Solving an ongoing problem can take a lot of time and energy, if you don’t approach it the right way. While these are not critical issues at work, they represent challenges that can’t be ignored.
These are also some issues that aren’t taught in school, so even experienced leaders may find themselves struggling with them. They can’t be fixed right away and may require days or weeks of attention.
Let’s use a relatable example to illustrate how an ongoing problem can create challenges for your business. I was recently reminded of one when I traveled north during the fall.
It’s wonderful to see the spectacle of the brightly colored leaves in the trees but we know that before long, those leaves are going to end up on the ground. The leaves fall over time, meaning that you need to clean them up multiple times.
How can yard work inform your solution to an ongoing problem? Consider these tips:
Defined Role
Whether it’s doing the cleanup on your weekends or hiring a landscaping crew, someone needs to be responsible for clearing the leaves. They understand that at some point they’ll need to do the extra work.
In your business, there may be customer service or sales challenges that emerge from time to time. Someone has to take on the task. Does they understand what needs to be done?
Also, consider whether turnover may have removed the person who took on the ongoing problem. It’s easy to forget to have a replacement, when a problem doesn’t need to be addressed every day.
Patience
Have you ever raked the leaves in your yard into a big pile, bagged the pile, gone in your home for ten minutes, and then notice the wind has brought down more leaves into your yard? You need a certain amount of patience with an ongoing problem, as they can’t be fixed through one action.
This can frustrate top performers, who are used to hard work paying off instantly. Make sure their effort is acknowledged, as outcome based feedback may not come until further down the road.
In a department store during holiday sales, team members may spend a lot of time restocking or cleaning up various departments. While the work isn’t glamorous, it’s an important part of the sales season. As a leader, make sure you recognize this effort and not just focus on the bottom line.
Adjustments
Solving an ongoing problem may need some adjustments to workloads. If a landscaping crew is gathering leaves, then they can’t plant trees at the same time. Both tasks are important but only one can be done at a time.
In your business, to address an ongoing problem, do your employees need to have their workloads adjusted? There will be times when adding more work is the only option but consider if the addition hurts performance in other areas. Sometimes your best move is to put other duties aside, when the ongoing problem is addressed.
Can’t Do Nothing
It’s really tempting to ignore the ongoing problem but these issues rarely solve themselves. If you don’t rake up your leaves, then they can deprive your lawn of valuable sunlight and create a slippery safety hazard.
Inaction is not an option and delayed action can allow a problem to grow. Make sure when the ongoing problem is first noticed that a response is planned. You see the leaves coming down and decide to take the rake out of your garage. Wait too long and you’ll face hours of raking.
Yes, for businesses this is an extra step during what I’m sure are already busy days but properly responding will save you a lot of time down the road.
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