It seems so simple, really. Your company has a goal. Your people work for the company. You tell them the goal and they do it and then we all have a big party and hand out "employee of the century" badges to everyone. Cool. Except it doesn't work out that way.

Why?

Everyone is a relatively normal, sane, competent adult. We all know how the company fortune goes dictates how our fortunes go. Everyone agreed to this when they hired on. So what's going on?

Are they stupid, lazy and incompetent? Maybe, but if so it's kind of your fault. You see, it's your responsibility to hire them and fire them. Pick employees that you are willing to trust. If you don't trust them, they're useless and the company is wasting everybody's salary. To be honest, though, most people are much brighter than you, know their job a lot better than you, and want to do a good job.

Do they have the materials to do what they need? If they don't have the widget to fix the whatis, again, it's your fault. As manager, you are there to see they have what they need. How can anyone accomplish the task without the tools and materials? Make certain you know what's needed, by whom, when, and make certain it's there. You weren't hired to see how fast you can make your twirly chair spin. Let the intern make the paperclip chain. You have a job to do.

With rare exception, people want to do a good job. They want to feel good about what they do, they want to feel valued and valuable. This is easy to forget or overlook, but it is true. Don't scoff.

Honestly, who wants to wake up in the morning, get dressed go to work and screw up? Who wants to be sidelined and ignored? We all want to be movers and shakers. We want to be good people.

There are occassional rebels, certainly, but your employees have all indicated that they willingly participate in the whole wage slave game by applying and interviewing to work at your company.

So, if they aren't accomplishing their tasks, there is a reason. Something is out there that they percieve as an obstical, a big ole' dragon keeping them away from the treasure trove of success. Until that obstical is dealt with, they don't believe they can accomplish the task.

Guess who gets to go slay the dragon?

They didn't do it. They screwed up, not you. Except, maybe, you did.

Did you assign the task? Yeah, everyone knew it needed to be done. They're grown ups. There are certainly enough of them. They should have figured it out. I sholdn't have had to tell someone to do it.

Wrong.

There is a concept called "diffusion of responsibility." It describes the idea that the more people that are involved in something, the less responsibility and accountability each individual feels. The most famous example is the murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens. She was chased down and killed. It took quite a while, and it wasn't exactly private. 38 witnesses were aware of the attack at the time it was occuring. Nobody even called 911.

So, don't think just because everyone knows about it that it will get done. The opposite is true. So, assign responsibilities to specific individuals.

Next, ask yourself did you communicate their responsibility? If they didn't know, it's not their fault. If they misunderstood, it's not their fault. Tell people their areas of responsibility, of course, but remember communication is two way. Communicate directly with the person and listen for their acknowledgement. Check in with them frequently so that you know they know you know that they know who's doing what.

You told them to do it. They knew they were supposed to, but they failed. Naughty naughty.

Was it possible for them to accomplish? Some tasks are unrealistic. Too many factors are outside the person's control. I can't change gas prices. A 20 year old office clerk can't negotiate the settlement of a multimillion dollar lawsuit. None of us can walk on water.

Now, there is the philosphy of "give 'em a crack at it and maybe they will surprise you." Maybe they will. However, repeated failures due to unrealistic goals will burn out your employees. Set realistic goals. If they have it in them to push it further - COOL! But assign what a person can do.

Did they have the skill set? Don't thow them to the wolves. Train your employees. Know what their skill level is. If you send someone with the social skills of a rock in to woo your delicate, complicated deal together and it falls apart, who screwed up?

Did outside factors get them? Stuff happens. It's a lot easier to deal with the sooner you know about it, so encourage your employees to comunicate their problems. Of course, you have to evauate what they say. Some people are way to gifted at finding reasons something won't work. They have their place in driving the company to accomplishing its goals. Cars have engines, but they also have brakes. Just, keep straight which is which.

Were they already over-tasked? Forget the "work smarter, not harder" speech. We're talking real world not rhetoric, here. Communicate with your employees and know what they are working on. Let them know your priorities. Yes, you don't want to pay people to make paperclip art, but if they get too overtasked with too many top priorities, they end up frozen, staring at the wall, with drool dripping down their chins. Balance between too much and too little is best.

You can see the glassy glint of cynicism in their eyes. They don't trust you. What can you do about people that won't trust you?

Well, they shouldn't trust you. Not completely, anyway. If you're contemplating downsizing one of them, you aren't going to tell them until the axe falls. If there is suspicion someone is stealing, you aren't going to tell them. And, truth be told, you're there to get the most out of them for the least input on the company's part, so you are kind of the bad guy.

But, such is life. Those things are true where ever they work. They are grown ups and can actually probably deal with it. There are some things that you can do, though, to build enough trust to work with:

1.) Be consistant. Say what your going to do, do what you say. Be predictable in your reactions, both positive and negative. Predictable things and people are much easier to work with.

2.) Be decisive. Don't dither. If you're going to do it, do it, if not, don't.

3.) Be there. Be a part of the team. Stuff the envelopes, haul in the new supplies, attend the staff meetings. Be present, so that stuff doesn't fester in your absence, so that they don't have time to mutter about you, and because simply being there and being a familiar face will build trust.

4.) Confess. Confess to weaknesses. Admit errors. If you do wrong, say you did wrong, and do better. It puts the issue to bed, rather than having it lurk to be a little checkmark on the con side of every discussion and planning session.

5.) Accept Help. Let your staff help you and support you. It builds community. They'll like you better if you let them do stuff for you. It's just one of those psychological truths. Con artists and psychopaths use it all the time by asking favors of people to draw them in.