Who's the sore toe in your team?

Are you the sore toe in your team?

I have a toe problem! One little toe is causing me big-time grief. It’s putting me off balance and being on my feet regularly - I'm continually focused on it! This reminds me of a person who was on my team (many years ago) who caused 90% of the office dilemmas?  Her role whilst important wasn't significant in comparison to others but if she was in a bad mood – everyone took cover!

So, off to the doctor I went and he’s unsure and requested ‘toe clippings’ to be examined! It was like a forensic show episode! However, he suggested some initial treatment until he sees the results.

How often are we focused on the problem and searching for a ‘quick fix’ due to the imposed time parameters  when what is necessary is a thorough diagnosis to totally understand the root cause of the issue?

I am guilty of providing ‘quick fix’ solutions to clients (reluctantly) as it’s that or they do nothing. However, it’s refreshing when I hear agreement to the offer of analysing the situation, observing the ‘goings on’ to really get a true picture of the issue before offering solutions.

Who’s the ‘sore toe’ in your team? Who causes the dilemmas which blow out of proportion and affect all members, productivity and service delivery? I hope it’s not you!

Stepping back and analysing and observing what’s going on is an important role of a leader. Rather than rely on ‘hear-say’ - invest some time and check it out for yourself. While you’re doing this, you might uncover other activities which are worth sharing, celebrating or changing.