Do something or live with it
If you do nothing, do nothing by choice. There is real power in that. Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash
What are some of the challenges that you and your team are facing right now?
They might be minor irritations like the fact that someone in your team only has three stories and insists on telling them on high rotation…or it could be more significant like your team is facing a restructure, you are trying to maintain a positive impact on the business and culture while the team is low on resources, people and time - and you are worried that the whole thing (or you) is about to break.
In a coaching conversation with a leader a few years back, he was describing all of the challenges that he faced in his role, with his team and across his organisation. As I was listening, I reflected back to him a thought that crossed my mind.
At the time, it seemed a little blunt, but it was my honest reflection:
“Sounds like you either need to do something or live with it”.
While it may have sounded (and been) blunt, it did help us explore further what he wanted to do about the situation.
We discussed that “doing something” or “living with it” were both valid and reasonable choices. That applies to his situation - and almost any other that we are faced with. Here’s why - and the value of choosing to do something or live with it.
It comes down to what we can think of as behavioural inertia.
The most powerful force on human behaviour is the status quo.
The best predictor of the behaviours in your teams and organisations this week are the behaviours from last week.
In other words, you and your teams will probably keep doing what you have been doing unless you do something.
This means that if you’re not delighted with how your team is currently performing, you should decide between these two options.
Option 1 - Do something
Because of the power of the status quo, if we aren’t happy with how things are going in our teams, then we need to act. We need to change the way that we function and interact. We need to change the work that we focus on, we need to change the way that we engage other teams. We need to do something.
Or not.
Option 2 - Live with it
There might be times that the effort to change behaviour is not worth the benefit that we expect from those changes. Part of the power of the status quo is that it becomes easier to do over time and therefore changing it can take more time, effort and failure than we are prepared to invest. That’s fine - if we make that decision consciously.
I’m not advocating for always doing something. Nor am I advocating for always living with mediocrity.
Too many leaders fail to make a choice.
If we don’t make a choice, we end up doing nothing - but feeling like we might or should do something. This is the worst of both worlds and ends up strengthening both the existing behavioural patterns and your sense that there is nothing that you can do about it.
If you do nothing, do nothing by choice. There is real power in that.
Here are a few things to consider this week:
What are the biggest sources of inertia, frustration or friction in your team?
Is there something that you can do about that this week?
What might happen if you choose to do nothing about them?