very near completion, and ask about it. Avoid yes or no questions and shoot for questions that require quantitative answers. For example, if the electrical rough-in should have been completed yesterday, you could ask “Heard there were some issues with the electrical, what was the final fix?”

Follow-up questions and questions that come up during the course of a conversation are important, too. These can often help the speaker know if you are understanding what’s being said. Besides showing you’re still engaged, it can direct the conversation back to the point. If the individual talking is particularly long winded, I have a tough time remembering the questions I want to ask (based on the current conversation) and therefore have a tough time abiding by my self-imposed rule “don’t interrupt.”. With the long winded ones, I will interrupt to ask a pertinent question because I can use it to get the conversation back on track and possibly skip ahead a couple of chapters, if you get my drift (bonus points if you noticed the pun).

DO ask a question that can help you frame the issue and get a more accurate gauge of the situation.

In much the same way as asking a relevant question, framing the issue helps you establish the proper perspective for the conversation to avoid emotion or irrelevant tangents.

Perhaps you have a situation where you know emotions are running high, an angry client and frustrated project team. You’ve smoothed some ruffled feathers and set the client up to meet with the major team players on the project, to work through some issues. “How’d the meeting go?” would likely only provide you with the emotional climate of the meeting. “What were the top three take-aways?’ would direct the conversation to the business at hand. You’ll be able to gauge the climate of the meeting by the tone of the answer without it being the dominate issue.

Many times people will avoid talking about subjects especially when they are not following policy or not making appropriate progress on a task or project. Because certain direct questions come with implications that appear to accuse the listener, it can put them on the defensive. That’s the reason I like to ask seemingly innocuous questions in a sort of fishing expedition. This way I attempt to avoid implying an accusation before having all the facts. Accusing someone of wrongdoing, whether implied or direct, is serious business and costly to a relationship, professional or otherwise. A noncommittal, indirect approach allows me to broach a subject without having to establish where I stand on the issue. This allows the other person to talk about the subject without becoming defensive. Once they’re talking it’s a short step to fact finding.

A quick and easy example may be in order. This isn’t work related but I hope it conveys my meaning. The 3 year old grandchild is supposed to eat her vegetables or at least have what grandma calls, a “No thank you” bite. If I ask the question “Did you eat a bite of your vegetables?” I risk the implication of wrong doing if she didn’t, instance defense mode, tears possibly. Instead I’ll ask, “How was the vegetable, did you like it?” or “Did you want grandpa to put some butter and salt on your vegetable?” or, and this is probably the bee’s knees, “Would you like some ketchup for your vegetable?” In any case, I’ll have my answer as to whether or not she’s taken a bite of vegetable. Of course if she hasn’t had that bite, that’s grandma’s problem...I’m in charge of dessert.

I’ve always believed I was good at masking my intentions but I do remember one particular incident where I asked a “nonchalant” question (a fishing expedition) and got the response “Why do you ask?”. I replied, “just asking.” Her reply, “All the time I’ve known you, you never just ask a question.” Guilty as charged!

DON’T be satisfied with evasive or non-quantifying answers.

“It’s coming along just fine” was an answer I would hear from airmen in response to an inquiry about the progress they were making on their mandatory self-study program. The translation was typically the same in every case, “I haven’t even looked at it.” If you have a project manager working a project and his answer is “It’s coming along just fine”, set up a time to review the project with him. People love to brag about success (I don’t mean that in a negative way) so if the project is coming along just fine there will be more of an answer. Of course, if you’re following the “Do” ask questions rules, you might avoid getting this sort of answer in the first place.

Maybe the trick is to pay attention to verbal trends.  So often, people will use particular words and phrases in similar circumstances. If they use certain phrases when avoiding issues, it’s a good bet when you hear that phrase in an answer to your question, you need dig a little deeper. Keep that objectivity in mind. Don’t take offense that you’re not getting a straight answer and be mindful there may be more of an underlying reason than just laziness or an obstinate personality.

DON’T ignore what isn’t being said. Read between the lines/identify the real issue.

Sometimes the speaker’s knowledge on the subject is limited. They speak to the issue based on what they know but aren’t able to fully express it. On many occasions I have encountered the following scenario:

A manager tells the maintenance guy “My office thermostat doesn’t work.” The maintenance guy goes to the office and tests the thermostat. It passes all the function tests. He returns back to the maintenance department and signs off the work order. Complaint comes back “My office thermostat still doesn’t work.” The pissing match begins. Hard feelings develop and communication shuts down. Real listening would hear, “There’s a problem with the room temperature in my office.”  Let the troubleshooting begin.

DON’T be distracted by what people say….

Complaints are a common place where the real issue(s) gets masked. Say a member of your team is complaining about a task he thinks is ridiculous and redundant. It could be he doesn’t perceive how that task fits into the big picture. Of course, it may just be a ridiculous and redundant task. If your team is complaining about working conditions, they may just not understand what working in a salt mine is all about (insert appropriate “tongue in cheek” emoticon here). You can try to address complaints based on their face value but often they are just a symptom of a more general discontent. One example ties this thought with the idea of differing viewpoints: Toilet seat up or toilet seat down?

I’m not sure this is even a thing anymore but at one time it was a huge public debate. I remember it back in the day when I was newly married. Wives were pissed at their husbands for not returning the toilet seat to the down position (more bonus points). It seemed to become a near deal breaker in terms of relationships. To my wife and me it seemed to be a humorous, bordering on sad, state of affairs to end a relationship over such a trivial issue. I think most would agree that there had to be deeper issues at play than the mere position of a toilet seat. If the seat position is truly the issue, the fix is an easy compromise: everybody closes the lid when finished (should be done anyway but that’s just my opinion).

Now, I’d like to use this toilet seat example and segway into an example of differing viewpoints and how they affected the debate. In this case it’s all about approach. As a guy (I’m a guy, just check my pseudonym) I have spent my life approaching the toilet face on. Silly to approach it otherwise. However, my wife has spent her life backing up to it. I can tell instantly, because it’s staring me in the face (figuratively, I’m not that short any more), whether the seat is up or down. The same is not true for my wife, she’s not looking in that direction. So, unless the woman grew up in a house full of boys, she probably hasn’t had to develop the habit of checking the seat position first. If it isn’t down, the consequences are extremely shocking followed directly with infuriating. His view “What’s the big deal?” but her view “I’ll kill someone if that happens again!” Two very different viewpoints.

Another key to communicating during a conversation is picking up on verbal and nonverbal cues. If you don’t know that I have a very dry and deadpan sense of humor, much of what I say, and the verbal/nonverbal cues, can be confusing. Most people, however, give off plenty of telling verbal and nonverbal cues when they talk. I covered some types of verbal cues in the “Do’s and Don’ts” and some nonverbal cues are next but a quick google search provides more material on the subject. Watching and listening for these cues can help keep you engaged in the conversation (kinda like a challenge) and direct your tone. Here’s my personal rules of thumb on nonverbals.

Observe the obvious ones and don’t overthink it.

I generally stick with the obvious nonverbal cues but I routinely watch even the obvious ones blow right by other people. It just takes a little practice and you must to be paying attention. Please remember when dealing with people, you can’t apply cues as rules but merely guidelines. Each person is unique and may not fall neatly into the “typical” category (I like to think I don’t). In any case, if you pick up from their nonverbal cues that they’re not on board with the current conversation: back up the truck, end the conversation, or take a brief digression (something to get their attention or lighten the mood).

Agitation shows up in the facial expressions but I’ve also been told that crossing of the arms is a sign. To me, overt physical body language of that sort is getting close to aggression and I try to calm that before moving ahead. What you do to calm things depends on what is causing the agitation. If it’s the presence of another individual, you may have to ask that person to step away for a minute. Maybe the agitation exists because the person feels you’re going to reprimand them for something. In this case, you can start a “digression” in your conversation about an unrelated or non-job related subject. I typically pick something like the local sports team but any popular yet benign subject will do. There are rare occasions when I will use the agitation. If I have a team member who tends to bottle things up, it sometimes works to get them just agitated enough to spill the beans on what’s been eating them (some more bonus points). Once that shell is cracked of course, I move back to plan A and calm the situation but now I have some feedback with which to work.

Distractions happen often in conversations but when the person is actively searching for a distraction, like checking their phone or computer screen, you’ve lost them. If your calendar can afford it (i.e. you have time to wait), you may have to walk away and come back when the circumstances are more conducive.

Boredom shows up when their eyes glaze over or the spot on the wall over your shoulder becomes the focal point of their gaze. If you notice the nodding head you have to wonder: are they actually agreeing with me, providing an affirming visual feedback, or simply relying on muscle memory to placate the speaker?

So, after three separate posts on Paying Attention to reach Situational Awareness, what’s the motivation? Why do I feel such a strong urge to know so much about what’s going on around me? Well it AIN’T to micromanage, at least it shouldn’t be.

Like a quarterback, you need a strong sense of what’s happening on the field to make the most of every play. Situational awareness allows you to make appropriate adjustments to maximize the players’ effectiveness and thus gain the greatest yardage. You can also think of it like a chess game with checkmating the opponent as your final objective or destination (mission accomplishment). To be effective, you need to know where all your pieces are on the game board and what their current role (guard the king) or objective (take opponent’s rook) is so you can plan the moves ahead.

At the risk of sounding repetitious, PAY ATTENTION!...it’s your job.

Low Hanging Fruit

I grew up around orchards. In fact, one town I lived in was known as the “Fruit Basket of America” and was surrounded by miles and miles of fruit trees. It wasn’t until much later in life that I went apple picking. We were living in Calcium, New York and my wife announced we were going to Mexico to pick apples. I was a tad confused but figured I’d heard her wrong and she must have said something that made sense. No, that’s what she said. I wasn’t sure about driving all the way down to Mexico just to pick apples so I queried her further on the subject. She was adamant about picking apples and had made arrangements for our neighbor, a large family, to join us for apple picking in Mexico. I was interested to see her logistical plan for getting all these people, they had six kids and we had three, to Mexico and back...she’d plans to drive there, we would each take our own car. Fortunately, I discovered, she had found an apple orchard in Mexico, New York...just down the road maybe an hour. That was my geography lesson for the day. There was so much fruit, ripe apples, on the trees you could fill your bushel basket in minutes. It was a day trip with a picnic lunch so we weren’t in a hurry. The trick was to find the type of apples you like and pick some of each. During this and subsequent outings of this sort, I noticed the fruit near the tree tops looked bigger and juicier (don’t ask how, they just did). I also watched people trying to snag those luscious-looking morsels. The effort put into procuring a ladder, getting the ladder situated, climbing up, and picking those two or three apples seemed a bit much. Especially since I had nearly filled my basket while I watched the endeavor. Those apples they snagged on the top branches looked delicious, and they seemed proud to have procured them, but my family needed more than two or three to do all the things we planned to do with apples. My point, low hanging fruit is easy picking and can provide an abundant payoff.

Every assignment or new job, where I was in a position of authority, I told myself I would start off slow. “Don’t shake things up too much,” I would tell myself. Give yourself and your team time to get situated and familiar with one another. I learned over the years that just wasn’t me. Status quo always included too much ripe, low-hanging fruit for me to resist the temptation to just start picking. Whether it was outright regulatory violations, outlandish scheduling practices, or just a physical environment that would make a hoarder salivate. Things had to change. Not those grandiose items that are boasted about in company newsletters or award events, but just day-to-day crap that HAD to be fixed. Hence, I earned the nickname AssHole everywhere I went. Fortunately, most of the workers, at least the ones I retained, had a different opinion of me by the time I left but it was always an uphill battle, at least in the beginning.

Having said that, about waiting until I got situated, I have to say I had learned long ago, before reaching a rank or position of influence, that a lot of bad practices within an organization are only noticeable to the newcomer. This meant they would be overlooked if too much time lapsed so they needed to be corrected pronto. I also learned that many, which appeared to be bad at first, were perfectly sane once I had time to figure out why they were done the way they were done. So what I’m suggesting is the trick to picking low hanging fruit is knowing which are ripe and ready for picking and which should be left alone, or given time to ripen, if you will.

The idea of picking low hanging fruit is meant to convey minor adjustments in the operations. Rather than instituting a total course change or making major organizational structure changes, you tweak the current system and/or steady the ship to tack a straighter course. You can plot a better, possibly whole new, course over time as you get a better feel for the operation but, in the meantime, you can correct many of the problem areas. These corrections will make a future course change (if needed) easier because you won’t be bogged down in bad habits and inefficient practices.  

I also found that many “managers” can’t manage to get to work on time much less any tougher tasks. This leaves a wealth of ripe fruit on the lower branches for the next one in that position. So much so that working long hours and pushing my team hard still left enough on the tree to have some fruit rot (a metaphor for getting burned by not fixing a predecessor’s deficiencies soon enough). What I’m saying is, you have plenty that’s easy picking for a long time before you’ll need to be ready to attack that gorgeous fruit high up on the tree (that new and better course), so relax and just keep picking.

With that in mind, I’ll return to the orchard setting. Think of the typical outing to the local U-Pick apple orchard. The results can be amazing and be felt for the better part of a year. On the other hand, the outing can be frustrating, physically exhausting, and leave you with little to show for the effort. It all depends on your approach to apple picking. On each tree you’ll see low hanging fruit as well as bright and beautiful fruit way up high on the top branches. You can ignore the plentiful, “average looking” fruit within reach and deploy your team on a mission to reach the top branches. After much time, effort, and risk you’ll leave the orchard at the end of the day with bragging rights on a few show pieces. Or…

You can pick that low hanging fruit all day and leave with enough fruit so that every team member can feast on it for a good long while. The company may not recognize you with an award, your resume may not reflect a grandiose accomplishment, and your team may not even recognize your selfless act.  You will, however, accomplish much needed corrections to the overall efficiency of your organization.

At first your people may take offense because your challenging their comfort zone. “We’ve always done it this way!” is the typical battle cry of those that call you AssHole behind your back (another story for another day). Most, eventually, figure out you’re moving them forward and they’re learning new and proper procedures...knowledge they can use to grow and advance with. Their duty schedule smooths out giving them “real” time off and their work environment becomes clean and organized. Resources to help them do their job better appear almost overnight and customers stop harassing them; actually start treating them like professionals. All possible from a little effort to pick that plentiful low hanging fruit.

One simple example, that comes up almost everywhere I’ve worked, is vendor selection. Most companies have a policy in place but departments routinely ignore it and use a favored vendor instead. In the case of office supplies, I have managed to improve the efficiency of obtaining supplies and cut spending significantly (without any reduction in supplies) just by enforcing the company’s vendor selection policy. The toughest part is typically the whining and crying by the soon-to-be previous sales rep. The staff, however, quickly figure out they were now getting superior products and service at cheaper prices while spending less time on ordering. This stretches their budgets and allows them more time to focus on other aspects of their job.

The next common example is scheduling and I’ll steal an example from my father’s playbook. He was the Police Chief of a relatively small town, in the San Joaquin Valley. Not nearly as small as the small New Hampshire town I live in with a population of 800, but small in a California sort of way. One of the first things he noticed was an issue with the schedule. His fix, which I’ll give you in a minute, didn’t increase or decrease payroll (with a very minor exception). In other words, no change in the number of patrolmen nor a change in the number of hours they worked. The exception was some minor changes in shift differential pay. What he did was not some new or innovative approach but an application of experience in police work as it applied to scheduling.

The original schedule was marked by three standard shifts with set number of patrolmen on each shift. Police work is similar to retail in that there are busy times and quiet times and not all are in 8 hour increments. Since shift change brought the entire force into the police station at the same time, it left the public unprotected 3 times a day, everyday, for the length of shift change. So he staggered the shifts. Not every patrol car would shift change at the exact same time. On top of the need for constant coverage by patrols you also have the busy times that need greater coverage. For this he did two things. First, he overlapped some of the shifts so he had near double coverage during the busiest times and significantly less during the quiet times. Second, he thinned out the quiet shifts even further and used those patrolmen to beef up the busier shifts. Good things happened as a result: response times improved, crime rate dropped, and their visibility to the public increased. The entire police department’s image improved in the eyes of the public. Easy, peasey.

Yes, there was blow back. Almost always will be but if you’re doing the right thing (mission first) for the right reason (Integrity first) just grow your skin thick enough to weather the storm.

In my dad’s case, all that well deserved good press for the entire police department got smeared and lost in the personal attacks on the police chief that were splashed all over the local newspaper’s op/ed pages. The two big gripes from the Labor Union weren’t centered on public safety as you might guess. One gripe was the loss of shift differential pay by a couple of patrolmen when they got moved to another shift. The other, if I remember correctly, was the actual shift assignments. Certain officers didn’t like being moved to a busier shift. The team members who are all about self-interest usually show their hand in these cases. It makes the decision of who to keep (mission oriented team players) and who to get rid of that much easier.

These are just two examples of low hanging fruit, vendor selection and scheduling, that I’ve encountered time and again. You can save a lot of money to use elsewhere, improve working conditions and morale, and increase efficiency by leaps and bounds...just by picking that low hanging fruit.

Pay Attention! Part II, Listen Up!

You must learn how to listen, it’s part of paying attention.  Listening isn’t really all that complicated but to do it effectively you need to bare in mind two basic principles. First and foremost, you must never be a respecter of persons. It will distort what you hear as well as what’s said (people know, they can sense it). You want to establish yourself as someone who listens regardless of the social or professional status of the speaker. Second, and maybe just as important, you need to remain objective. Leave your emotions (and ego) out of it.

In the workplace, on matters pertaining to the mission or task at hand, we have to set aside our reactive emotions and practice the humble art of listening. I’m not saying we shouldn’t practice this art socially as well, I’m saying as a leader you need to practice it to be truly paying attention, or obtaining Situational Awareness.

I like to use a few basic rules to help me actually listen to what’s being said.

Don’t jump to conclusions.

This shuts down listening before the conversation is even concluded and leaves you devoid of any knowledge of what the speaker had to say. It will frustrate the speaker and may have a negative effect on future conversations.

Sometimes words will have a particular meaning to us. When used by the person speaking, we think we know how they mean it and we draw a conclusion. This conclusion can be wrong without the rest of the context to clarify what their intention truly was. This includes hearing something we don’t like because we’re anticipating it. We think we know ahead of time what the person will say or how they’ll react. Possibly you’re anticipating opposition to your point of view and start your rebuttal in your head before the person has had a chance to complete their thought. This is a good way to miss what is being said

Don’t hear what you want to hear.

This is a variation of the previous issue of jumping to conclusions. Here we misinterpret what is being said based on preconceived notions. Maybe you want affirmation on a policy decision and “hear” an agreement when they’re giving you reasons that state otherwise. Remember to always approach your interactions with as much objectivity as possible.

Often times I hear the expression, “I hear what you’re saying but…”. I have found that rarely the listener (I use that term loosely) is actually hearing what I’m saying. They have a preconceived notion of the subject matter and attribute to me all the baggage they’re carrying on that subject. They react to words or phrases without considering the context or the speaker’s perspective.

Don’t interrupt...unless it’s a discipline thing.

I’m probably the hardest person not to interrupt. I tend to start in left field and work my way to home plate. It’s particularly difficult for my wife. She’ll read the epilogue of a book before starting the first chapter so getting to the point is big with her. My approach drives her crazy. It’s okay to interrupt, politely, to ask that they get to the point (which is what my wife says to me all the time) but to just cut them off so you can interject isn’t constructive. The interruption can completely end a person’s willingness to continue talking and you lose whatever ideas they were presenting.

If it becomes a conversation that is best not held in public because of privacy issues or it’s digressed into a potential disciplinary situation, interrupt! Move your conversation to your office before you continue. You know the rule “Praise in Public, Punish in Private.”

As an example of application, or rather non-application, of these points about listening, I’ll recall an old exercise of mine from my younger days. To prove the point (proving points for absolutely no earthly reason is a personality flaw of mine) that people just don’t listen carefully enough to what others say, I crafted a sentence. I would say it on occasion to watch people’s reactions and test their objective listening skills (or just to push their buttons).

The sentence was based on many years of experience spent on the road riding a bike, both bicycle and motorcycle. I obeyed the laws of the road and was a cautious and defensive rider. I eventually lost count of how many times I was nearly killed or run over by “elderly” women drivers. They weren’t being mean or intentionally aggressive toward a “biker,” they were just unaware of my presence.

I can still see in my mind’s eye one of my first such encounters on my motorcycle. I was cruising Main Street, small town USA, at about 20-25 mph. Main Street was ideal for cruising because all of the stop signs were on the cross street giving any and all traffic on Main Street the right-of-way. As I approached an intersection of one of the cross streets, I saw a car stopped at a stop sign waiting to cross. I looked the driver right in the eye to make sure she saw me and she looked right back at me. She then proceeded to cross in front of me as if I wasn’t there. I screeched my tires, as I braked to avoid hitting her, to make the point that she was cutting me off. The squealing tires apparently made her realize, for the first time, I was there. She looked genuinely surprised (jaw dropping, eyes-bugging look of shock) and slammed on her brakes stopping her car directly in front of me. I stopped my bike (a little more dramatically than I needed to), just looked at her while waiting for her to move, and then continued on my way. It would turn out to be the first of countless more.

So, my sentence started with “I drive better drunk…”. At this point people would go crazy with the verbal slappings. I knew that the first part of my sentence, as a stand alone statement, was indefensible and even ludicrous. I was rarely allowed to finish the sentence and on those occasions when I finished it, no one was listening. My riding experience had taught me that what I would have said, had I been allowed to complete my sentence, was accurate. The rest of the sentence was “...than a lot of old ladies drive sober,” (sorry Mom). It was never my intention to complete the sentence (nor to disrespect my elders) I just loved to watch people: jump to conclusions without listening to the context, only hear what they wanted to hear, and then interrupt me before I could finish. I eventually got tired of the verbal slappings so I quit the exercise.

Objectivity is key to helping you listen effectively. Please keep in mind that setting aside your emotions doesn’t mean setting aside compassion or empathy but simply viewing things objectively. Maintain your professionalism and realize your objective is to move your team forward to mission completion.

My Horse Barn Analogy

Many years ago I took a course in Situational Leadership. It was very helpful in adjusting my view of my workforce. More a broadening really than an adjusting. It proved to be a good management tool for determining the needs of my human resources. Though, in my eyes, it was more focused on managing workers, it did allow me to see just how ludicrous it is to pick a style of “leadership” and feel content to just play that role. Leaders are on a trek and have to assign duties that move the troops forward at the most efficient pace regardless of where they fall on the social and job maturity curve. This means determining what your resources are and how best to use them to achieve that goal.

I have a couple of favorite analogies that I use to categorize my workforce resources. You can’t overlook your managerial responsibilities to provide training resources for the growth and improvement of individual team members but as a leader you have an objective to reach. This requires you to apply your resources effectively.

I’ll share one analogy that starts with a barn of horses. Different horses have different traits and perform different kinds of work. I tend to use just a few examples for my analogy: Thoroughbred race horses, cow ponies, plow horses, unbroken studs, horses ready for pasture, and horses ready for the glue factory. Knowing who is what in your workforce can help you manage your expectations and possibly prevent you from assigning the wrong person to the wrong job.

I’ll give you my take on each category but keep in mind it’s only an analogy and nobody will fit perfectly. Also, you shouldn’t take an analogy too seriously because it’s not reality. I’ll start with my favorite type of horse/worker and work down from there.

Cow Pony. Typically, a good cow pony works hard all day. Most of the time the rider’s along for the ride and only provides a minimal amount of direction. This horse is versatile and is good at many tasks whether keeping the herd together on a long drive or cutting out calves for branding. They can work long hours, run fast when needed, and need very little personal attention. They are the ones I’m always glad to have onboard.

Plow Horse. Another hard working group but they need someone at the reins providing direction and encouragement. They excel at one or two functions but beyond that their effectiveness drops off sharply. Given the right job they will serve you well and provide things others would be hard pressed to accomplish. They aren’t as fast at their work but they give a strong overall performance.

Thoroughbred Race Horse. I use this or the Quarter Horse because they’re both fast and strong. They’re also very high maintenance. You can give them a special assignment or project and watch them run with it. It’s a thing of beauty. However, one small pothole in the track and they can be useless until the leg heals. They have to have a jockey to keep them on the right track, hold them back when necessary, and spur them on at times. To me they’re usually more trouble than they’re worth but we don’t always have the luxury of picking all the players on the team.

Unbroken stud. Lots of potential but it will take lots of time, attention, and patience before any real work gets accomplished. Again, we don’t always get to pick. With this worker you have to start documenting any performance issues right off. I tend to lean on the Performance Improvement Plan type documents rather than the 3 strikes approach. Remember, there is potential but with that potential there is also unpredictability, and danger.

Pasture Ready. This is the worker who’s counting down to retirement. Gobs of knowledge and no motivation. I have tried hitching this one to a plow with another plow horse but with limited success. If they have a good attitude you can let them around the others and it’s fine. If they’re cranky you have to find a task/job that limits their contact with the rest of your team. The cranky ones tend to nip and kick any nearby horse.

Glue Factory Ready. Document, document, document. You cannot afford not to document. You may have to pretend to use the Performance Improvement model but make sure you’re counting the strikes on paper. You don’t want the count to go above three. Their presence in your workplace can only be disruptive so if the maintenance department is looking for a volunteer door stop...send them.

My favored view of cow ponies may come from the fact that they fit my preferred leadership style so well. It could also be that my view is prejudiced by an experience from my youth. Growing up, my big sister had a little cow pony (must’ve had half a dozen brands on his backside). He stood only about 14 hands and my parents never worried when she was riding old Sox. She rode him in horse shows and even in gymkhana events. He was easygoing and cooperative but competitive and liked to run. As small and old as he was he did not cotton to being behind another horse in a race. I remember running side by side, my sister would let me ride him, against a horse a couple hands bigger and several years younger and Sox was holding his own. On the other hand, we could load him up with three or four of our little cousins and give them rides around the yard.

I know it’s simplistic but I use this sort of approach when I’m reading resumes and interviewing potential employees. I don’t want a race horse to plow with, it doesn’t matter if the resume says he can do it. A good cow pony though can probably plow okay and is extremely valuable in so many other ways...just my opinion.