This is a guest post by Tom Cox, leadership consultant, author and speaker.
One of the most common, and tragic, causes of poor work performance is that everybody assumes the definition of “good work” is obvious, so nobody ever seeks explicit agreement on what it is.
When the boss (that’s you) doesn’t define “good work,” things can get bad. For example, I live in Oregon, where you are not permitted to pump your own gas. You have to stand around and wait while an attendant pumps it for you.
While standing around, I recently started watching gas station attendants, and over a few weeks I noticed three in particular who stood out.
The first attendant was always smiling, always took an extra moment to say “Hello” to each customer, and seemed focused on making sure that every customer who came through felt noticed and appreciated. I called him Mr. Happy.
The second attendant was always scanning the station for where the next empty pump was and looking to see which pump had just finished filling or was about to. If a line formed, he dashed over to direct waiting customers to the next empty pump. He was clearly making sure that wait times were minimized and that the station’s throughput was maximized. I called him Mr. Flow.
The third attendant seemed to be focused on taking the fewest physical steps possible. Instead of walking over to you with your receipt, he would stand at the pump and hold the receipt out, expecting you to walk over to him. If you didn’t, he would take the fewest steps he could to lean over your car toward you and make you reach for it. He seemed focused on preserving his physical energy. I called him Mr. Turtle.
So, which of those three was doing “good work?”
It’s a trick question. We have no idea. We don’t know what their boss needs from them. We don’t know what the limiting factor is on station profitability or what customers experience as value. If customers in this area care more about a pleasant interaction (Scenario 1), the first one is doing the best job. If all customers around here care about is wait time and they drive off at the first hint of a line (Scenario 2), then the second one is doing the best job. And if the owner’s biggest problem is attendants burning out and chronic labor shortages making it hard to serve customers (Scenario 3), then the third one is doing the best job.
When “good work” is undefined, it creates confusion, lost profit and conflict.
Confusion
For the new worker, the situation is confusing. Which experienced worker should the new worker emulate — Mr. Happy, Mr. Flow, or Mr. Turtle? Confused workers lack certainty. They may try different things, seeking one that will be praised or that will work. Ultimately, they may just decide to pick the approach that “feels best” to them, secretly worrying that they picked the wrong approach. Their morale can never be high because they can never be sure they’re doing “good work.”
Lost Profit
For the owner, profit is lost. When 2/3 of workers are pursuing a sub-optimal strategy, they are not doing “good work.”
| Worker Strategy | Customers Value Happy Service (Scenario 1) | Customers Value Flow (Scenario 2) | Worker Shortage (Scenario 3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Happy | Maximizes customer satisfaction | Annoys customer who values flow by providing unneeded cheer | Burns self out, leading to staff shortage and long customer wait times |
| Mr. Flow | Annoys customer who values cheer, as Mr. Flow minimizes customer interaction | Maximizes customer satisfaction | Burns self out, leading to staff shortage and long customer wait times |
| Mr. Turtle | Annoys customer who values cheer, as Mr. Turtle minimizes customer interaction | Annoys customer who values flow, as Mr. Turtle provides slow service | Maximizes customer satisfaction |
Conflict
Workers care about doing “good work.” When they see another worker doing the work “wrong” it annoys them, and when the boss doesn’t clarify or comment, it annoys them even more.
When “good work” is undefined, workers have to guess. If they are confident that they have guessed right, they will dislike or despise other workers who are “doing it wrong.” They may cast aspersions at them, criticize their mental powers or work ethic, or try to cajole or coerce them into doing it “right.”
There’s no amount of conflict resolution skill that fixes that — yet it’s easily prevented when the boss clearly defines what “good work” means for each job.
Moral – Defining Good Work
Ask your workers in each role what constitutes “good work.” Have them write their answers silently before comparing. Then share your own thinking, and allow them to persuade you if it’s appropriate. Create a shared definition of “good work,” and then acknowledge it and appreciate it.
Tom Cox is a consultant, author and speaker who coaches CEOs and business owners on how to get better results through more effective leadership. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Tom earned his four-year degree in psychology in just three years, with honors. Tom believes that Eudaimonism, the philosophy of human thriving, is humanity’s best hope for creating engaged and productive workplaces.
Tom on Leadership by Thomas B. Cox is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://tomonleadership.com.
Photo Credit: www.freeimages.com/photo/hands-2-ok-hand-1241594
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