You work hard on a critical report all week, forgoing other tasks to hit a Friday deadline. You submit it, and then...nothing. A week goes by—still nothing.

Your boss stops by your desk and says, 'Hey, where's that report? Could you send it over by next Friday?'

One small interaction that says your effort is disposable.

If you ask for something, you'd better need it. Otherwise, it just looks like you assigned busywork. Employees will stop putting forth the extra effort. If Dave isn’t going to read the full report, why should I care about the accuracy of the chart on page 7?

You need to show your employees that their work, and more importantly, the effort they put into their work, matters to you and the organization.

A fix is needed. You analyze the problem, map out the solution, and propose a full-scale upgrade to avoid future problems.

Your manager decides that a Band-Aid is better. A quick fix that can be done today, so they can report the solution to the business before the close of business.

You might think you’re being a problem-solver, but you’re really sending a signal that depth, thought, and preventing future fires are irrelevant. The team learns to deliver what looks complete now, regardless of the quality or future cost.

You inadvertently train your team to focus on quick fixes over long-term solutions, reducing their willingness to invest effort and time in their work.

The Fix-It Reflex is the greatest enemy of team development.

Your employee just completes their part of a larger project, 95% perfect.

There’s one clear, minor flaw. You know exactly the 5-minute correction, and you’re in a rush. So you jump in, fix it yourself, and integrate it into the larger project.

You just saved 5 minutes. But you instantly communicated: "I don't trust you to learn from this, and I can do your job better."

You may save the immediate deadline, but you killed the employee’s ownership and stole their chance to build muscle through correction.

When it comes to motivation, mundane actions mean more than grandiose words. How you coach, lead, and interact with your employees every day is how they learn and understand what level of effort you’re looking for. Show your employees that their effort matters, and motivate them to put forth their best effort!

Don’t fall into one of the three traps above; they all lead to short-term success, but they cost your team’s motivation, effort, and willingness to tackle hard problems.

Until next time,

Rick

BTW, I updated the Perspectives on Leadership website and archive! Be sure to check it out for past issues dating back to the beginning of this year. We’re quickly coming up on 52 weeks of Perspectives on Leadership!