Are you playing Whack-a-Mole today?
In this article, Jayne Rhodes from J2People, explores the human tendency to work on the ‘urgent/now’ issues, and shares some practical reminders of how to lift up out of the day-to-day ‘Whack-a-Mole’ mayhem.
Have you ever played the game ‘Whack-a-Mole?’ I’m sure you know of it, where you get a large hammer and hit the mole as it pops up randomly from different holes. When I see my kids playing it now, I see the quick buzz of adrenaline they have for being on target. In the workplace I often see this immediate buzz of completing a pop-up task, but sometimes it is at the expense of focusing on longer-term priorities and strategy.
Why is it that so many organisations talk about the importance of developing a high performing culture, but in reality, their focus is on the day-to-day, urgent-now priorities that need to be actioned? When we pause and reflect on this, we all know deep down that tackling the immediate challenges facing us each day is not going to help us improve performance in the long run.
Many organisations are conscious of their day-by-day focus, and the need to elevate up into more strategic thinking to ensure success in the longer term. However, the short-term mentality can be hard to change, and it’s fair to say as a result it has become a natural way of working for many, and a whole business language has also been fostered around operating in this way. Do any of these phrases sound familiar to you?
‘We need to stop firefighting’
‘There are a treadmill of issues to deal with’
‘We are too reactive and not proactive’
‘It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon’
‘We don’t have the capacity to pull out of the urgent/now tasks.’
‘We need more resources’
‘We are too busy to work on the improvements required’
And the list goes on…
As humans we enjoy the short-term buzz from getting something done and making others happy. It feels good to complete a task or help others, giving us an injection of positive feeling in the short term. However, flitting from one thing to the other, getting our quick fix here and there, feeds short-term reactive thinking and in turn lower levels of productivity and overall performance. What is the true impact of functioning in this way? There will always be urgent-now issues for most businesses. However, you need to achieve the right balance of tackling them and building your business up to be fit for the future at the same time.
How I take a step back and reflect
Climbing a daily treadmill of problems can be draining. When I personally feel drawn into that way of working, I step away (physically) from my work to get some perspective. I take a helicopter view of what I’m doing, visualising in my own mind my place of work from above and looking at what I am actually doing on the ground. I ask myself, what value, if any, am I creating? I reflect on why I am doing what I am doing, my priorities and what I am (or not) achieving. Sometimes we need to stop and challenge ourselves to observe what we are naturally drifting into.
It can be a dilemma though. We do like being busy people, don’t we? We enjoy and gravitate towards the easy stuff. We naturally don’t think too deeply and resist more complex challenges. We then justify our actions by rationalising them in our own minds and rewarding ourselves when we resolve an immediate crisis. Before you know it, this way of working becomes the norm and we become accustomed to it as a natural way of working, embedded in our organisational culture.
What can you do to elevate out of the urgent-now?
Here are a few tips to help you maximise your effectiveness at work..
Ask yourself ..
• What did I achieve today?
• What value have I created?
• How can I be more productive tomorrow?
Watch out for becoming a master of procrastination. To me procrastination means putting things off that I don’t really want to do for a while and finding alternative things to fill my time so that I still feel busy. In these circumstances I find easier or more enjoyable tasks to do, rather than focussing on what is really important. Can you relate to procrastination? It’s important to be self-aware of what you are doing so that you can remain in control and not delay or miss something really important.
Planning and managing your time is important to keep you focussed on key deliverables, and limit the temptation of dealing with trivial distractions. Identify your key priorities and how you will manage your time to achieve them. It’s not about working harder, it’s about focussing your mind, applying yourself in the right way, and being organised and disciplined with what really needs your immediate attention.
So, don’t play ‘Whack-a-Mole’ today, play chess instead! Be in control, it’s never too late to make a change.
Let’s talk..
J2People are an HR Consultancy, we are passionate about supporting businesses to enable their employees to thrive in the workplace. If your team is struggling to prioritise and achieve long-term goals, J2People can help you. We can help diagnose the root causes of dysfunctional teams, and help your teams work better together to improve performance. Please get in touch at hello@j2people.co.uk or visit www.j2people.co.uk
