Stay in Your Lane

My wife and I have endured a never ending saga with a kitchen remodel. It has taken too long and been a grave inconvenience of our life. I wanted to help expedite the project and decided to paint a folding door that separates the kitchen from the basement stairs and guest bathroom. It looked good to me. However, my wife did not think painting was my strength. She suggested that I play to my strength in this project which was babysit the contractors and give updates on their progress. (I still think the door came out nicely. Just needs another coat of paint.)

Often your employees demonstrate good intentions, but miss the mark because they operate outside of their skillset. It is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of your team to give them the right assignments. Their assignments should keep them occupied with enough work to engage their daily focus. If not they will wander around looking for things to do, try to be helpful, and may make a mess. Our task as leaders is to manage efficiency, productivity, and increase value among our team members. This can only happen when everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.

If you are missing a key role player in your team, look for that person among the best eligible candidates. Don't stretch your team by asking them to do tasks to which they are not qualified. You may ask them to step up in their current assignments so a burden will not be created by the absence of certain skillsets. For example, if your team needs a finance person, make sure the other team members double-check parts of their projects requiring mathematical computations before submission. This will reduce errors and eliminate wasted time.

Most importantly, know the capacity of your team and keep them motivated in areas where they excel. Everyone can't cook and some people don't ever need to be in the kitchen. But they know how to set a table, wash the dishes, or make a good drink. You may have team members that are good in leadership, delegation, or organization. Identify that strength and maximize it. That will give them greater confidence in their ability to contribute to the organization. Confidence also increases self-worth and and self-esteem.

Stay in your lanes and you are sure to see a reduction in crashes.