Have you noticed that when you ask the team to take on a task, some people might jump in and succeed, others not so much? Let’s focus on those who don’t jump in.
Tip: Did you know that one of the biggest reasons we don’t do (insert task or goal here) is a fear of failure?
How to spot fear of failure
- Resistance “I don't want to…”
- Self sabotage "“I’ll get to it…” or some form of procrastination.
- Low self-esteem “I can’t because…”
- Perfection “I need more answers, time, resources” (my regular readers who catch my typos, you know I do not suffer from perfectionist!)
What to do about it?
Present your idea.
Ask for their input.
Listen to their responses and then ask for what they need to overcome the challenge.
Recognize their needs and offer support and encouragement along the way.
It might sound like this:
You: Good news, we’ve found a way to simplify the invoice process. Starting next week, we will all enter the type of request in the order form.
Captain Resistor: “I can’t because I’m too busy to add anything else to what I do. You keep telling me that I should be producing more throughout the day, this will slow me down”
(Notice how I added some hot buttons to get you annoyed?) Breathe
You: I appreciate (was that part hard?) you working towards meeting your productivity numbers. Simplifying our invoice process is important for all of us. How much extra time do you think you will need to enter the type of request?
Captain Resistor: “I don’t know, I haven't tried it yet”
You: Why don’t we try it for a day and then meet to see what the impact is?
Captain Resistor: “Okay, but don’t penalize me if my numbers are down!”
The conversation will continue a little longer, but look how we got Captain Resistor to at least try. Use positive reinforcement to build on that success.