The Lazy Person Works Double

"El perezoso trabaja doble!" (The lazy person works double!)

My stepmother used to say this often to me, a reprimand every time I attempted to execute a chore in a rushed and sloppy manner, the task not being completed to expectation, requiring me to go back and do it again. Her underlying and recurring message:

“Do it right the first time, and you won’t have to go back and do it again.”

Or in her more proverbial words,“El perezoso trabaja doble!”

But I don’t think it was about laziness for me. It was about impatience. I wanted to get the chore finished quickly so I could go out and have fun with my friends. It was about a desire to get to the fun stuff, the stuff that energized me.

And yet, I was essentially delaying myself from getting to the “fun stuff” by not investing the time and attention to detail on the immediate job at hand.

How do we see this show up in the workplace?

Whether in the corporate landscape, our businesses, or associations, we see the symptoms of this perceived laziness or lack of full attention to detail in things like:

• Long response times or no response
• Long chains of emails when one email would have sufficed
• Poorly executed or incomplete projects
• Overworked, over-stressed leaders
• Unhappy, disengaged customers, employees, and members

Is It Really About Laziness?

In my 30+ years of leadership positions, I have found that many times it is NOT about being lazy “perezoso.” Most people want to perform at their best and want to meet and exceed expectations. It’s just that we are living in a hyper-speed, hyper-connected world. Many feel pressured to perform at unprecedented, sometimes unrealistic levels, and in an effort to stay above water, they miss some basics and cut some crucial corners.

Often it is a very natural result of being overworked, poorly trained, understaffed, or having our plates completely overloaded. How many times do we try to shortcut work in an effort to save time or save ourselves from drowning, only to find we have created more work by having to go back and fix mistakes, add missed information, or worse - deal with a bad hire?

Today’s rushed hire can become tomorrow’s HR nightmare. ‍

What about the time you bypassed a direct report to “get it done” instead of taking time to effectively train that person, thus overloading your plate when you could and should have had more room for strategy and crucial connections?

As an executive coach, I am all about “Work Smarter, Not Harder” - helping my clients find efficiencies to exceed expectations while buying more time and a semblance of balance. Let's be clear here, the concept of balance is not a 50/50 proposition. It is about ever changing, ever fluctuating scales, as long as the scales do not stay fully tipped on one side or the other.

So how do we ensure we are NOT tipping the scales permanently, not working twice as hard instead of twice as smart?

These 5 Steps Will Help - V.O.L.A.R.

V - VISION

Be clear and very specific about the end you are trying to achieve. Clarify the Vision for yourself first, and then clearly communicate that for the others. Like constructing a building, you begin with very detailed plans and solid foundations. This is the Vision piece.

O - OPPORTUNITIES - Find, Offer, and Create

Find opportunities to teach, pass along skills and knowledge you have acquired. ‍

Offer opportunities for others on the team to try, even if they fail at first. Failure is a great teacher. Practice patience.

Create more opportunities for yourself by taking things off your plate that can be delegated. If you think you can’t delegate, then there are deeper questions you need to ask yourself:

• Am I doing an effective job of training and mentoring those I would delegate to?
• Am I communicating expectations and steps in a clear, concise, and actionable way?
• Am I a control freak (in this case, practicing letting go in tiny bits may be your first step)?
• OR...

Are the people on the team the right fit for the job?  

This one's a toughie and should only be explored after ALL others have been exhausted, or if there are blaring red flags.

Remember what I said earlier about today’s rushed hire becoming tomorrow’s nightmare?

The best way to avoid this is by being more diligent in the initial hiring process, even if that means treading water a little longer while you find the true right fit. Sometimes this one is out of your control if you inherited a team or have no say in the hiring process.

In that case, I recommend documenting all your training and mentoring efforts and conversations. Paint a comprehensive picture of the person’s trajectory, their willingness or lack of, and their growth or lack thereof. This requires a ton of patience (take a deep breath), but it is kinder and more efficient to remove a faulty wheel as soon as possible then to let the whole train fall off the track. Just make sure you truly have done everything you can to repair that wheel, and can substantiate that in your documentation.

L - LEAN ON YOUR RESOURCES

I seldom see people fully leveraging all available resources. Leaning in doesn’t mean taking without giving, or taking advantage of people. Some people struggle with asking for help. “Oh, I don’t want to burden anyone.” Then don't. It is not about asking for the moon or putting someone out. Leaning in here means making specific and measured asks, then paying it back or paying it forward in the future. Make yourself a resource for others and you will find no shortage of help when you need it.

Leaning on your resources also requires an understanding of what exactly you need and how to fully utilize what is available to you: education, training, network, finances, etc. There is abundance or resources if you only look, listen, and lean in.

A - ACTUALIZE A PLAN

If you want to get it right the first time, start with a clear and simple plan. Then figure out how to best execute. What are the exact steps you or your team will take?

If you are delegating steps, ensure the individuals understand the expectations and then ask them to walk you through their process. In explaining their process beforehand, the holes in understanding will show themselves and you can fill them in before the task is tackled. This will reduce the amount of “double-work,” buying you what? MORE TIME! (And you’re welcome!)

Lastly, when shift happens,

R - RECALIBRATE WHEN NECESSARY

I have three recalibrating questions my clients work on regularly. They are simple and powerful, getting to the heart of what is working and what is not. We can be the agents of our own success if we can fearlessly ask ourselves the deep questions that lead to transformative answers. Sometimes it requires hiring a coach or finding a mentor to help with this - Lean on your resources.

If you find yourself stressed out, constantly overloaded, regularly making mistakes, and therefore working twice as hard on a regular basis, something needs to change.

Careful recalibration keeps the machine on track. Honest introspection is the only way to truly learn, grow, and get things done effectively. You can find my recalibrating questions, other coaching exercises, and helpful resources in my book,

“VOLAR - How to Turn Roadblocks Into Runways to Success!”

The work will always be there. My goal as a coach and trainer is always to help you get the job done, feel good about your output, and buy you more time - time for the Fun Stuff! #FunOrDone

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