You cannot find peace by avoiding life—Ayn Rand
Most of my clients come to me because they have encountered some turbulence in their work-life. Typically, this can be a bad boss, a difficult project that is a no-win assignment, backstabbing colleagues, or even difficult customers. The list is endless.
When people come to me with a problem they are facing at work they are looking for me to tell them, Here is a silver bullet and if you aim it correctly all your worries will dissolve and give you the salvation you are looking for. They are often surprised when I probe further and ask them to provide me the details of the problem, who the key players are, and what constraints are in place to allow a viable solution to the problem.
The reason for their surprise is that they think that having been the working world for nearly 50 years they surmise that I have seen every combination of organizational problems and that I know how to solve them.
Wrong!
Although most challenges people encounter at work fall into a few predictable patterns, each problem is unique because of the variables involved. Also, how a client can apply an approach to dealing with their problem is also unique and cannot be generalized to achieve the right outcome. Often, midcourse correction is required to bring things back on track and people are often unpredictable, and a fluid and volatile situation can make the outcomes uncertain.
So, my guidance to my clients is often the same: define the problem in tractable terms, let us find key vulnerabilities in the system to attack the soft spot, and let us come up with a plan of attack to prepare you to overcome and even conquer the problem, because it can come back to you later in some other way with very similar manifestation and then you would be able to deal with it expertly. This is how you grow and deal with life!
Very rarely do I tell my clients to walk away from a problem, but that occasionally does happen. In one case my client’s health was so threatened by the toxic atmosphere that his boss had created that I told him to quit his job that day and take some time off before looking for another. I think that this action saved his life. Just the day before that he was admitted to the ER with severe heart problems and when he was sent home to rest, his boss asked him to report to work the next day to complete the project, without a single word of sympathy for his plight!
So, if you are resigned to your situation at work because of its apparent hopelessness here is my guidance to you:
- Define the problem situation in objective terms and find out where you are failing to meet your obligations in the scheme of things. This is the hardest part to come to terms with.
- Once the problem statement is clear it is easier to develop alternative solutions to deal with the problem. In the overall scheme of things find out what the most direct and most vulnerable part is in the system where attacking the problem with the minimum viable solution will change the dynamic of the situation and things will start shifting.
- Find out who the key players are and your key allies. Always have your key allies inside the organization in line with your plan of action and get their guidance and cooperation. Keep them updated with developments so that you can get ongoing insights about what you may want to do differently.
- Have an overarching strategy by which you are going to leverage the problem solution. Have all the tactical items arrayed to manage the problem resolution as if it were a project you are leading to completion.
- When you suffer setbacks—and you will in complex situations—go back to your original strategy and see what you need to adjust to make that strategy work. Make changes as needed.
- Know what the end game is and when you have achieved the outcome you considered acceptable. Enjoy your conquest!
Very rarely does one encounter intractable organizational problems. So, in most such cases do not just walk away from them, use them as a proving ground to validate your leadership capability and win.
Good luck!