Look, I’m still relatively new to managing people. I’ve spent most of my adult life working in a technical capacity where I was given a goal to accomplish and then I did whatever needed to be done to reach that goal. Sometimes that involved be going off the reservation or learning something new on the fly — and that’s all well and good.
My nature is such that I tend to work quietly, figure things out on my own and don’t ask for anything. One thing I’ve learned is that this is not always the case. Other people need more attention, input or guidance. Some people even hit brick walls and simply give up.
I’m going to tack another lesson learned onto that though. Once some people learn how to do something a certain way they will continue to do it that way even if they’re repeatedly told to do it a different way and have it explained to them why it needs to be done differently. It’s not out of malice, it’s just kind of the way they work…like mental muscle memory.
So, when you ask someone to begin doing something a different way. Beyond just reminding them and explaining to them why it needs to be done differently…you need to discretely check in on them and verify for yourself that they’re doing it the new way.
Just having them confirm that they’re doing it the new way isn’t enough because that mental muscle memory still kicks in and they may even tell you they’re doing it the new way despite doing it the old way.
I don’t think this is out of malice or stubbornness. I think it’s just the way some people’s minds work. So, when the process changes you need to have a little foreman in your heart that goes and looks over their shoulder to see what’s going on before the hole gets dug too deep.
- Remind them that they need to do it differently.
- Explain to them why they need to do it the new way.
- Show them the new way.
- Have them show you they can do it the new way.
- Quietly look over their shoulder and make sure they’re doing it the new way.
- If they aren’t call their attention to it. Repeat until the new way is happening.