Routines | PeopleSense Consulting

Lazy dog daze of summer

On July 6, 2011 / Managing, Motivating / 5 Comments

What else is there to do on a nice day but to hang out in the grass with a meaty bone?

In New England, there are only a few weeks of warm, sunny weather in the summer – if you’re lucky. So when the sun is out and the temperatures are perfect, it’s wise to take advantage of it. The last week or so has been that kind of weather. Temperatures have been ideal, the sun has been shining, it’s past-season for black flies and apparently a little too dry for mosquitoes. What a miracle – no bugs!! Only the occasional short thunderstorm during a late afternoon has come through to interrupt our beautiful days.

Summer is the time to enjoy and rejuvenate. We all need to take a break from our whirlwind, and while having perfect weather shouldn’t be a requirement for when you get away from your routines, it’s an excellent reminder. Even if you take five minutes or perhaps five hours – go ahead, make it five days! – do make sure to take time for yourself. Find something that makes you happy. When you return to your work, others will notice the difference, and you will, too.

It’s (s)NO(w) April Fool’s Joke!

On April 1, 2011 / Change, Graceful Leadership / 9 Comments

Grace running ahead of me this morning through the heavy, wet snow falling on April Fool's Day

The weather forecasters prepared us for this. But Grace didn’t see it coming. The look on her face this morning as she exited the door was like: “Come on. You-have-got-to-be-kidding-me. Enough of this!”

But like any good trooper, she persevered and made the best of it while we were out. She even had a little fun, but was definitely ready to come back in much quicker than normal (right now she’s happily curled in her warm bed).

I think that changes in our weather patterns often make for more productive work days. The six inches of heavy, wet snow we awoke to painted a new landscape for us and it automatically entices us to think differently about the things we’re about to do. Some (like myself) love the snow, others (like Grace and my husband) are ready for spring. But all of us are going to approach the day differently today than we would have without this storm.

I know I put that bone here yesterday!

Found it!

It’s easy to get stuck looking at the same things in the same way. The volume of work keeps us running at a frantic pace and it’s hard to slow down, to get a fresh look. So take advantage of nature’s way of slowing us down. If it’s sunny and warm where you are, look for another way to mix up your day.

Can we go inside now?

There are lots of ways to change things up that don’t require building snowmen (though that would be an interesting thing for a team to do that wants to examine how they work together!). Start a meeting with an icebreaker topic that you’ve never done before. Or stop by and chat with a co-worker for five minutes and ask: “What’s the best thing about working here? What could we do better?” Be open to the ideas. What treasures are buried that you can unearth by using a new approach of thinking about it?

Go have some fun today!

Some people crave a process — others hate it!

On March 11, 2011 / Communicating / Leave a comment

My last post about routines created some interesting dialogue so I decided to explore this further. I know that Grace is better with a consistent routine, but as was pointed out to me, many people like variety in their day. For individuals who want autonomy and independence, a rigid environment will create frustration and burnout.

This past weekend, I had a fascinating conversation with two people in the health care industry on this topic. We were talking about the pros and cons of standardized processes that are designed to ensure the highest quality of care. If a procedure is too rigid, it might have the potential to get in the way of delivering the best care. However, if there are evidence-based protocols that prove superior results over other processes, it would be detrimental not to follow them. The challenge is to create a structure that allows flexibility; two diametrically opposed concepts. It gets more complicated when we realize that some people crave a process, others hate it!

Take the surgical checklist, for example. The World Health Organization endorses a standardized checklist for all surgeries, to ensure that some fairly basic items are covered, such as making sure you have the right patient and are about to operate on the correct body part. There are impressive statistics that prove a reduction in avoidable errors when using the checklist, so it seems like a no-brainer. Yet it has not been easy to implement the use of the checklist in many surgical rooms. Why? There were lots of reasons, including a sense of lost autonomy, and feeling like a simple validation task became onerous.

It is common for people who aren’t process-oriented to think of systems as a waste of time. So when we institute processes in the workforce, we have to be clear about the time needed versus return on investment. And we have to take into consideration the personal needs of those who will be required to follow them. What’s the risk if they don’t adhere to the process? For those who don’t like the feeling of being boxed in, they need to understand the bigger picture and impact they are having by following – or not following – the process.

I’d be interested to hear examples of routines that are beneficial to your work. When do they stifle creativity? Or when does a routine, or structured process, create the best outcome? What are the underlying characteristics that make them advantageous?

The value of a routine depends on who you are — but also what you do

On March 7, 2011 / Graceful Leadership, Managing / 2 Comments

I’ve heard that dogs can’t tell time. Yet, I know that Grace is fully aware of patterns in our day. You could set the clock by when she asks for her dinner. And when we turn off the TV at night, she immediately jumps from her bed and waits by the door until I get there for our walk. Coming in from outside, she will then head directly upstairs to her crate, never deviating or diverting from her routine. I think the routines are comforting for her. She knows what to do, what is expected of her, and there are no surprises to frighten or worry her.

Like Grace, some employees love a routine and they flourish in an environment that has consistency and constancy. They like knowing what they need to do and welcome the guidance and direction. Others would consider that setting boring and limiting, preferring to have variety and are more likely to thrive when things are always changing. They like to face new situations and enjoy the challenge of constant problem-solving.

There is not a right or wrong approach here. But it needs to match the job and the culture of the organization.

When we have individuals who are not in a setting that best suits their personality, it creates stress. Because Grace is so cautious around new people, she would be a nervous wreck if her day was spent in a place where different people were constantly flowing in and out. Think about the environment your employees are in. Does the normal ebb and flow of the day suit their style? Is there a co-worker who stays focused on their task and therefore becomes frustrated with interruptions? Or perhaps there is someone else who welcomes disruptions and doesn’t want to be boxed into a rigid schedule? What things can you to ensure the environment matches their style?

Lucky for me, Grace will let me know if I missed her meal time. It’s a nice reminder to me when I’ve forgotten her routine.