Setting High Expectations Of Non-Performance
Most jobs don’t have a linear relationship between time and output. We all pay lip service to recharging and getting away, but as a nation we don’t practice it well at all.
Whether it’s figuring out how to do a task more efficiently or thinking of a new way to position a product, creativity is at the core. Every department requires creativity (after all, they don’t call it creative accounting for nothing). Stress is the biggest inhibitor of creativity. And without creativity our companies lose their competitive advantage.
How do we minimize stress? Set the right expectations for your team by setting the non-performance bar high. Unplug.
- Don’t send emails after dinner. (Prerequisite: eat dinner at a reasonable time.) If you’re on 24-hours a day, your employees will believe they are expected to be also. Tune out every night. It’s good for you; it’s good for them.
- Don’t call your team members on their cell phones. Unless the building is on fire or you’re about to have a meeting with a member of Congress your question or thought can wait until morning.
- Don’t count vacation days, unless they aren’t being used. If you’re team works hard and gets their work done then a few bonus days here and there don’t matter. But make sure that vacation is being taken. Not a day here or there, but extended periods.
- Carve out free time. Don’t squeeze every minute out of your team’s day. Ask people to share interesting articles they’ve read with the team, for example. A half-hour here and there to think or read about things you enjoy doing instead of what you have to do will spill over into new ideas.
- Reward creative thinking, not time invested. Encourage your people to work smarter, not longer. Ideas may come in the off hours, but it’s the idea that should get recognized rather than when someone is sitting in their chair.
Sometimes less really is more.
Related posts:
- Creative Leadership
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