Especially in dire situations, we must consciously choose to be part of the solution, or part of the problem. Emotions often run high when a department, or organization, or product line is failing. It is common in those instances to sit around and sulk, or review the decisions that created the mess, or otherwise play the blame game. And perhaps a session or two of cathartic venting may be in order. But the quicker we get by those events the better.
Having been involved in attempting to turn around a number of failing companies, I have heard all kinds of variations of the ‘woe is me’ story. I always very quickly move to stop it. It is both a useless exercise and bad for morale. We have had to suggest the removal of key associates because of their continued inability to forget the past and concentrate on the present and the future.
When the situation is tough, we need people who are interested not in how we got here, but where we are, and given those facts, what we should about it. As always, but in those instances especially, we need to have a realistic and ongoing scorecard of what is happening on key performance indicators (KPIs) so we can continue to make appropriate decisions and move ahead.
A great example of this debilitating discourse was the discussion regarding the war in Iraq. For months politicians and the media recounted the reasons we should not have entered the war after the going got tough on the ground. Some of the politicians who were hand wringing and blaming Bush for the mess were the same people who only months earlier had assured us they had reviewed the security documents and were confident war was our only course.
The issue with the months of belabored hand wringing and blame is that it only gets in the way. It presents an emotionally degrading problem for the nation, and in many cases only furthers careers at the expense of dealing helpfully with a huge life and death situation. There were cases of elected representatives in Congress who left briefing meetings. This can hardly be helpful. When the chips are down, leaders must have the emotional intelligence to set aside the squabbling and be ready to make rational judgments about the way forward, or further calamity will surely result. Frustrating and obfuscating the situation not only skirts the issues at hand, but emotionally paralyzes the people around you.
I want to be on teams that win. I know that I can function more efficiently and more sustainably in a collaborative team than on my own. To that end, while it’s fun to be critical sometimes, it very rarely accomplishes anything even approaching a win/win situation. It is most often a net minus. So I am particularly interested in finding colleagues who are focused on “Where are we?” and “Where are we going?” I do not have time for meetings and discussions that rehash failure or ascribe blame. They emotionally drain me.
Finally, there is another common psychological reaction to critical situations by persons who are emotionally vested in them. Some of them will actually rather fail than remain engaged and attempt to change and succeed. Here again, sometimes it takes real emotional intelligence to admit that the status quo is no longer the answer, and that we need a fresh plan based on all the facts. When I enter a project group, I pay particular attention to the folks who assure me that everything is perfect and there is nothing more we can do. Because I know very well that even in the most successful projects I have been involved in, there were always ways to improve.
Concentrate on the future. And watch your productivity, success and quality of life rise.
